Who is Mizgir from the fairy tale Snow Maiden? Snow Maiden in the kingdom of the Berendeys
"Snow Maiden" Ostrovsky
“The Snow Maiden” analysis of the work - theme, idea, genre, plot, composition, characters, issues and other issues are discussed in this article.
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky can rightfully be considered the creator of the repertoire for the national Russian theater. Despite the fact that he became famous most of all for his works about the morals of the Russian merchants (which the critic Nikolai Dobrolyubov very aptly nicknamed “ dark kingdom"), among the gloomy and slightly scary stories from the life of Zamoskvoretsky merchants there is a very bright and fabulous work - "Snow Maiden", written in 1873.
At the core plot For the play, the playwright used a Russian folk tale from Alexander Afanasyev’s collection “Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature.” That is why the Slavic higher and lower deities act in the play: Yarilo, Frost, Spring, Leshy. The peculiarity is that the play “The Snow Maiden,” unlike all the previous ones, is written in verse, but without rhyme. However, the single rhythm of the work made it possible to set it to music. The whole play is a kind of poetic stylization of Russian folklore, which Ostrovsky was then passionate about.
This is explained by the fact that in 1873 the Maly Theater troupe was forced to move to the Bolshoi Theater for the duration of repairs. So under one roof there were opera, ballet and drama troupe. Then the Moscow City Management Commission decided imperial theaters stage an extravaganza performance with the participation of all artists. Ostrovsky composed the play in short term, finishing on his fiftieth birthday. And the music for the play was written by a young and then little-known composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Thus, Ostrovsky’s lyrical play became a multi-level, multi-layered work, as it embodied both the folk tale about the Snow Maiden girl and the folk legend about ancient tribe Berendeyev, and mythological features of Slavic legends, and ancient rituals and songs. And Ostrovsky’s “spring tale” breathes such purity of poetry that it is reminiscent of Pushkin’s fairy tales. And in its meaning there is a lot of Pushkin in it: life appears as the magic of beauty and tragedy at the same time, and goodness in a person turns out to be the natural basis.
Therefore, the life of nature in the play looks like a kingdom of harsh contrasts of cold and heat, lifelessness and bloom. Ostrovsky writes about nature as about man. The landscape resembles a portrait into which the artist peers. An abundance of emotional epithets, comparisons that are made natural phenomena on par with human feelings, emphasize the closeness of natural and human principles in the minds of the playwright.
The play takes place in the kingdom of Berendey. It is more reminiscent of a kind of utopian state in which people live according to the laws of honor and conscience, fearing the wrath of the gods: this is a kind of ideal social order, created by Ostrovsky. Even the tsar, who in Rus' was the sole ruler, autocrat, embodies in the work folk wisdom. He worries about his people in a fatherly way: it seems to him that his subjects have stopped noticing the beauty of nature, but are more likely to experience vanity and envy. This is why Yarilo got angry with the Berendeys, who every year freezes people more and more. Then Berendey reveals one of the main laws of nature: “Every living thing must love”. And he asks his assistant Bermyata to gather as many brides and grooms as possible on Yarilin’s day in order to sanctify their marriage and make a sacrifice to the Sun God.
However, the main dramatic conflict connected precisely with the confrontation between love and "cold heart" in the soul of the Snow Maiden, who lives in the cold purity of loneliness, and with her soul strives for the fire of love, which is why she must die. Father Frost warns mother Vesna-Krasna about this: he says that Yarilo has vowed to take revenge on him using their daughter Snegurochka. They say that when she truly falls in love, Yarilo will melt her with his hot rays.
The Snow Maiden did not immediately learn what true love was. Finding herself in the family of childless Bobyl, the girl expects the same love that she received from her mother and father. But Bobyl and Bobylikha perceive adopted daughter as a kind of bait for rich suitors. Only the suitors are not the same: many guys quarreled with their girlfriends because of the Snow Maiden, but neither she is ready to give her heart, nor are the adoptive parents satisfied with ordinary Berendeys.
The Snow Maiden herself likes the shepherd boy Lel, who generously bestows his songs on all the girls in the area. This is what hurts the heroine: she wants only her to be loved. When there is a rich groom, "trade guest" Mizgir, ready to give up all his wealth for the sake of the Snow Maiden, she cannot find feelings for him in her heart. Everyone is unhappy: Kupava, Mizgir’s failed bride, Mizgir, who can no longer think about anyone except the Snow Maiden, who captivated him with her beauty, and the Snow Maiden herself suffers because she does not know what true love is.
By turning to her mother for help, the heroine receives what she wanted more than anything else in the world - the opportunity to love. Spring-Red says that she will love the first person she meets. Fortunately, it turns out to be Mizgir, and the reader can imagine that now everything will end happily. But no, Mizgir, intoxicated by the Snow Maiden’s love, wants to show everyone that he was able to achieve his goal - the beauty’s reciprocity. Not listening to the girl’s requests, he literally drags her up the mountain where the Berendeys met the dawn, and under the first rays of the sun the Snow Maiden dissolves. Having yielded to human law, she melts “from the sweet feelings of love.”
The melting of the Snow Maiden is a victory over the “traces of cold” in the heart. She was ready to die for the right to love with all her heart. Mizgir said about this: “Love and fear fought in her soul”. Now fear has been cast aside, and the Snow Maiden is last minutes her short life was given only to love.
