Snow Maiden (Spring Tale) A. N

In ancient times, Spring-Krasna and Santa Claus gave birth to a daughter - the Snow Maiden. For 16 years, Frost hid her under the protection of goblin, wolves and owls in a forest chamber, where no one had a road. So that the Snow Maiden would not be damaged by the heat, Frost made all these 16 winters unusually cold and persuaded his wife, Spring, to come to earth later.

But when the snow girl grew up, and she became bored alone among the animals and forest monsters. Vesna-Krasna, pitying her daughter, persuaded Moroz to let her live in the nearby settlement of the Berendey tribe. Frost disagreed. He knew that his enemy, the solar god Yarilo, was angry for 16 icy winters and was going to kindle a love flame in the heart of the Snow Maiden with his rays, which would melt her and destroy her.

Snow Maiden. Feature Film based on the play by A. Ostrovsky, 1968

However, Spring still persuaded Frost to let his daughter go to people. Frost agreed to this, but on the condition that the Snow Maiden lived with the Berendeys in the hut of the impoverished family of the Bobyla Bakula and his wife, Bobylikha. Frost hoped that the suburban guys would not stare at the poor bride, and without their caresses, love in the soul of his daughter would not flare up.

The Snow Maiden gladly agreed to settle among the people. Celebrating Maslenitsa soon - seeing off winter, the Berendeys saw an unusually beautiful girl at the edge of the forest. She said that she had nowhere to go and asked to go to Bakula and his wife.

"Snegurochka", 1 act - summary

The lazy Bobyl and Bobylikh, who lived on paraphernalia from strangers, gladly accepted the Snow Maiden. They expected that rich suitors would flock to such a beauty and endow them with money. All the local guys really began to fight for the Snow Maiden. However, she, the daughter of Frost with an icy heart, did not feel anything for them, although she longed to feel love. The Snow Maiden worked diligently for Bobyl and Bobylikha, but they continually reproached her for her inability to bring the guys.

All suburban girls dried up for the poor shepherd Lelya, who was very handsome, skillfully wove wreaths of flowers, sang sweet, passionate songs and was considered the first heartthrob in the district. The Snow Maiden looked curiously at Lel and loved to talk with him, trying to experience that state of mind that she had never experienced. But Lel, spoiled by girlish attention, either flirted with her or mocked her. Not feeling love, the Snow Maiden, like a child, felt grief and jealousy.

In her best friend, Kupavu, the merchant Mizgir fell in love - a stately young handsome man. With bags of gifts, Mizgir came to woo Kupava in the suburbs, but when he saw the Snow Maiden, he was so shocked by her beauty that he immediately left the bride. He began to ask Bobyl and Bobylikh for the hand of their "daughter". They ordered the Snow Maiden to accept the rich gifts of the merchant. "Take tribute, envious people, from the friend of misfortune, grow rich in my shame, ”she lamented woefully.

Snow Maiden. Cartoon based on the play by A. Ostrovsky

Kupava in a frenzy cursed the deceiver Mizgir and the “homeowner” Snegurochka. By order of Bakula, the Snow Maiden drove Lel away, and he hated her. Kupava decided to go with a complaint about Mizgir to Tsar Berendey himself.

"Snow Maiden", act 2 - summary

Tsar Berendey has long been worried that the last fifteen cold winters and springs have extinguished the fire of love in the hearts of his subjects. Boys and girls were less attracted to each other, the bond between wives and husbands weakened, marital fidelity was shaken.

Tomorrow in the reserved forest, the Berendeys were supposed to celebrate great holiday Yarila: feast all night, and then meet the sunrise. The tsar planned to arrange the wedding of all the brides and grooms among the people during this celebration, so that such a spectacle would appease Yarila, who was angry with the cold.

But on the eve of the holiday, Kupava came to Berendey with a complaint about Mizgir. The king summoned all the people to judge those who dared to abuse the girl's feelings.

The Snow Maiden also came to the court with her parents. When he first saw her, Berendey was delighted with her beauty no less than Mizgir. He asked the Snow Maiden to find herself a groom and participate with him in tomorrow's marriage ceremony. However, she replied that she was unable to feel love.

The king proclaimed: one of the Berendeys who manages to captivate the Snow Maiden with tender passion before dawn will receive her as his wife and will be the first guest at the palace feasts. Mizgir and Lel volunteered to ignite love in the Snow Maiden.

"Snow Maiden", act 3 - summary

In the evening, the Berendeys gathered in a clearing in the forest to celebrate Yarila's holiday. Lel, going up to the Snow Maiden, sang a song about red maidens, but then, in front of her eyes, he began to kiss Kupava. The Snow Maiden began to reproach Lel with tears in her eyes, but he threw to her: “You yourself are to blame, I loved you a lot, I shed a lot of flammable tears furtively.”

Lel left, and Mizgir appeared next to the Snow Maiden. Falling on his knees before her, he begged her for love. But the imperious and proud Mizgir inspired fear in the Snow Maiden. She said she could never love him. Mizgir, having lost his head, tried to take it by force, but the goblin that suddenly appeared by witchcraft threw him into the forest thicket. The charms of the goblin forced Mizgir to chase the ghost of the Snow Maiden all night, which appeared here and there before his eyes.

Having got rid of Mizgir, the Snow Maiden soon met Lel again and began to beg him to take her to the king as his bride. But Lel went to Kupava, saying: I will meet the sunrise of Yaril only with her. The timid feeling of the Snow Maiden, compared with Kupava's ardent love, looked ridiculous and childish in his eyes.

