Gogol’s May Night as a Source of Inspiration and a Site of Intercultural Contact between Russian and Ukrainian Opera Composers

Abstract

The study deals with the opera adaptation and the form of artistic conception of Gogol’s early story (skaz)“May Night, or the Drowned Maiden” in the works of Ukrainian and Russian composers with a particular focus on the national aspect, the intercultural relations, the use of folklore and the preservation of characteristic features typical of Gogol’s skaz.