Mizgir is also fearless. He kept his promise: “Trouble will come - we will die together”. The death of the Snow Maiden is a disaster for him, so he rushes into the lake to unite with the cool water into which the Snow Maiden has turned, recently warm in his hot embrace.
But Tsar Berendey calls the death of the Snow Maiden "sad", Then "wonderful". The difference between these epithets suggests to the reader a way out of tragedy into affirmation of life. The death of the Snow Maiden and the Berendey holiday are nearby. Its extinction brings a flood of light into the world. No wonder the king says:
Snow Maiden's sad death
And the terrible death of Mizgir
They cannot disturb us; The sun knows
Whom to punish and pardon...
Thus, the tragedy of the individual dissolves in the general chorus of nature. In the words of Pushkin, the author’s sadness is bright because the human soul is bright: it turns out to be free and fearless in love, it stronger than fear self-preservation.
The action takes place in the country of the Berendeys in mythical times. The end of winter comes - the goblin hides in a hollow. Spring flies to Krasnaya Gorka near Berendeyev Posad, the capital of Tsar Berendey, and with it the birds return: cranes, swans - Spring's retinue. The land of the Berendeys greets Spring with cold, and all because of Spring’s flirtations with Frost, the old grandfather, Spring herself admits. Their daughter was born - Snegurochka. Spring is afraid to quarrel with Frost for the sake of her daughter and is forced to endure everything. The “jealous” Sun itself is angry. That’s why Spring calls all the birds to warm up by dancing, just as people themselves do in the cold. But just when the fun begins - the choirs of birds and their dances - a blizzard rises. Spring hides birds in the bushes until the new morning and promises to warm them up. Meanwhile, Frost comes out of the forest and reminds Vesna that they have a common child. Each of the parents takes care of the Snow Maiden in their own way. Frost wants to hide her in the forest so that she can live among obedient animals in a forest chamber. Spring wants a different future for her daughter: so that she lives among people, among cheerful friends and children playing and dancing until midnight. The peaceful meeting turns into an argument. Frost knows that the sun god of the Berendeys, the hot-tempered Yarilo, has vowed to destroy the Snow Maiden. As soon as the fire of love is lit in her heart, it will melt it. Spring doesn't believe it. After a quarrel, Moroz offers to give their daughter to be raised by the childless Bobyl in the settlement, where the boys are unlikely to pay attention to their Snow Maiden. Spring agrees.
Frost calls Snow Maiden from the forest and asks if she wants to live with people. The Snow Maiden admits that she has long been yearning for girlish songs and round dances, that she likes the songs of the young shepherd Lelya. This especially frightens the father, and he tells the Snow Maiden, more than anything else, to beware of Lel, in whom the “scorching rays” of the Sun live. Separating from his daughter, Moroz entrusts the care of her to his forest “leshutki”. And finally gives way to Spring. Begin folk festivals- farewell to Maslenitsa. Berendeys greet the arrival of Spring with songs.
Bobyl went into the forest for firewood and saw the Snow Maiden dressed like a hawthorn. She wanted to stay and live with Bobylya and her adopted daughter.
Life is not easy for the Snow Maiden with Bobyl and Bobylikha: the named parents are angry that she, with her excessive bashfulness and modesty, has scared off all the suitors and they are not able to get rich with the help of their adopted daughter’s profitable marriage.
Lel comes to stay with the Bobylys because they alone are ready to let him into the house for money collected by other families. The rest are afraid that their wives and daughters will not resist Lel's charm. The Snow Maiden does not understand Lel’s requests for a kiss for a song, for a gift of a flower. She plucks a flower with surprise and gives it to Lelya, but he, having sung a song and seen other girls calling him, throws away the already withered flower of the Snow Maiden and runs away to new fun. Many girls quarrel with guys who are inattentive to them because of their passion for the beauty of the Snow Maiden. Only Kupava, the daughter of the rich Sloboda resident Murash, is affectionate towards the Snow Maiden. She tells her about her happiness: a rich trading guest from the royal settlement of Mizgir has wooed her. Then Mizgir himself appears with two bags of gifts - bride price for girls and boys. Kupava, together with Mizgir, approaches the Snow Maiden, who is spinning in front of the house, and calls her to last time lead girls' round dances. But when he saw the Snow Maiden, Mizgir fell passionately in love with her and rejected Kupava. He orders his treasury to be carried to Bobyl's house. The Snow Maiden resists these changes, not wishing harm to Kupava, but the bribed Bobyl and Bobylikha force the Snow Maiden to even drive Lel away, which Mizgir demands. The shocked Kupava asks Mizgir about the reasons for his betrayal and hears in response that the Snow Maiden won his heart with her modesty and bashfulness, and Kupava’s courage now seems to him a harbinger of future betrayal. The offended Kupava asks for protection from the Berendeys and sends curses to Mizgir. She wants to drown herself, but Lel stops her, and she falls unconscious into his arms.