With sobs, the Snow Maiden rushed to her mother, Spring - to ask her to breathe true passion into her icy heart.

"Snow Maiden", act 4 - summary

Near the place of the festival stood a mountain and a lake. The Snow Maiden ran to the lake shore, and Spring-Red rose from the water to her, surrounded by flowers.

The Snow Maiden began to ask her mother to give her the ability to love. Spring reminded the Snow Maiden of the prophecies of Father Frost: love will destroy her. But the girl insisted: "Let me die, one moment of love is dearer to me than years of anguish and tears."

Spring put a wreath of flowers on her daughter's head, and the soul of the Snow Maiden was seized with love passion. In ecstasy, it seemed to her that even the grass and trees had acquired a new beauty.

Spring wished the Snow Maiden to find a young man to her heart today, but ordered her to hurry home until morning so as not to fall under the rays of the Yarila Sun at dawn, which would kindle the heat in her so that he would melt her. Spring again sank into the lake, and the Snow Maiden joyfully ran along the path - and came across Mizgir, whose courageous appearance now sweetly enchanted her.

She threw herself on his chest and said that she agreed to become his wife. Delighted, Mizgir dragged the Snow Maiden to Tsar Berendey in order to take part in the marriage ceremony with her at sunrise. The Snow Maiden asked to take her home faster, but Mizgir, not listening, ran with her to the clearing, where the Berendey choirs were already beginning to praise the dawn.

The Snow Maiden is perhaps the least typical of all the plays by Alexander Ostrovsky, which stands out sharply among other things in his work with lyricism, unusual problems (instead of social drama, the author paid attention to personal drama, designating the theme of love as the central theme) and absolutely fantastic surroundings. The play tells the story of the Snow Maiden, who appears before us as a young girl, desperately longing for the only thing she never had - love. Remaining faithful to the main line, Ostrovsky simultaneously reveals a few more: the structure of his semi-epic, semi-fairytale world, the customs and customs of the Berendeys, the theme of continuity and retribution, and the cyclical nature of life, noting, albeit in an allegorical form, that life and death always go hand in hand.

History of creation

The appearance of the play into the world Russian literary world due to a happy accident: at the very beginning of 1873, for overhaul The building of the Maly Theater was closed, and a group of actors temporarily moved to the Bolshoi. Deciding to take advantage of the opportunities of the new stage and attract the audience, it was decided to arrange an extravaganza performance unusual for those times, immediately involving the ballet, drama and opera components of the theater team.

It was with the proposal to write a play for this extravaganza that they turned to Ostrovsky, who, taking advantage of the opportunity to put a literary experiment into practice, agreed. The author changed his habit of looking for inspiration in unsightly sides real life, and in search of material for the play turned to the work of the people. There he found a legend about the Snow Maiden, which became the basis for his magnificent work.

In the early spring of 1873, Ostrovsky was hard at work on the creation of the play. And not alone - since staging on stage is impossible without music, the playwright worked together with the still very young then Pyotr Tchaikovsky. According to critics and writers, this is precisely one of the reasons for the amazing rhythm of The Snow Maiden - words and music were composed in a single impulse, close interaction, and imbued with each other's rhythm, initially making up one whole.

It is symbolic that Ostrovsky put the last point in The Snow Maiden on the day of his fiftieth birthday, March 31. And a little more than a month later, on May 11, a show took place premiere performance. He received quite different reviews among critics, both positive and sharply negative, but already in the 20th century literary critics firmly agreed that The Snow Maiden was the brightest milestone in the work of the playwright.

Analysis of the work

Description of the artwork

The plot is based on the life path of the Snow Maiden girl, born from the union of Frost and Spring-Red, her father and mother. The Snow Maiden lives in the Berendey kingdom invented by Ostrov, but not with her relatives - she left her father Frost, who protected her from all possible troubles - but with the family of Bobyl and Bobylikh. The Snow Maiden longs for love, but she cannot fall in love - even her interest in Lelya is dictated by the desire to be the only and unique, the desire that the shepherd, who evenly gives all the girls warmth and joy, be affectionate with her alone. But Bobyl and Bobylikha are not going to bestow their love on her, they have a more important task: to cash in on the beauty of the girl by marrying her off. The Snow Maiden looks indifferently at the Berendey men, who change their lives for her sake, reject brides and violate social norms; she is internally cold, she is a stranger full of life Berendei - and therefore attracts them. However, misfortune also falls to the lot of the Snow Maiden - when she sees Lel, who is favorable to the other and rejects her, the girl rushes to her mother with a request to let her fall in love - or die.

It is at this moment that Ostrovsky clearly expresses the central idea of ​​his work to the limit: life without love is meaningless. The Snow Maiden cannot and does not want to put up with the emptiness and coldness that exists in her heart, and Spring, which is the personification of love, allows her daughter to experience this feeling, despite the fact that she herself thinks bad.

The mother turns out to be right: the Snow Maiden, who has fallen in love, melts under the first rays of the hot and clear sun, having managed, however, to discover a new world filled with meaning. And her lover, who had previously left his bride and was expelled by the Tsar, Mizgir, parted with his life in the pond, seeking to reunite with the water, which became the Snow Maiden.

