Creative Search by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal in the Opera “Ariadne on Naxos”: to the Problem of Music and Words Interaction

Abstract

The subject of the article is the problem of the synthesis of arts in the creative collaboration of Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss. А special turn of the problem «music and word» is analyzed, when a musical performance arises in close cooperation between a composer, who is responsible for correcting the text and a writer dealing with the musical palette of their common creation. R. Strauss and G. Hofmannsthal were united by the very concept of the philosophical and aesthetic inheritance of F. Nietzsche, whose research predetermined the theoretical and philosophical basis of their cooperation. The creation of the play «Ariadne on Naxos» was based on the principles, in many respects similar to the Nietzsche's concept of the relationship between music and word. It also made it possible to turn to mythological operas «Helena of Egypt». It is concluded, the work on the opera «Ariadne on Naxos» has become a long-awaited synthesis of opposing views on antiquity and the deep origins of ancient Greek art for its creators.

Keywords

• myth
• mythological opera
• interpretation
• philosophical and aesthetic concept
• interaction of arts
• the problem of music and word