In the chambers of Tsar Berendey, a conversation takes place between him and his close associate Bermyata about the troubles in the kingdom: for fifteen years Yarilo has been unkind to the Berendeys, the winters are getting colder, the springs are getting colder, and in some places there is snow in the summer. Berendey is sure that Yarilo is angry with the Berendeys for cooling their hearts, for “cold feelings.” To quench the Sun’s anger, Berendey decides to appease him with a sacrifice: on Yarilin’s day, the next day, to tie together as many brides and grooms as possible in marriage. However, Bermyata reports that because of some Snow Maiden who showed up in the settlement, all the girls quarreled with the guys and it is impossible to find brides and grooms for marriage. Then Kupava, abandoned by Mizgir, runs in and cries out all her grief to the king. The king orders to find Mizgir and convene the Berendeys for trial. Mizgir is brought in, and Berendey asks Bermyata how to punish him for cheating on his bride. Bermyata offers to force Mizgir to marry Kupava. But Mizgir boldly objects that his bride is the Snow Maiden. Kupava also does not want to marry a traitor. The Berendeys don't have death penalty, and Mizgir is sentenced to exile. Mizgir only asks the king to look at the Snow Maiden himself. Seeing the Snow Maiden who came with Bobyl and Bobylikha, the Tsar was amazed by her beauty and tenderness and wants to find a worthy husband for her: such a “sacrifice” will certainly appease Yarila. The Snow Maiden admits that her heart does not know love. The king turns to his wife for advice. Elena the Beautiful says that the only one who can melt the Snow Maiden’s heart is Lel. Lel invites the Snow Maiden to make wreaths before the morning sun and promises that by morning love will awaken in her heart. But Mizgir does not want to give up the Snow Maiden to her opponent and asks permission to enter into the fight for the Snow Maiden’s heart. Berendey allows and is confident that at dawn the Berendeys will joyfully meet the Sun, which will accept their atoning “sacrifice.” The people glorify the wisdom of their king Berendey.
At dawn, girls and boys begin to dance in circles, in the center are the Snow Maiden and Lel, while Mizgir appears and disappears in the forest. Admired by Lelya’s singing, the king invites him to choose a girl who will reward him with a kiss. The Snow Maiden wants Lel to choose her, but Lel chooses Kupava. Other girls make peace with their loved ones, forgiving them of their past infidelities. Lel is looking for Kupava, who has gone home with her father, and meets a crying Snow Maiden, but he does not feel sorry for her for these “jealous tears” caused not by love, but by envy of Kupava. He tells her about secret lovemaking, which is more valuable than a public kiss, and only for true love is he ready to take her to meet the Sun in the morning. Lel reminds how he cried when Snegurochka did not respond to his love before, and goes to the guys, leaving Snegurochka to wait. And yet, in the heart of the Snow Maiden, there is not love yet, but only pride that Lel will lead her to meet Yarila.
But then Mizgir finds the Snow Maiden, he pours out his soul to her, full of burning, real male passion. He, who has never asked a girl for love, falls to his knees in front of her. But the Snow Maiden is afraid of his passion, and his threats to take revenge for his humiliation are also terrible. She also rejects the priceless pearls with which Mizgir is trying to buy her love, and says that she will exchange her love for Lel’s love. Then Mizgir wants to get the Snow Maiden by force. She calls Lelya, but the “leshutki”, whom Father Frost instructed to take care of his daughter, come to her aid. They take Mizgir into the forest, luring him with the ghost of the Snow Maiden, and he wanders in the forest all night, hoping to overtake the ghost Snow Maiden.
Meanwhile, even the heart of the king’s wife was melted by Lel’s songs. But the shepherd deftly dodges both Elena the Beautiful, leaving her in the care of Bermyata, and the Snow Maiden, from whom he runs away when he sees Kupava. It was precisely this kind of reckless and ardent love that his heart was waiting for, and he advises the Snow Maiden to “eavesdrop” on Kupavi’s hot speeches in order to learn to love. Snow Maiden in last hope runs to mother Vesna and asks her to teach her real feelings. On the last day when Spring can fulfill her daughter’s request, since the next day Yarilo and Summer take over, Spring, rising from the water of the lake, reminds the Snow Maiden of her father’s warning. But the Snow Maiden is ready to give her life in a moment true love. Her mother puts a magic wreath of flowers and herbs on her and promises that she will love the first young man she meets. The Snow Maiden meets Mizgir and responds to his passion. The immensely happy Mizgir does not believe in the danger and considers the Snow Maiden’s desire to hide from Yarila’s rays to be an empty fear. He solemnly brings the bride to Yarilina Mountain, where all the Berendeys have gathered. At the first rays of the sun, the Snow Maiden melts, blessing the love that brings her death. It seems to Mizgir that the Snow Maiden deceived him, that the gods mocked him, and in despair he throws himself from Yarilina Mountain into the lake. “The Snow Maiden’s sad death and the terrible death of Mizgir cannot disturb us,” says the Tsar, and all the Berendeys hope that Yarila’s anger will now fade away, that he will grant the Berendeys strength, harvest, life.
Retold by E.P. Sudareva.
In The Snow Maiden, lyricism is combined with epic, the poetry of nature is combined with human experiences, serious passions, “purified” from modern ones. social conditions. History intertwined with fairy tale. At the same time, the play, with its pathos and its entire focus, was addressed to modern man, his spiritual world, for in it rise the eternal and always modern moral issues: 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 hoary centuries and survived into people's memory. The text combines tragic and comic episodes, monologues alternate with short, dynamic lines of characters, recitation - with pantomime, ballet - with singing. All this is based on a rhymeless, but variedly rhythmic poetic text.