Main characters

(Scene from the ballet-performance "The Snow Maiden")

Snow Maiden - central figure works. A girl of extraordinary beauty who desperately wants to know love, but at the same time cold hearted. Pure, partly naive and completely alien to Berendey people, she is ready to give everything, even her life, in exchange for knowing what love is and why everyone is so hungry for it.
Frost is the father of the Snow Maiden, formidable and strict, who sought to protect his daughter from all sorts of troubles.

Spring-Krasna is the mother of a girl who, despite a premonition of trouble, could not go against her nature and her daughter's pleas and endowed her with the ability to love.

Lel is a windy and cheerful shepherd who was the first to awaken some feelings and emotions in the Snow Maiden. It was because she was rejected by him that the girl rushed to Spring.

Mizgir is a merchant guest, or, in other words, a merchant who fell in love with the girl so much that he not only offered all his wealth for her, but also left Kupava, his failed bride, thereby violating the traditionally observed customs of the Berendey kingdom. In the end, he gained the reciprocity of the one he loved, but not for long - and after her death he himself lost his life.

It is worth noting that despite a large number of characters in the play, even minor characters turned out to be bright and characteristic: that Tsar Berendey, that Bobyl and Bobylikh, that ex-fiancee Mizgirya Kupava - all of them are remembered by the reader, they have their own hallmarks and features.

"The Snow Maiden" is a complex and multifaceted work, both compositionally and rhythmically. The play is written without rhyme, but thanks to the unique rhythm and melodiousness that literally exists in every line, it sounds smoothly, like any rhymed verse. Decorates the "Snow Maiden" and the rich use of colloquial phrases - this is a completely logical and justified step by the playwright, who, when creating the work, relied on folk tales telling about a girl from the snow.

The same statement about versatility is also true in relation to the content: behind the outwardly simple story of the Snow Maiden (published in real world- rejected people - received love - imbued human world- died) lurks not only the assertion that life without love is meaningless, but also many other equally important aspects.

Yes, one of central themes- the relationship of opposites, without which the natural course of things is impossible. Frost and Yarilo, cold and light, winter and the warm season outwardly oppose each other, enter into an irreconcilable contradiction, but at the same time, the thought runs through the text that one does not exist without the other.

In addition to the lyricism and sacrifice of love, interest is also social aspect plays, displayed against the backdrop of fabulous foundations. The norms and customs of the Berendey kingdom are strictly observed, for violation they face expulsion, as happened with Mizgir. These norms are fair and to some extent reflect Ostrovsky's idea of ​​an ideal old Russian community, where fidelity and love for one's neighbor, life in unity with nature are at a premium. The figure of Tsar Berendey, the “kind” Tsar, who, although he is forced to make harsh decisions, regards the fate of the Snow Maiden as tragic, sad, evokes unambiguously positive emotions; such a king is easy to sympathize with.

At the same time, in the Berendey kingdom, justice is observed in everything: even after the death of the Snow Maiden, as a result of her acceptance of love, Yarila's anger and argument disappear, and the Berendey people can again enjoy the sun and warmth. Harmony prevails.

ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Snow Maiden

The opera "The Snow Maiden" did not immediately fall in love with musicians and listeners. Like a play, it reveals its facets only to the most sensitive perception. But having once managed to comprehend her true cosmic beauty, no one will be able to stop loving her. Like a young heroine, out of modesty, she does not show all the depth at once. But through a fairy tale in Rus' since ancient times, the most valuable thoughts were conveyed.

Summary

The libretto was based on dramatic play Alexander Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden". The second title of the work is spring fairy tale". There is a lot of allegorical in it - in the spring such transformations take place with nature that this process can be compared with magic. The fairy tale is inhabited by fairy-tale characters, and the development of the plot is not built on the canons usual for that time.

The daughter of Spring and Frost, the Snow Maiden, grew up in the forest under the protection of mystical forest creatures. But for a long time he has been watching people, and with all his might strives to understand their world. She begs her parents to let her live among people.

Once in the house of Bobyl and Bobylikh, she begins to explore the world of human relations. It turns out that people are looking for love and get married when they meet it. The heart of the Snow Maiden is cold from birth. She listens to Lel's songs, talks with her friend Kupava, but does not feel anything.

The measured course of village life is disturbed by the appearance of Mizgir, the groom of Kupava. The wedding has already been scheduled, when suddenly Mizgir meets the Snow Maiden and is captivated by her coldly restrained beauty. He rushes after the Snow Maiden, begging her to become his wife.

• This is one of the heralds of the fantasy genre - the plot involves fabulous (Leshy, Frost, Spring) and realistic (Lel, Kupava, Mizgir) characters, the plot itself has an archetypal structure.
• The image of the Snow Maiden is unique in the entire world culture - there is nothing like it anywhere else, except for Russian folklore. It is shrouded in mystery, there are no clear ideas about its origin, but this image is present in fine arts, stories, songs.
• V. Dal mentioned that snowmen, bullfinches, snowmen were called "boobs made of snow", having the image of a man.
• It is believed that the image of the Snow Maiden appeared after the baptism of Rus'.
• For Viktor Vasnetsov, the image of the Snow Maiden has become a key in his work.
• In 1952, a cartoon was filmed to the music from the opera by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Famous arias and numbers from the opera:

Snegurochka's aria "Walk for berries with girlfriends" (prologue) - listen

Lel's third song "A cloud conspired with thunder" ( III act) - listen

choir "Ay, in the field there is a linden" (III act) - listen

duet of the Snow Maiden and Mizgir "Wait, wait!" (IV act) - listen

final chorus "Light and power, god Yarilo" (IV act) - listen

Music

Since the early childhood Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov he was very fond of Russian folk music, its special rhythm, close to colloquial, expressive intonations, melodious melody. In The Snow Maiden, he expressed this love with skill mature composer. He almost never uses direct quotes. folk songs, but he stylizes very precisely, creating his songs, amazingly similar in spirit to folk ones.

