Prologue |

Greek prologos – introduction, preface, from pro – before and logos – word, speech

The opening scene of a performance (drama, opera, ballet). In other Greek. dram. t-re in P. the myth underlying the work was expounded, or it was told about the events preceding the beginning of the play. To church. Wed-century. P.’s drama had the character of a sermon or prayer. In the 17-18 centuries. pl. operas began allegorically. P. (“Alcesta, or the Triumph of Alcides” by Lully, “Orpheus” and “Coronation of Poppea” by Monteverdi, etc.). P. naz. also allegorical. performance, to-rym began celebrations. a performance (for example, P. at the opening of the Bolshoy T-ra in Moscow – Dmitriev’s “Celebration of the Muses” with music by Alyabyev and Verstovsky, 1825). In operas and ballets of the 19th century. P. often outlined the events preceding the main. action (for example, in the operas Boris Godunov, The Snow Maiden, Faust, in the ballet The Sleeping Beauty). Sometimes P. becomes independent. prod. (one-act opera The Boyar Vera Sheloga by Rimsky-Korsakov – P. for his opera The Maid of Pskov) is a monoscene (the scene of one actor – P. in the opera Pagliacci).