THE ARIA-PRAYER ‘LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!’ AS THE DRAMATIC CENTRE OF ANDRIY'S CHARACTER IN SEMEN HULAK-ARTEMOVSKY'S OPERA «ZAPOROZHETS BEYOND THE DANUBE»

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the character of Andrii in Semen Hulak-Artemovsky’s opera «Zaporozhets Beyond the Danube» from the perspectives of musical dramaturgy and performance, focusing on the aria-prayer “Lord of Heaven and Earth!”. The study concentrates on the artistic embodiment of this character as the bearer of the heroic and patriotic idea of the work and on clarifying his role in the overall dramaturgy of the opera. It is established that the character of Andrii performs an important ideological and compositional function, elevating the plot development from the plane of a domestic comic genre to the level of a national and patriotic interpretation of the historical fate of the Ukrainian Cossacks. The article demonstrates that the hero embodies the ideal of a young Cossack whose character organically combines personal love with deep devotion to the homeland, which endows the image with a generalized symbolic meaning. The intonational as well as modal-harmonic features of Andrii’s vocal part are analyzed, revealing their connection with the traditions of Ukrainian song-romance lyricism, particularly the broad cantilena melodic style, the smooth wave-like development of the melodic line, and expressive modal shifts that create subtle tonal contrasts. The transformation of musical expressive means in shaping the emotional and psychological portrait of the hero is traced through the gradual dynamic development of the aria. Particular attention is paid to the dramaturgical significance of the choral episodes, which expand the individual expression of the character into a collective musical statement. The performance aspects of Andrii’s vocal part are also outlined, emphasizing the necessity of cantilena vocal production, precise intonation, and a profound understanding of the artistic and dramatic content. It is concluded that the image of Andrii endows the opera with an elevated national and patriotic resonance and emerges as a symbol of the youthful spiritual strength of the Ukrainian people.