This music is very picturesque - the imagination vividly draws pictures winter forest, the chirping of birds, the appearance of Spring-Red, the coldness and detachment of the Snow Maiden. The gradual awakening of nature and the Snow Maiden's desire for human warmth and love are also shown in music, it becomes passionate, even expressive. At the same time, the fantastic character of the fairy tale is sustained.

The opera opens with a prologue in which musical means the main characters are presented - the forces of nature, the severe Frost, the tender Spring, the fragile Snow Maiden. The orchestra imitates bird trills, ringing streams, natural metamorphoses. The Maslenitsa scene at the end of the prologue almost completely illustrates the ancient rite of the meeting of spring with winter, the choral episodes colorfully describe folk festivals. The scene is so colorful that it is often performed in gala concerts.

Creating images of the main characters, the author carefully thought out the melodic and dramatic characteristics of each. For each category of characters (fairy-tale characters, real people, representatives of the elements), a separate intonational-rhythmic and timbre sphere has been created. Rimsky-Korsakov's operatic vocal numbers are notable for their melodiousness combined with simplicity. The chorus is often another character for him - the people, and also brings additional color to the whole sound. At the same time, the richness of orchestration never argues with the vocal beginning, but, on the contrary, complements and enriches it.

It is typical for a composer special treatment to the female lyrical image. His Snow Maiden Martha from The Tsar's Bride , Olga from "The Maid of Pskov" are examples of touching, sublime, reverent femininity, the embodiment of captivating ideal beauty. The transformation of the image of the Snow Maiden is also reflected in her vocal part. If at the beginning of the opera its melody is close to instrumental (and is accompanied by flute overflows), then the more it reaches out to people, the more melodiousness, melody, and ardor appear in the music (there are now more strings in the orchestra).

Generally, complete musical analysis opera composer provided himself in the book "Chronicle of my musical life"And the article" Analysis of the "Snow Maiden". In it, the author spoke in detail about the artistic concept and its implementation. It should be noted that the need for such documents was caused by the dissatisfaction of the author with the first productions. Like Ostrovsky's play itself, the opera production did not initially meet with a response from the performers, conductor, and critics. Later, after the appearance of explanations, a more successful performance took place, close to the author's interpretation.

It is amazing how mathematically accurately he designed the dramaturgy and the development of the action. The depth and innovation of the composer could not meet with instant acceptance of this music. They did not coincide with the main themes in the art of that time. However, already a decade later, it becomes the locomotive of artistic transformation in national art.

History of creation

Nikolai Andreevich began work on the opera in the summer of 1880. As the basis of the plot, he took the poetic play by Alexander Ostrovsky "The Snow Maiden", which was published in 1873. The play itself caused a great resonance in society. Few appreciated it. The fairy tale was admired by F.M. Dostoevsky, A.I. Goncharov, I.S. Turgenev. Young at that time, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, at the request of the author, was invited to write music for the theatrical production of The Snow Maiden.

But most of the public and especially the critics received the play coldly. Her images and allegory were incomprehensible to contemporaries. Oral Russian folk art, ritual song folklore and mythology, the cult and beliefs of the ancient Slavs were something distant and uninteresting for the then audience. Superficially perceiving the play, critics immediately accused the author of escaping from reality. Having become accustomed to his already established role as a exposer of the vices of Russian society, the audience was not ready to plunge into complex world fairy tale allegories.

Ostrovsky was accused of being seduced decorative images and a light fairy-tale subject, "fantastic" and "meaningless". The poetic syllable with which the play was written also complicated the perception. The ingenious Russian playwright traveled to the farthest provinces, collecting motifs and rhythms of folk songs and legends, the play contains many Old Slavonic words and phrases. To truly understand and appreciate the beauty of the style of these verses can only true connoisseur and a connoisseur of Russian folklore.

And Rimsky-Korsakov himself, on his first acquaintance with the play, was not too imbued with it. Only after a while, upon re-reading (in the winter of 1879-1880), did he suddenly “see the light”, the whole depth and poetry of the work was revealed to him. He was instantly ignited by the desire to write an opera on this plot. This desire led him first to Ostrovsky - to ask permission to write music on his magical work, and then - to the Stelevo estate, where the opera was written in unison.

The composer himself acted as a librettist, making changes to Ostrovsky's original text. All work was completed in a matter of months. By the end of March 1881, the opera was completed, and in January 1882 the premiere took place. Rimsky-Korsakov himself described the period of creation of the opera as creatively filled, he wrote extremely quickly and easily, with inspiration. The Snow Maiden became his favorite opera.

Allegory in fairy tale and opera

Rimsky-Korsakov's music is most often said to be light, pure, sublime. The fairy tale "The Snow Maiden" has a truly naive plot, which attracted the composer. It contains a description of the way of life of an ideal society, the Berendeys, with a surprisingly wise and unusual ruler - Tsar Berendey, who teaches his people to live according to their hearts, to keep moral purity and nobility. This is a utopian picture even for a resident of the 19th century. However, in Russian ancient epic she was not uncommon.