The modern reader, from whom Russian rituals are moving away more and more, seems to be taking part in the farewell to Maslenitsa and the wonderful, fantastic Kupala night; finds himself in the fairy-tale kingdom of the Berendeys, meets pagan god Yariloy, assimilates folk performances about Spring, Winter, the Sun... “The Snow Maiden” is woven from folklore motifs, which came from fairy tales, songs and works of other genres of folk art.
Where did the author get the material for his brainchild? A.N. Ostrovsky seriously studied the works of folklorists, ethnographers, and historians. He read Russian chronicles, became acquainted with expedition materials, and talked with experts ancient life, consulted with archaeologists and listened sensitively to their advice.
A number of plot situations are similar to the fairy tale about the Snow Maiden girl; This tale was published in the collection of I.A. Khudyakov "Great Russian Tales". The image of the Berendey kingdom is associated with folk legend about the ancient Berendey tribe. The Berendey tribe is mentioned in the chronicles of the 11th-13th centuries. The image of the Sun-Yarila goes back to ancient calendar rituals, 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 life, their way of life, their ideas and beliefs. The image of “past times” is not an end in itself, and certainly not a background. The play naturally intertwines the motifs of antiquity with the shift of time and characters closely related to history. Only modernity is not presented directly; it must be felt by the reader of the play and the viewer. theatrical performance. “The Snow Maiden” anticipated the discoveries of 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.
Heroes " spring fairy tale"Ostrovsky live in a world of nature inspired by their beliefs, in the world of a fairy tale. At the same time, unlike a folk tale, the living conditions of the heroes, their “life” are conveyed by the writer quite definitely and specifically. 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 initially cold spring, which approaches gradually, not suddenly. It is replaced by summer bloom, but it is also interspersed with hot and cool summer months. The Slavic people, living in the lap of nature, bearing the code name “Berendei”, are full of unspent pristine spiritual and physical strength. For his tireless work he is rewarded by the fertility of the lands.
The world of the Berendeys is cozy. He is contrasted in the second act of the play internecine wars who lead "close neighbors and surrounding kingdoms."
Ostrovsky's heroes are real people of an unreal land. They are related, close modern people. The capital of Tsar Berendey stands on the banks of the river. Behind it, on a hill in the forest, is the sanctuary of the main, but not the only god of the pagan Berendeys - Yarila, the god of the Sun, fertility and warmth. There are settlements around the capital's suburbs. Farmers live across the river; They also raise livestock. Among them is a trade guest from Berendeyev Posad, Mizgir. Their distance from us in time and their inclusion in fairy-tale circumstances allow Ostrovsky to create characters in a deeply generalized and symbolic way when depicting life poetically. The motives that emerge in the Prologue largely determine further action and its outcome.
Snow Maiden. The motive for 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 versions of the folk tale - Ostrovsky interprets the folklore plot in his own way. From a fairy-tale story about an “unlucky” man, whose miraculous birth from the fragile material of clay, sand, snow predetermines his rapid destruction, the writer creates a story about a “dangerous” birth that contains seeds tragic fate. The image of the Snow Maiden combines two opposite principles: 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 is tested by human indifference and love, which are equally destructive. These tests are real.
IN fairy tale one of the techniques is a prohibition 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 action is deeply justified: following the insurmountable laws of youth and nature, she strives for communication with people, warmth, and love. Her purity and innocence are cold, but she is painfully aware of the indifference and coldness of others. The “spring”, awakening, “spring” principle lives in it. Perhaps that is why her appearance disrupts the usual and orderly, seemingly forever established order of life in the Berendey settlement: the guys “went crazy, in hordes, herds / They rushed without memory” after her.
The Snow Maiden brings confusion into the hearts of the simple-minded Berendeys. Moroz's simple calculation does not work. Her divine essence and unusualness are visible to everyone and recognized by everyone. “The Snow Maiden doesn’t look like our women and girls,” says the rich Sloboda resident Murash, meaning that in her moral fortitude you can be sure. Snegurochka is reproached for her excessive severity and modesty, which is “indecent” for a poor girl, by her adoptive father Bobyl. He also understands that she is different from other girls in the settlement: “Some rich man is ready to buy for money / For his daughter, at least a little modesty...”, but Snegurochka, a poor girl, has it in abundance. 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 makes them smooth.”
Co fairy-tale characters The Snow Maiden is united by ideal purity, chastity and spiritual generosity. The heat of the soul, awakened in 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 folklore performances about beauty and goodness. But the difference is that the “lily of the valley essence” is one side of the heroine’s character; there is another - “ice”, coldness that can melt 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 wildly in a short time and almost unexpectedly suddenly fades.
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 certainly a savior; he saves his beloved from the magical evil action, revives her, his love is ardent, faithful 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 warmth of Yarila the Sun.
The Snow Maiden received a magical gift from her mother, a wreath of “love” enchanting flowers. According to the 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, struggling with obstacles - obsession and Leshim. But what distinguishes Mizgir is that he does not seek salvation, the deliverance of the girl, as happens in a folk tale, but only thinks of mastering her and saving himself. To her timid plea: “Save your Snow Maiden!” - he emphatically prosaically, cruelly, although in form he answers “politely”:
Child,
Save you? Your love is salvation
To the exile. At sunrise
Mizgir will show you as his wife,
And the king’s truthful anger will be tamed.
