New Forms of Artistic Synthesis in Modern Musical Theatre

Abstract

The article is devoted to the development processes of modern musical theatre, rendered activate due to the influence of new technologies, which significantly expand the possibilities of synthesizing the arts that are originally characteristic of musical and theatrical genres. Tested in the framework of various cultural practices (performances, installations, shows, etc.), computer capabilities for sound synthesis and new technical tools and 3D technologies unlimitedly expand the possibilities of working with sound, light, color, word and plastic, involving not only a composer in the process of creating a musical and theatrical work, but also designers and engineers as well. The problem authorship arises, which is no longer the exclusive right of a composer, but of the whole creative team. The consequence of these processes is a number of significant changes in the ratio of the artistic components of the performance: the rejection of the primacy of music, the equal semantic significance of all the expressive components of the whole, forming a polyphonic multichannel semantic field that allows us to talk about the “theatre of mixed means”. The mismatch between the logical movement and the semantic content of the verbal, visual, and auditory principles leads to a limitation of narrative and an increase in suggestion, forcing the viewer, starting from the author’s message and personal life experience, to seek his understanding, which implies a plurality of interpretations. The search for new aesthetics results in a design approach when creating a musical theatrical composition, which in each case has a number of deeply individual spatiotemporal features, as well as to a significant transformation of the overall communicative situation in which the spectator becomes a participant in what is happening. The article contains the analytical observations on the works by contemporary authors: H. Hebbels, M. Squillante, as well as works by the creative team “LemieuxPilon 4Dart”.

Keywords:

synthesis of arts, digital technologies, interactivity, experimental theatre, theatre of mixed means, performance, installation