THE EMOTIONAL AND INTONATIONAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE IMAGE OF CIO-CIO-SAN IN GIACOMO PUCCINI’S “MADAMA BUTTERFLY”

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the image of Cio-Cio-San from Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly” in the context of the cultural opposition between East and West, which unfolds in the musical and dramaticspace of the work. The aim of the study is to identify the artistic, dramatic, musical, stylistic and ideological parameters of the main character, as well as to comprehend her symbolic role. The methodological basis of the research is basedon integrative approaches: interdisciplinary analysis (musicological, cultural, philosophical and aesthetic), the methodof comparative analysis of musical and dramatic structures, a semiotic approach to the opera text, as well as elements of hermeneutic interpretation. Particular attention is paid to intonational and dramatic means that reveal the inner world of the heroine. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the attempt to interpret the image of Cio-Cio-San as a concentrated expression of the cultural crisis on the verge of modernity and post-Romanticism, as well as in highlighting the aspectof the relationship between the musical image of the heroine and the category of “tragic” in the composer’s interpretation.The image of Cio-Cio-San is examined through the prism of the culture/civilization antinomy as a key concept of the opera’sdramaturgy. The conclusions emphasize that Cio-Cio-San appears as an embodiment of moral integrity, inner strengthand sacrificial love against the background of the rationalistic and cynical world represented by Pinkerton. This conflicttakes on the character of a deep civilizational drama, relevant not only to the time of the opera’s creation but also tocontemporary humanitarian discourse. The image of Cio-Cio-San is defined as an artistic archetype in the intercultural aspect – as a symbol of the clash and interpenetration of civilizations, which is reflected in the drama and musical fabricof the work. The complexity of this image opens up prospects for interdisciplinary analysis and actualizes the need for new research approaches in the study of late opera romanticism.