Russian land can be fertile and fruitful. But the climate is harsh and unpredictable. They survived the long winter at the expense of the summer harvest. And the yield depended on the vagaries of nature, and not on the diligence or talent of the peasant. Under such conditions, the sun, which gives warmth and growth to plants and animals, became the main deity. But he was not just worshiped, people were looking for (and found) a connection between their behavior and thoughts - and the answer of the Sun-God. Therefore, Berendey was worried and complained that the god Yarilo turned away from the Berendey kingdom, believing that its inhabitants began to think too much about self-interest.

Allegories in a fairy tale:

• Frost is the opposition to the Sun, a deity that brings death and destruction. Their confrontation escalated when Spring and Frost had a child - the Snow Maiden, a beautiful maiden with a cold heart, unable to love. The sun turned away from the people in punishment for their coldness to each other. And the Snow Maiden became a symbolic embodiment of the conflict of heat and cold of the soul.

• When, at the end of the tale, she asks Mother Spring to grant the ability to love, and receives it, and dies from the heat of the sun, this symbolizes the sacrifice that the heroine makes in the name of people. She consciously went down this path. With her death, Yarilo will return the favor of the people, and the people themselves, having seen the sacrifice and fieryness of her act, will return to their ethical ideals.

• The name of the merchant Mizgir is indicative. Translated from Old Slavonic, it means "spider", "tarantula". The very occupation of the merchant is alien peasant image life, he is perceived as a stranger, carrying a vague threat. And according to ancient belief, the one who kills the spider will receive the forgiveness of seven sins during his lifetime. The very appearance of Mizgir in the settlement excited the villagers. And his death from longing for the Snow Maiden became a symbolic atonement for the Berendeys.

• Shepherd Lel, awakening with his poetic songs and sweet voice all living things to love and feelings - no doubt unique character for everything operatic art. By the power of his talent, he influences people, forcing them to transform. According to one version, Lel in the Russian epic epic is a deity personifying Love. Some researchers are inclined to this, seeing in the frequently encountered phrases “Oh, Lado-Lel”, “Lada Lel-lyuli” an appeal to him.

• But opponents of this version believe that Lel (Lalya) is the son of Lada, the goddess of fertility. He is not romantic hero, he awakens in a woman the desire for motherhood. Fertility for a woman is the opportunity to give birth. According to ancient Slavic belief, to earn the attention of Lel means to get a child. And this is the highest good for the Slavs.

First productions

Despite the fact that Ostrovsky spoke very enthusiastically about Rimsky-Korsakov's music for his "Spring Tale", he was much closer to Tchaikovsky's music written for the play. And the thrill that Nikolai Andreevich himself experienced for his opera was not supported by the musicians and the audience of the first performances. So the first performances were saturated with disappointment.

The scenery for the stage was made by Viktor Vasnetsov, an itinerant artist, moreover, he designed both the theatrical production of the play and the opera. Using specific elements of Russian architecture, architecture, embroidery motifs, he achieved a realistic embodiment of the atmosphere of peasant life.

Lyricism is combined in "The Snow Maiden" with the epic, the poetry of nature - with human experiences, serious passions, "purified" from modern social conditions. History intertwined with fairy tale. At the same time, the play, with its pathos, with its whole orientation, was addressed modern man, his spiritual world, because it raises eternal and always modern moral questions: love and happiness, life and death, good and evil.

Dramatic action is enriched with elements of oral folk art, ritual games and amusements that came from the gray ages and are preserved in the people's memory. The text combines tragic and comic episodes, monologues alternate with short, dynamic replicas of characters, recitation - with pantomime, ballet - with singing. At the heart of all this lies a non-rhyming, but diversely rhythmic poetic text.

The modern reader, from whom Russian ritualism is moving away more and more, as if he himself takes part in the farewell to Shrovetide and in the wonderful, fantastic Kupala night; finds himself in the fabulous kingdom of the Berendeys, gets acquainted with pagan god Yarila, assimilates folk ideas about Spring, Winter, the Sun ... "The Snow Maiden" is woven from folklore motifs that came from fairy tales, songs and works of other genres of folk art.

Where did the author draw material for his offspring? A.N. Ostrovsky seriously studied the works of folklorists, ethnographers, and historians. He read Russian chronicles, got acquainted with the materials of expeditions, talked with connoisseurs ancient life, consulted with archaeologists and sensitively listened to their advice.

A number of plot situations are similar to the fairy tale about the snow girl; this tale was published in the collection of I.A. Khudyakov "Great Russian Tales". The image of the Berendey kingdom is associated with a folk legend about ancient tribe Berendey. There is a mention of the Berendey tribe in the annals of the 11th-13th centuries. The image of the Sun-Yarila goes back to the ancient calendar rites, and the god Yarila himself is one of the main gods of the Slavs.

The infinitely distant past in "The Snow Maiden" is recreated with the help of folk poetry. The folklore principle is carefully preserved by Ostrovsky as a fact of the deepest respect for our distant ancestors, their lives, their way of life, their ideas and beliefs. The image of "past times" is not an end in itself, much less a background. In the play, the motifs of antiquity are naturally intertwined with the shift of time and characters that are closely connected with history. Only modernity is not presented directly; it is to be felt by the reader of the play and the viewer. theatrical performance. The Snow Maiden anticipated the discoveries of the new art of the coming 20th century.

The artistic originality of The Snow Maiden is an organic, natural combination of words and music, but the poetry of the word is at the center of the play.

