FROM SONG TO DRAMA: TRANSFORMATIONS OF A CLASSIC WITHIN A MODERN MUSICAL – „THE LITTLE WHITE RABBIT“ BY RUMEN BOYADZHIEV JR.

Abstract

Rumen Boyadzhiev Jr. is among the most prominent contemporary Bulgarian composers. His work in the genre of musical theatre is characterised by a complex compositional thought and a new, innovative interpretation of well-known fairy tale plots. In his musical „The Little White Rabbit“ („Zaichentseto Byalo“), the famous children‘s song undergoes an astonishing metamorphosis. It evolves from a synthesised, laconic musical thought into a large-scale composition, where the intonational core becomes the foundation for constructing comprehensive psychological portraits. This report examines the musical notation and the „mysteries“ of the score, as well as their correlation with the process of a complete transformation – from the literary source to the large-scale form of the contemporary musical. The score functions not only as a carrier of the lyrics, but as an autonomous narrator that unfolds the plot beyond the libretto.