This is his main benefit: marriage with the Snow Maiden should save him from the royal wrath. He doesn't even allow the thought that higher powers can interfere in his fate and the fate of his beloved, which can only be saved by sincere and selfless love. These reasonings are especially significant because they are not put into the mouth of a coward, not weak person, 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 markets in Eastern countries, where robbers trade in slaves.
The Snow Maiden objects to Mizgir: “I value / My love inexpensively, but I will not sell it.” The difference from others, the uniqueness of not only his face, but also his 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 complicated. At the strict trial before Tsar Berendey, Mizgir does not betray his love for the Snow Maiden. “Mizgir’s bride is the Snow Maiden,” he calmly and adamantly declares and promises the king:
The fire of my love will ignite
The Snow Maiden's untouched heart.
I swear to you by the great gods,
The Snow Maiden will be my wife,
And if not, let him punish me
The law of the king and the terrible wrath of the gods!
Mizgir violates the law of the Berendey kingdom, abandons Kupava, explaining to her the reason: his former beloved can no longer correspond to his ideas about feminine ideal. The meeting with the Snow Maiden changed his life values.
For Kupava, Mizgir is desirable because he is stately, strong, and handsome; she admires the “coarse male blush” of her loved one.
The Snow Maiden, who received the gift of love from the hands of Spring, has a different idea about her beloved. The Snow Maiden not only sees in front of her a curly-haired guy, “father of a son,” “Mizgirye’s clan,” similar to the others, but with all her soul she feels exactly this, a one-of-a-kind man, proud, brave, courageous, who has experienced a lot and is powerful. The Snow Maiden in Mizgir appreciates his courage, his powerful will, ready to bow before her feminine charm - and this is precisely what is most important for her.
Lel. In the original plan, Ostrovsky wrote: “Lel is the sunny son.” In the final text of the play, Moroz’s speech contains the words: “The Sun’s beloved son is a shepherd.” He is truly the son of the Sun and is not afraid of its burning rays; he lies down “when all living things flee from the Sun.” This is what makes it so unusual. 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 tied to the land, but is closer to nature than they are.
The image of Lel may evoke in the reader’s mind an association with cupid, but there are no direct indications in this regard in “The Snow Maiden”. Ostrovsky did not liken him to anyone. Lel is only pleasing to the god Yarila, he is his favorite, because Yarilo patronizes the herds. Shepherd Lel is named after the deity. The gods gave him one more excellent quality: He composes songs and hymns.
Lel in the play - poetic image, which plays an important artistic role: connects concrete 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 has woken up and opens the eyelids / Of shining eyes.” At the same time, there is another thought from the writer: ancient man was capable of a poetic attitude towards life. Lelya's speech is bright and figurative. His singing attracts girls, and Tsar Berendey is sure: the young man’s singing was gifted by the gods.
Lelya's songs have a strong 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 celebration at the request of the priest-king. In the spirit of folk symbolism, clouds meet thunder (thunderstorm) here. 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. He considers multiplication to be the highest good for the state natural resources and maintaining a reasonable and just order.
Love, according to Berendey, is “a great gift of nature” that should be protected and appreciated. That is why breaking love vows is a state crime for him. Berendey is extremely democratic: he believes that love “does not tolerate coercion.”
The action takes place in prehistoric times in the kingdom of the Berendeys. Spring is beginning, but Krasnaya Gorka is still covered with snow. Not far away is Berendeyev Posad - the capital of Tsar Berendey. All the houses and the palace itself are wooden, decorated with intricate carvings.
Leshy sits on the Red Hill and watches the Red Spring descend on cranes, swans and geese. However, the country of the Berendeys greets her with cold - the birds are freezing. Vesna admits that all this is happening because she once began to flirt with old Frost and is now in his captivity. She would like to leave the old one, but they have a daughter, Snegurochka. Therefore, Spring, and with it the Berendeys, endure the whims of Frost: now the heat, now the bitter cold. And the “jealous Sun” frowns, which is why severe winters and cold springs occur.
Spring invites the birds to warm up by dancing, but as the fun begins, the wind rises, snow falls and Frost appears. He says that he had a good time this winter, which the Berendeys will not forget. Spring invites Frost to go north. He replies that he will soon leave for Siberia, where his rule is eternal, and here Yarilo is interfering with him.
Spring is concerned about where their daughter Snegurochka will remain. Her father believes that her place is in a deep forest - in a mansion among forest animals, so that "neither on foot nor on horseback" there was no way there. But the mother says that the Snow Maiden is alive, which means she needs girlfriends, fun games, and then she will fall in love with one of the guys. Then Moroz tells her a terrible secret: Yarilo vowed to take revenge on Frost through his daughter. When the Snow Maiden truly loves, he will melt her. Vesna doesn’t want to believe it, and she and Moroz quarrel, and then decide to give the girl to be raised in the family of the childless Bobyl.
