The dialectic of aesthetic artistry and reality in the musical comedy “If not that one, Then this one”: poetic and dramaturgical aspects

Abstract

The article systematically analyzes the dialectic of artistry and reality in Uzeyir Hajibeyov’s musical comedy “If not that one, Then this one” (“O olmasın, bu olsun”). The social and spiritual structure of the work, the expression of material interests and moral-psychological motives through comic techniques is interpreted within the context of realist Azerbaijani dramaturgy. In the article the conceptual and aesthetic features of the dialectic of artistry and reality in the genre of Azerbaijani musical comedy is determined from a scientific-theoretical perspective. Uzeyir Hajibeyov, while preserving Eastern national traditions, creates a synthesis with European aesthetic principles and develops the function of expressing reality through artistic merit in musical dramaturgy. The work contrasts socially-typical behavioral models of different social strata – representatives of the upper class, female characters, and the poor. Their moral-psychological problems are defined in a scientific-theoretical context.