The heroes of Ostrovsky's "spring tale" live in the world of nature inspired by their beliefs, in the world of a fairy tale. At the same time, in contrast to the folk tale, the living conditions of the heroes, their “life” are conveyed by the writer quite definitely and concretely. Already from the "Prologue" it is obvious that the country where the events take place is located in the middle zone of the Slavic lands. Its nature is long harsh winters, a slowly coming and at first cold spring, which approaches gradually, not suddenly. It is replaced by the summer heyday, but it is also punctuated by hot and cool summer months. The Slavic people, living in the bosom of nature, bearing the code name "berendey", are full of unspent primordial spiritual and physical strength. For his tireless work he is rewarded with the fertility of the land.

The world of the Berendeys is cozy. It is contrasted in the second act of the play with internecine wars waged by "close neighbors surrounding kingdoms."

Heroes of Ostrovsky real people unreal land. They are related, close modern people. The capital of Tsar Berendey stands on the banks of the river. Behind her on a hill in the forest is the sanctuary of the main, but not the only god of the Berendey pagans - Yarila, the god of the Sun, fertility and warmth. Settlements were located around the capital's suburbs. Farmers live in Zarechnaya; they also raise cattle. Among them is a trade guest from Berendeev Posad Mizgir. Their remoteness from us in time, their inclusion in fairy-tale circumstances allow Ostrovsky to create characters in a deeply generalized and symbolic way in the poetic depiction of life. The motives that are tied in the Prologue largely determine further action and its outcome.

Snow Maiden. The motif of the miraculous birth of the Snow Maiden is one of the oldest fairy tales. But the story of the Snow Maiden in the play does not entirely coincide with any of the variants of the folk tale - Ostrovsky interprets folk story in my own way. From a fairy tale about an "unsuccessful" person, miraculous birth which from the fragile material of clay, sand, snow - predetermines its rapid destruction, the writer creates a story about a "dangerous" birth, which is fraught with seeds tragic fate. In the image of the Snow Maiden, two opposite principles are connected: beauty, inner purity, divine virginity, on the one hand, and the need for reckless love, on the other. This is the basis of the "spring fairy tale". The heroine passes the test of human indifference and love, equally destructive. These tests are real.

IN fairy tale one of the tricks is a ban that is violated central character, but it is important that this prohibition is not justified in folklore works psychologically. He is a given, which is accepted by both the narrator and the listener (reader). The Snow Maiden also violates the ban. But her act is deeply justified: she, following the irresistible laws of youth and nature, strives to communicate with people, warmth, love. Her purity and innocence are cold, but she painfully feels the indifference and coldness of others. The "spring", awakening, "spring" beginning lives in it. Perhaps that is why her appearance violates the habitual and orderly, seemingly forever established order of life in the Berendey settlement: the guys “went crazy, mobs, herds / Without memory rushed” after her.

The Snow Maiden brings confusion into the hearts of the simple-minded Berendeys. Moroz's simple calculation is not justified. Its divine essence, unusualness is visible to everyone and recognized by everyone. “The Snow Maiden does not look like our women and girls,” says the wealthy Slobozhan Murash, meaning that one can be sure of her moral stamina. Reproaches the Snow Maiden for excessive severity and modesty, "indecent" to the poor girl, her adoptive father Bobyl. He also understands that she is different from other girls of the settlement: "Some rich man is ready to buy for money / For the daughter of modesty, at least a little ...", and for the Snow Maiden - poor girl- She's in excess. Her beauty attracts the attention of suburban guys, but these are only external, superficial, fleeting feelings. Not getting what they want, they easily return to their former hobbies, brides, because "the new bribe is smooth."

So fairy tale characters The Snow Maiden is related by ideal purity, chastity and generosity. The heat of the soul, awakened in the spring, gives it the ability to love. Berendey's comparison of the Snow Maiden with a modest "thoughtfully bowed" lily of the valley, lost in the wilderness, is unusually close to folklore ideas about beauty and goodness. But the difference lies in the fact that the “lily of the valley essence” is one side of the character of the heroine; there is another - "ice", coldness, capable of melting under the bright rays of the sun. It is no coincidence that one of the main words of the Prologue is precisely this: “melt”. Perhaps the heroine is comparable to all northern nature, which slowly, with difficulty, wakes up after a long winter sleep, blooms violently in a short time and almost suddenly suddenly withers.

Mizgir. Even more unpredictable, at least unusual for a fairy tale, is the image of the beloved Snow Maiden Mizgir. In folk tales, a hero of this type is invariably a savior; op saves his beloved from a magical evil action, revives her, his love is hot, true and always saving. So it is here: it seems that it is Mizgir who is obliged to snatch the Snow Maiden from the cold captivity of Frost, to save her from the threat of the burning and cruel heat of the Yarila-Sun.

The Snow Maiden received a magical gift from her mother, a wreath of "love" enchanting flowers. According to fairytale motif, she must fall in love with the first person she meets. However, the meeting with Mizgir is not an accident. Mizgir was looking for her, for this he was in the forest, he struggled with obstacles - obsession and Leshim. But Mizgir is distinguished by the fact that he does not seek salvation, the deliverance of a girl, as happens in a folk tale, but thinks only of mastering her and saving himself. To her timid plea: “Save your Snow Maiden!” - he emphasized prosaically, cruelly, although in the form of “politely” he answers:

Child,
save you? Your love is salvation
Exile. At sunrise
Mizgir will show you as his wife,
And the king's true wrath will be subdued.

