Kazarinova O. Opera of small form in Austro-German music of the first third of ХX century (based on the material of early opera triptychs of P. Khindemit and E. Krenek)

Austro-German opera of small form is examined as an independent form of opera genre in wide artistic and cultural study contexts of the first third of ХХ century. The noted period is one of most difficult in the development of Western European art in general and opera in particular; early opera works of the prominent composers of P. Khindemit and E. Krenek in domestic musicology still remain poorly explored and underestimated until now. Opera, as a synthetic genre, with its extraordinary powerful arsenal of artistic techniques, came forward in the forefront of artistic searches and experiments at the beginning of the ХХ century. It became a reflection of overall philosophical problem of change in human being conception which, to a certain extent, entailed the appearance of new opera hero and stipulated the specifics of ideological, thematic and content filling of opera. The perception of the first third of ХХ century as the initial stage (early period) of development of the style of epoch provides for a new understanding of the history of opera development. Immanent polyphony of thought, applicable to the art of this period, along with cultural dialog and impact of the “past experience” have greatly defined not only the state of opera genre of the first decades of the ХХ century but also carved a perspective for its future development. A «dialog with tradition» is viewed as one of the major driving forces in the development of opera: an attempt of genre typology of opera of small form is done based on the genre and style synthesis. It is proved that founded by J. Puchchini and prolonged in creative works of P. Khindemit and E. Krenek, the opera triptych became the newest form of opera genre of the XX century. For the first time, the effect of «sensations», which accompanied new artistic experiences at the beginning of the ХХ century, is viewed as the artistic phenomenon.