Bridging Deep Chasms: The Soviet Third Direction in Aleksei Rybnikov's Rock Opera The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta
Bridging Deep Chasms: The Soviet Third Direction in Aleksei Rybnikov's Rock Opera The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta
Author(s): Alexandra GrabarchukSubject(s): Cultural history, Music, Political history, Social history, Sociology of Art, History of Art
Published by: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci
Keywords: Estrada; Pablo Neruda; rock; rock opera; popular composers; Russia; Rybnikov; Soviet Union; theater; Third Direction;
Summary/Abstract: Rock opera in the Soviet Union was a phenomenon with obviously Western roots yet inextricably tied up with and enabled by homegrown players and policies. Aleksei Rybnikov's The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta (1976) is an early example of the merging of academic and popular music desired by the Composers' Union. An examination of the genesis, production, and reception of this Soviet rock opera will shed light on the philosophical and compositional movement called "The Third Direction" - and why it was considered desirable.
Journal: Musicologica Olomucensia
- Issue Year: 22/2015
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 39-60
- Page Count: 22
- Language: English