Here is his main benefit: marriage with the Snow Maiden should save him from the royal wrath. He doesn't even think that higher power can interfere in his fate and the fate of his beloved, which can only be saved by a sincere and selfless love. These arguments are especially significant also because they are not put into the mouth of a coward, not weak man but a powerful and courageous hero.

Mizgir evaluates the Snow Maiden as a commodity: she can be exchanged for a rare unique pearl mined in distant seas and countries. He expresses this idea frankly, referring to the appreciation of beauty in the markets in the countries of the East, where robbers trade in slaves.

The Snow Maiden objects to Mizgir: “I don’t value / My love cheaply, but I won’t sell it.” Dissimilarity to the rest, the uniqueness of not only the face, but also the personality only fuels Mizgir's interest, forcing him to achieve his goal at any cost. The Snow Maiden becomes for him the goal of life, the subject of an all-encompassing passion. Ostrovsky does not simplify anything, does not make Mizgir an ordinary tempter-villain. Everything is more difficult. At a strict trial before Tsar Berendey, Mizgir does not betray his love for the Snow Maiden. “Mizgir’s bride is the Snow Maiden,” he declares calmly and adamantly and promises the king:

The fire of my love will ignite
Snow Maiden untouched heart.
I swear to you by the great gods,
The Snow Maiden will be my wife,
And if not, let me punish
The law of the king and the terrible wrath of the gods!

Mizgir violates the law of the Berendey kingdom, refuses Kupava, explaining to her the reason: the former lover can no longer correspond to his ideas about the female ideal. The meeting with the Snow Maiden changed his life values.

For Kupava, Mizgir is desirable, for he is stately, strong, handsome; she admires the "rough masculine blush" of a loved one.

The Snow Maiden, who received the gift of love from the hands of Spring, has a different idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba loved one. The Snow Maiden not only sees in front of her a curly-haired guy, “father’s son”, “Mizgiri’s kind”, similar to the others, but with all her heart she feels exactly this one-of-a-kind person, proud, brave, courageous, experienced a lot and domineering. The Snow Maiden in Mizgir appreciates his courage, his imperious will, ready to bow before her feminine charm And that's what's most important to her.

Lel. In the original plan, Ostrovsky wrote: "Lel is the son of the sun." In the final text of the play, Frost's speech contains the words: "The sun's beloved son is a shepherd." He is really the son of the Sun and is not afraid of its burning rays, he lies, "when all living things run from the Sun." This is its uniqueness. But Lel acts in the play as a simple resident of the Berendey settlement. He differs from other villagers only in that he is less attached to the earth than they are, but closer than they are to nature.

The image of Lelya may evoke an association with cupid in the mind of the reader, but there are no direct indications of this in The Snow Maiden. Ostrovsky did not liken him to anyone. Lel is only pleasing to the god Yarila, he is his minion, because Yarilo patronizes the herds. The shepherd Lel is named after the deity. The gods gave him another wonderful quality: he composes songs and hymns.

Lel in the play is a poetic image that plays an important artistic role: connects specific imagery with artistic metaphor. He is a man for whom the impossible is familiar. The poet Lel seems to demonstrate the confidence of ancient people in the correctness of their understanding of the world, for example, he tells that the day has eyes and opens them: “The day woke up and opens the eyelids / Luminous eyes.” At the same time, there is another thought of the writer here: ancient man was capable of a poetic attitude to life. Lelya's speech is bright and figurative. His singing attracts girls, and Tsar Berendey is sure that the singing of a young man was granted by the gods.

Lel's songs have a stable connection with both folklore and myth. This is most clearly manifested in the song "A cloud conspired with thunder ...". It was performed during a ritual festivity at the request of the king-priest. In the spirit of folk symbolism, here clouds meet with thunder (thunderstorm). This meeting symbolizes a love union that encourages nature to bear fruit, and man to love.

Berendey. Often in folk tales, the image of the king is unusual, sometimes even funny. He is also unusual in The Snow Maiden. Berendey is shown surrounded by buffoons and guslars. This is a kind and intelligent ruler who knows how to appreciate beauty in art and nature. The highest good for the state, he considers the multiplication of natural resources and the preservation of a reasonable and fair order.

Love, according to Berendey, is "a great gift of nature", which should be protected and appreciated. That is why the violation of love vows for him is a state crime. Berendey in the highest degree democratic: he believes that love "does not tolerate coercion."

"Snegurochka" - "spring tale" by A.N. Ostrovsky. Written in March-August 1873. First publication: Vestnik Evropy (1873, No. 9). Upon completion of work on the play, A.N. Ostrovsky told N.A. Nekrasov: "In this work I go out on a new road." The novelty of the play, perceived as the playwright's "prelude to the historical galleries", did not meet with unequivocal approval. I.S. Turgenev was "captivated by the beauty and lightness of the language of the play", highly appreciated the poetry of the national tradition contained in it. But those who appreciated the gift of a satirist and accuser in Ostrovsky were disappointed. Criticism ironically noted the similarity of some motifs of the "spring tale" with Shakespeare's comedy "Dream in midsummer night". The habit of perceiving Ostrovsky as an everyday writer of the "dark kingdom" led to the rejection of the "ghostly-meaningless" images of the play and the assessment of the Berendeys as "a people as stupid as fantastic" (V.P. Burenin).

