Two Frauen mit dem Dolche: Operas by Mikhail Ostroglazov and Vladimir Rebikov Based on the Play by Arthur Schnitzler
Abstract
The article is devoted to two opera works based on the drama by the Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler Die Frau mit dem Dolche (The Lady with the Dagger, 1901). The Russian composers of the two operas are Mikhail Andreevich Ostroglazov (1907) and Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov (1910), respectively. The work introduces the opera by Ostroglazov into academic discourse for the first time, while Rebikov’s opera is examined in more detail and within a broader context than in previous works. The scholarly interest arises not only from the obscurity of these works, but also from their style and the era of their creation. A detailed musical analysis is preceded by a brief overview of the operatic legacies of both composers and an exploration of the main themes and character types from Schnitzler’s play (such as creativity, dreams, and death). The article presents a scholarly examination of the musical dramaturgy, composition, and style of both pieces. In particular, it notes the composers’ adherence to a concise, single-movement structure, through-composed development, impersonal character interpretation, predominance of dialogue, use of leitmotif technique, chamber-like and refined timbral solutions, diversity of vocal intonation types, and a chromatic pitch basis. The comparison concludes with the observation that Rebikov’s opera is more artistically convincing through its more organic integration of new stylistic techniques. The conclusion also places these works in the historical context of the relationship between Russian opera at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and symbolist trends in the wider culture. The presented operas by Ostroglazov and Rebikov are among the few surviving symbolist music dramas by Russian composers, which deserve particular and close attention from both scholars and practitioners due to the cultural significance of this transitionary period.
Keywords: Mikhail Andreevich Ostroglazov, Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov, Arthur Schnitzler, Die Frau mit dem Dolche (The Lady with the Dagger), Russian opera at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, symbolist drama
For citation: Shabshaevich, E. M. (2025). Two Frauen mit dem Dolche: Operas by Mikhail Ostroglazov and Vladimir Rebikov Based on the Play by Arthur Schnitzler. Contemporary Musicology, 9(3), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2025-3-115-133
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2025-3-115-133
Copyright (c) 2025 Elena M. Shabshaevich
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