Frost calls Snow Maiden from the forest, and Spring asks her where she wants to live. The girl admits that she dreams of living among the Berendeys: she wants to sing songs with the girls and dance in circles to the music of the young shepherd Lelya. Father asks to beware of Lelya, because “it is permeated through and through by the blazing sun”. But the Snow Maiden replies that she is not afraid of Lel or the Sun, but will obey her father. And the mother says goodbye that if she feels sad, let her come to the Yarilina Valley and call her, Vesna.
Frost punishes Leshy to keep an eye on the Snow Maiden, and if a stranger or Lel pesters, he will confuse him in the forest thicket. Frost leaves along with snowstorms and blizzards, giving way to Spring. Berendeys celebrate Maslenitsa with a stuffed animal of winter - folk festivities begin.
There is a quarrel in Bobylikh's family: Bobylikh's wife swears that there is no firewood in the house, and he has to go to the forest. He notices the Snow Maiden, dressed like "hawthorn". He is surprised, and the Berendeys are amazed. The Snow Maiden tells who she is and says that the one who found her first will become an adopted daughter. She says goodbye to the forest. The trees bow to her, and the Berendeys run away in horror. Bobyl and his wife take the Snow Maiden to their place.
Act I
Soon in the settlement they learned about the beauty of the Snow Maiden, the guys quarreled with their girls and began to woo her. But Snegurochka refuses everyone, for which Bobyl and Bobylikha scold her. They hoped that they were lucky, that now the future grooms would give gifts to their adoptive mother and drink honey and home brew to their adoptive father. But the Snow Maiden scared everyone away with her stern appearance. The girl explains that she will marry the one she loves, but she does not know what love is.
Lel stays at Bobyl's house. The Snow Maiden asks you to sing a song for her. Lel agrees and asks only for a kiss, but the girl does not agree. Then the shepherd boy offers to give him a flower and pins it on his chest. He begins to sing, but the other girls beckon to him and he runs away, throwing the withered flower on the ground. The Snow Maiden is offended, so she decides that her heart will be cold for everyone.
But the guys continue to look at the Snow Maiden, causing jealousy among the girls. Only Kupava is kind to the Snow Maiden. She says that she met a young man: handsome, handsome, ruddy. This is Mizgir, the son of a rich father, "trade guest from Tsar's Posad". Mizgir promised to marry Kupava, and she dreams of being a mistress in big house. She says that Mizgir will soon come to meet her, and invites Snegurochka to be happy for her.
Mizgir appears with two bags of gifts to ransom his bride Kupava. Everyone is having fun and joking, and Kupava takes Mizgir to the Snow Maiden’s house to introduce them and invite them to play on the Red Hill for the last time before the wedding. But Mizgir, seeing the Snow Maiden, falls in love with her so much that he is ready to leave Kupava for her. Kupava curses her friend, but Snegurochka does not want to upset her and tells Mizgir that she cannot love him. He tries to appease her with expensive gifts, but the Snow Maiden replies that her love cannot be bought.
Only Bobyl and Bobylikha want to get hold of Mizgir’s money so that they can get plenty of booze. Mizgir orders Lel to be driven away, and Snegurochka, forced to obey this demand, hears from him the words that she too will find out why people cry. Kupava tells the Berendeys about Mizgir’s frivolity, and they demand an answer from Kupava’s ex-fiancé. Mizgir explains that for him, the most important thing in a girl is modesty and modesty - he saw them in the Snow Maiden. A Kupava “loved without looking back, hugged with both hands and looked cheerfully”, and Mizgir decided that she could replace him with another.
Kupava asks to defend her honor from natural forces: at the end she turns to the river and runs to it to drown herself, but Lel stops her, consoling her that the melancholy will soon pass. The Berendeys suggest turning to the king for help.
Act II
Tsar Berendey sits on a golden chair surrounded by buffoons and guslar players. The king personally paints one of the pillars, and the buffoons argue about what is depicted. At some point, their quarrel leads to a fist fight, but the king separates them, and the nearby boyar Bermyata, who appears, drives them away.
Berendey asks how things are in Berendey's kingdom, and Bermyata claims that everything is fine. However, Berendey is not sure that everything is fine, because for fifteen years they have been very short summer, springs are cold, just like autumn, and even in summer there is snow in the ravines. And the reason is that Yarilo is angry with the Berendeys: in the hearts of people there is no longer the same "heat of love", people have ceased to serve beauty, there is no sublime longing for love. Other feelings live in our hearts now: “vanity, envy of other people’s outfits”. Therefore, Berendey draws a disappointing conclusion: “For the cold of our feelings, Yarilo-Sun is angry with us and takes revenge with the cold”.
He proposes his plan: tomorrow, on Yarilin’s day, at dawn all the brides and grooms should gather to unite in marriage. This will be the best sacrifice for Yarile. However, Bermyata reports that this is impossible, since all the brides quarreled with their grooms because of the Snow Maiden, who settled in the settlement. Berendey does not believe and demands that his order be carried out. Then a boy appears who brings Kupava, and she talks about how the Snow Maiden stole her fiancé Mizgir from her.
Berendey orders Mizgir to be brought to "court of sovereigns". In front of all the honest people, the king accuses him of deceiving poor Kupava, and asks for advice on how best to punish Mizgir so that punishment does not fall on all the Berendeys. Bermyata offers to force Mizgir to marry the bride he abandoned, but he objects: now his bride is Snegurochka. And Kupava says that her heart is broken and now there will only be hatred in it for Mizgir. Then the king proposes to expel him forever from the country of the Berendeys.