The source of the poetic imagery of the play "The Snow Maiden" by Ostrovsky was Slavic mythology. The plot was based folk tale about a snow maiden (published by I.A. Khudyakov in 1862). Information about the beliefs and religious ideas of the ancient Slavs Ostrovsky learned from fundamental research A.N. Afanasiev "Poetic views of the Slavs on nature" (1865-1869). Ritual songs, games, figurative motifs of lyrical monologues were compiled from the records of folklorists and ethnographers A.V. Tereshchenko, T.I. Filippova, P.N. Rybnikova and others. Poetic size the songs of the harp choir, which begins the second act, the playwright brought closer to the rhythm of the prose "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". The Snow Maiden can be regarded as a mythological and poetic prologue to Ostrovsky's late dramaturgy, the result of his reflections on the spiritual foundations of Russian life. The author's definition of the genre as a "spring tale" gives the key to the content of the play about the spring of folk life.

The "initial", "early" time of the action is the right time Slavic tribe. The space of life of the Berendeys (the name is taken from The Tale of Bygone Years, but there it belongs to the allied Rus' Turkic tribe) spiritualized and animated, material and beautiful. This is the dawn of the universe - the golden age: "Cheerful are the cities in the country of the Berendeys, joyful are the songs in the groves and dales / The world is red with Berendey's power." The fabulously utopian kingdom of Berendey is built on the principles of truth and love. The religion of the Berendeys is the “natural”, “natural” religion of the people, in which the cause of the law is “written in the hearts” and sacredly observed by all. Berendey acts as a wise and fair guardian of the law, - “ great king happy Berendey”, “for all the orphans an intercessor”, “the father of his land”.

The children of nature, the Berendeys live with her in happy harmony, joyfully obeying her basic law - the law of love: “Nature invariably sets a time for love for everyone ...” Love for the Berendeys is the beginning of life; "hotness of love" necessary condition its continuation. It binds together all the elements of the universe, ensures its epic balance. Ritual, ritual love is the earthly embodiment of the sacred marriage of earth and Heaven, the key to the well-being of the Berendey kingdom. In sacred time (Yarilin Day) in the reserved forest, the marriage celebration is performed to the glory of the supreme deity Yarila: “There is no more pleasing Yarila sacrifice!”. As children of nature, the Berendeys are paganly indifferent to the “personal” principle in love. (This is especially noticeable in the impersonal affectionateness of the “favorite of the sun” the shepherd Lel, in the “lovefulness” of Elena the Beautiful, etc.) This is where the grain lies. tragic conflict.

The appearance of the Snow Maiden among people threatens to destroy the natural order of life. The daughter of Spring and Frost, she does not “know love at all” and therefore, in the eyes of the Berendeys, she acts as a violator of the natural law: “Every living thing in the world must love ...”. The coldness of the heroine, her "otherworldly" beauty gives rise to jealousy, abuse, and strife among the Berendeys. There comes a “great chill in the hearts”, the religious “service to beauty” disappears, the whole way of life of people is violated. In anger, Yarila knows no mercy and deprives the Berendeys of blessed warmth: short summer"year by year it becomes shorter, and the springs are colder...".

The grain of the tragic conflict sprouts when the "proud spirit" Mizgir, carried away by the beauty of the Snow Maiden, cheats on the beautiful Kupava. This unheard-of violation of human law heralds the end of a carefree and trouble-free golden age. Personal willfulness love feeling encroaches on the very essence of the religion of love of the Berendeys. Mizgir and Snegurochka, alien to the tribal unity of the Berendeys, bring chaos and destruction into their harmonious and orderly existence. The “personal” enters into an insoluble contradiction with the “generic” and its death becomes inevitable. The Snow Maiden dies, having begged the gift of love from Mother Spring for the sake of familiarizing herself with the human race. Her "otherworldly" beauty melted under the furious rays of the supreme patron of the local world. Mizgir, “deceived by the gods,” dies, throwing himself into the lake from Yarilina Mountain: “If the gods are deceivers, it’s not worth living in the world!”

Cruelty to the lawless manifestations of personal feelings sounds in the words of the reigning sage Berendey: “The snow maiden’s sad death and the terrible death of Mizgir cannot disturb us. The sun knows whom to punish and pardon. A true judgment has been made!..” The conflict between “law” and “will”, “one's own” and “alien” leads to the final catastrophe. This is how “the birth of tragedy from the spirit of the epic” takes place.

Ostrovsky's The Snow Maiden was staged for the first time on May 11, 1873 at the Maly Theater (Moscow). The music for the performance was written by P.I. Chaikovsky. The title role was played by G.N. Fedotov. The play was staged for the first time at the Alexandrinsky Theater (Petersburg) on ​​December 27, 1900, for a benefit performance by K.A. Varlamov, the performer of the role of Tsar Berendey. The title role was played by V.F. Komissarzhevskaya. Among other productions, it is worth noting the performance of the New Theater (Moscow), which premiered on September 8, 1900. Directed by A.P. Lensky's play sounded like a drama of love. IN Art Theater(Moscow) the play was staged by K.S. Stanislavsky (first performance - September 24, 1900, the role of Berendey was played by V.I. Kachalov).

In 1881 N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the opera The Snow Maiden, first staged on January 29, 1882 at the Mariinsky Theater (Petersburg), conducted by E.F. Guide. Among other productions of the opera, one should note the premiere on October 8, 1885 of the Private Russian Opera by S.I. Mamontova ( decoration performance - B.M. Vasnetsov, I.I. Levitan, K.A. Korovin). IN Bolshoi Theater(Moscow) the first premiere of the opera took place on January 26, 1893.