BIBLICAL NARRATIVES IN OPERA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PROBLEM OF MUSICALSEMANTIC REPRESENTATION OF SACRED MEANING IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive musicological analysis of the specific features of the embodiment of biblical texts in operatic art within a historical perspective, to identify the principal models of their interpretation, and to determine the characteristics of the interaction between sacred content and theatrical form in various stylistic and aesthetic contexts. The methodological framework of the research is based on the combination of historical musicology, analytical, and interpretative approaches. The historical-genetic method is employed to trace the evolution of the representation of biblical narratives in opera; music-theoretical analysis is used to identify the features of musical language and dramaturgy; the hermeneutic approach is applied to interpret the semantic and symbolic aspects of the sacred text; and an interdisciplinary method is utilized, incorporating perspectives from cultural studies, aesthetics, and theology in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the research problem. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the integrated consideration of the embodiment of biblical texts in opera as a holistic cultural and aesthetic phenomenon. The study systematizes, for the first time, the principal models of interpreting sacred texts in opera (illustrative, dramaturgical-transformational, and symbolic-philosophical), and further уточнює the specific interaction between sacred and theatrical principles across different historical periods. The research also expands the understanding of opera as a form of “sounding theology,” in which music functions not only as a means of artistic expression but also as an instrument of spiritual reflection. The conclusions of the study allow the embodiment of biblical texts in operatic art to be defined as a complex, multi-layered, and historically variable process, in which different types of artistic thinking, musical language, and cultural meanings interact. The analysis demonstrates that the biblical text within the operatic genre never functions as a static or unchangeable element; rather, it undergoes continuous interpretative transformations determined both by the aesthetic principles of a given epoch and by broader tendencies in the development of musical theatre. The historical perspective shows that the initial distancing of opera from biblical material did not imply its absence from musical culture, but instead contributed to the formation of alternative modes of its representation, particularly within the genre of the oratorio. It was precisely through the oratorio tradition that the musical-dramaturgical models later adopted by opera were developed. Subsequently, especially in the nineteenth century, biblical texts became actively integrated into operatic theatre; however, they underwent significant reinterpretation, acquiring political, psychological, or cultural-allegorical meanings, which testifies to their capacity to function as a universal symbolic resource.