Mizgir invites the king to look at the Snow Maiden himself. When Bobyl brings his adopted daughter, the king is amazed by her beauty and wants to find her a worthy groom, so that this sacrifice will appease Yarila. But the Snow Maiden admits that her heart does not yet know love. Bermyata's wife, Elena the Beautiful, says that only Lel can melt the Snow Maiden's heart. The shepherd invites the girl to make wreaths until the morning: he promises that love will awaken in the Snow Maiden’s heart. But Mizgir also wants to achieve love from the Snow Maiden.
Act III
At dawn, boys and girls dance in circles. In the center - Lel with the Snow Maiden. Berendey is amazed by Lel’s singing and offers to choose a girl who will reward him with a kiss. The Snow Maiden asks to choose her, but the shepherd chooses Kupava. The rest of the girls make peace with their boyfriends, and the Snow Maiden cries. Lel says that this is not love, but resentment. If the Snow Maiden really loves him, then he is ready to take her to meet the Sun in the morning.
Mizgir confesses his feelings to Snegurochka, but frightens her with his passion and willingness to die. She is not attracted to priceless pearls either. Then Mizgir wants to achieve reciprocity by force. Leshy comes to the rescue and leads Mizgir aside with the ghost of the Snow Maiden. Lel, with her singing, drives crazy not only Kupava, who confesses her love, but also Elena the Beautiful.
The opera takes place in prehistoric times in the country of the Berendeys. Characters: Spring is red, Frost, close boyar Bermyata, Bakula, shepherd Lel, Berendey. The scenes also involve Snegurochka, Kupava, Mizgir, Leshy and others. The work is written according to fairy tale of the same name Ostrovsky.
How was the opera "The Snow Maiden" created?
Rimsky-Korsakov first became acquainted with in the early seventies of the 19th century. It must be said that at that time the fairy tale did not make much of an impression on the composer. At the end of the seventies, Rimsky-Korsakov re-read it again. And then, as the composer himself says, “it was as if he saw her amazing poetic beauty.” In the summer of 1880 he began composing an opera. Subsequently, the composer recalled that he had never written a single work with such ease and speed as the opera “The Snow Maiden”. By the next year, 1881, the work was completed. In 1882, the first premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theater. It was a great success. Ostrovsky himself enthusiastically accepted the production. He said that the music for his fairy tale was so amazing that he could not imagine anything more suitable and exceptionally vividly expressing all the poetry of the pagan Russian cult.
Libretto of the opera "The Snow Maiden"
The production, based on Ostrovsky's fairy tale, is a glorification of the life-giving powerful natural forces that bring happiness to people. The idea of the work is rooted in folk poetry. In addition, the production embodies the idea of the greatness of the power of art. Staged real world contrasted with the fantastic, personifying, as the composer himself said, “periodically appearing, eternal forces of nature.” Shepherd Lel, Snow Maiden, Berendey are half-real, half-fantastic characters. " Creativity"The one who gives rise to life in people and nature" is contrasted with the harsh Frost. The daughter of Spring and Frost - the Snow Maiden - reaches out with all her soul to the sun and people. The composer truthfully, very artistically shows the triumph of warmth and love, leading the girl to death. This is the idea of "The Snow Maiden". Next, we should talk in more detail about the story itself.
The magical kingdom of Berendey
The plot of the opera "The Snow Maiden" takes place on a moonlit night. Red Spring descends to the ground, surrounded by a retinue of birds. The country is cold, the forest is covered with snow. 15 years ago, Frost and Vesna gave birth to a daughter, Snegurochka. From that time on, Yarilo-sun, angry, began to give the earth little warmth and light; winter became harsh and long, and summer became short. Frost appears on the stage, promising Spring to leave the kingdom. But leaving one daughter was dangerous - Yarilo was just waiting to light a fire of love in the girl’s soul, which would melt her and she would die. The parents decide to send the Snow Maiden to the childless Bakula-bobyl, in the settlement of Berendeyevka. The girl is happy - she has long been attracted to people by the wonderful singing of the shepherd Lelya. Frost and Vesna leave, entrusting Leshem with guarding their daughter. A crowd of Berendeys is approaching. They are cheerful - they say goodbye to Maslenitsa and welcome the arrival of spring. The Snow Maiden appears from the forest thicket. Bobyl is happy with her request to take her as his daughter.
Mizgir and Kupava
Royal Palace
The wise Berendey is glorified by the guslars. But the king’s soul is uneasy: Yarilo was angry with the Berendeys for something. To soften the formidable deity, Berendey decides to marry all the brides and grooms the next day. At this time, Kupava runs to the king and talks about his grief. The indignant Berendey orders Mizgir to be brought to him and condemns the young man to eternal exile. The young man does not make excuses, but only asks the Tsar to look at the Snow Maiden. The beauty of the girl amazes Berendey. The Tsar learns that the Snow Maiden does not know the feelings of love, and understands why Yarilo is angry. Berendey decides to announce that the young man who can ignite a feeling in the girl’s soul before dawn will receive her as his wife. Mizgir swears that he can make the Snow Maiden love him and asks to delay the expulsion.
