Historical and literary sources of the libretto of A. Zahaikevych’s opera “Vyshyvanyi. The King of Ukraine”

Statement of the problem. Vasyl Vyshyvanyi, in reality, Wilhelm von Habsburg, who consciously embraced the Ukrainian identity and fought for Ukraine’s independence during the First and Second World Wars, captivates the attention of prominent scholars and Ukrainian artists since the final decades of the 20th century. The 2000s marked a real renaissance in interest toward this enigmatic Austrian by origin, yet Ukrainian by spirit, that is evidenced by numerous historical, literary, and music works created during the first two decades of the 21st century. Among the most significant are the study by American historian T. Snyder, “The Red Prince” (2008); N. Sniadanko’s novel, “The Neat Manuscripts of Archduke Wilhelm” (2017); and A. Zahaikevych’s opera, “Vyshyvanyi. The King of Ukraine” (2021), with a libretto by S. Zhadan. The operatic portrayal of the Austrian archduke by S. Zhadan and A. Zahaikevych was preceded by N. Sniadanko’s novel with fantasy elements. In literature, the artistic freedom to reinterpret historical events is permissible, as it serves as a means of artistic generalization. A similar approach is seen in George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series (1990s), which draws inspiration from England’s Wars of the Roses. The principle of mythologizing history (per O. Roschenko), established in both literature and opera well before A. Zahaikevych’s opera is intrinsic to Romantic culture. In contrast to the historical factuality presented in T. Snyder’s book, the opera and Sniadanko’s novel employ a fusion of the fictional and the real. The divergence between Sniadanko’s imaginative narrative and factual history becomes evident when comparing “The Neat Manuscripts of Archduke Wilhelm” with T. Snyder’s “The Red Prince”. Objectives, methods and novelty of the research. The purpose of the research is to identify the historical and artistic preconditions for interpreting the image of Vasyl Vyshyvanyi in A. Zahaikevych’s opera (2021). The research based on the principle of historicism, the historical-biographical, historical-contextual, and comparative approaches are used. The novelty of the study lies in identificity of the unique artistic interpretation of the Vasyl Vyshyvanyi’s image in N. Sniadanko’s novel based on the romantic principle of mythologizing biography as a sourse of the libretto of A. Zahaikevych’s opera. Results and conclusion. A comprehensive analysis of N. Sniadanko’s novel demonstrates that understanding Vasyl Vyshyvanyi’s phenomenon in modern Ukrainian literature occurs through the lens of mythologizing historical events and personalities. This approach is entirely valid, as Vyshyvanyi’s name has entered the pantheon of Ukrainian heroes. The metaphorical richness inherent in Sniadanko’s novel also manifests significantly in the libretto of the opera, transforming the latter into an “opera-novel” with several plans of action and romanticizing of the protagonist. Mythologizing, romanticizing, and psychological trends enhance the cinematic quality of S. Zhadan’s libretto, so A. Zahaikevych’s opera is perceived less as a drama (à la Wagner) and more as a novel. N. Sniadanko’s extensive use of artistic fiction in depicting V. Vyshyvanyi’s image becomes apparent when comparing her fictional character with the historical prototype presented in T. Snyder’s documentary book “The Red Prince” (2008). Understanding the “pathways” taken by Sniadanko and Snyder regarding the controversial events of the early 21st century reveals their influence on the composer’s interpretation of the opera’s main character – Wilhelm Habsburg.