Lel and Kupava
The next action takes place in a protected forest. Dawn is burning down in the clearing, Berendey and his people are celebrating the onset of summer. Lel sings songs. As a reward for them, Berendey invites the young man to choose a girl after his heart. The shepherd approaches Kupava, which upsets the Snow Maiden to tears. Mizgir appears. He excitedly turns to the Snow Maiden and tells her about his love. But the girl cannot respond to his feelings. At this moment, Leshy blocks Mizgir’s path, bewitches the forest and teases the young man with the ghost of the girl who has enchanted him. Lel and Kupava go out into an empty clearing. The girl tenderly thanks the shepherd for saving her from shame. The Snow Maiden, who saw this scene, is in despair. She hurries to Mother Vesna to ask for warmth.
Yarilina Valley
The opera "The Snow Maiden" ends with a scene at dawn. Spring puts a magic wreath on her daughter. From that moment on, the girl knows the feeling of love and, meeting Mizgir again, reciprocates his passionate confession. However, the sun must soon rise and the Snow Maiden, remembering the instructions of her parents, urges her lover to quickly flee from Yarila’s rays, which could destroy her. At the same time, Berendey and his retinue appear in the valley. At the first rays of the sun, the king blesses the brides and grooms. Mizgir and Snow Maiden appear in the valley. The girl talks about the feeling that arose in her soul. But her happiness does not last long - the daughter of Moroaz and Vesna, having recognized love, became vulnerable to Yarila. A ray of sunlight, cutting through the fog, falls on the girl. The Snow Maiden, even anticipating her death, turns with gratitude to her mother for the feeling of love given to her. Mizgir throws himself into the lake in despair. The people in the valley are amazed. However, the wise Berendey understands that the existence of the Snow Maiden violated the laws of nature. With her death, Yarilo will no longer be angry and will return warmth and sun to the country, and life in the kingdom will again become happy. Shepherd Lel and with him all the people sing songs of praise to the Sun.
Music
The opera “The Snow Maiden” is considered the most poetic work of all created by the author. Rimsky-Korsakov himself even called it his best creation. In all scenes, the pictures are amazingly sensitive and lovingly reproduced folk life, wonderful images folk tales, rituals of ancient paganism. The entire opera "The Snow Maiden" is imbued with the wise simplicity and unfading freshness of Russian songs, permeated with the spring tones of awakening nature and soft lyrics. The orchestra's introduction to the prologue is a colorful musical picture, vividly describing the flourishing of nature, its awakening after winter: the gloomy, harsh melody of Frost is replaced by the gentle charming melodies of Spring. The composer very subtly and accurately conveyed the moods and characters of the characters. Thus, the song of the Snow Maiden from the opera “The Snow Maiden” “Walking with friends for berries” is a graceful play of light and gentle voices, echoing the coldish and transparent melodies of the flute. The ritual colorful scene showing the farewell to Maslenitsa includes a number of episodes from folklore. Lelya's song from the opera "The Snow Maiden" - "Strawberry-Berry" and the cheerful dance song "Like the Forest Noises through the Forest", which open the first act, depict the closeness of people to nature, the fun, and free life of the people.
Second-third act
In the 2nd part, together with choral episodes, there are enough large quantities There are dialogue scenes. The majestically calm, leisurely song sung by the guslars is reminiscent of ancient epic tunes. In the duet of Kupava and Berendey, the girl’s excited speech is set off by the calm and affectionate remarks of the king. The anthem of the Berendeys is epically majestic and very solemn. Against the background of the measured accompaniment of the orchestra in Berendey’s cavatina, a poetic, dreamy melody flows smoothly. In the third act a large crowd scene begins. Boys and girls sing a round dance song, and Bobyl dances dashingly to the tune “The Beaver Was Swimming.” "The Dance of the Buffoons" is a masterly symphonic episode, replete with orchestral colors, with fascinating folk rhythms. Lelya's third song begins with a shepherd's clarinet tune. It is followed by a free-spirited, wide melody. An inspired lyrical arioso performed by Mizgir.
Final scenes
In the fourth act, the melodies convey the intensification of the Snow Maiden’s lyrical feelings. The gentle, caressing duet of the girl and her lover Mizgir flows easily and freely. In the aria the melody from the prologue is heard again (arietta “I heard”). But this time the music sounds excited and warm. The scene of the melting of the Snow Maiden is considered one of the most touching episodes of opera literature in the world. The fragile tenderness of her image is set off by the radiant, majestic sound of the final choral hymn to the divine Yaril. The opera "The Snow Maiden" ends with this praise.
Sketches for the production
The scenery for the opera "The Snow Maiden", made according to Vasnetsov's sketches, was the most interesting of the many illustrations presented. First, the artist designed the performance based on Ostrovsky’s play at the beginning of 1882. Three years later, Vasnetsov became the designer of an opera production at the Savva Mamontov Theater. When creating sketches, Vasnetsov used architectural elements ancient Russian architecture, motifs folk embroidery, painting and wood carving. The artist, using unique techniques, created a fairly harmonious image, presenting them brightly and picturesquely. The basis for the costumes was homespun white canvas. In combination with it various color solutions ornaments gave expressiveness to the characters' features and a decorative effect to the entire production as a whole. Vasnetsov managed to grasp the national identity of the work, which quite firmly connected visual images created by him, with folk song motifs.
