Abstract:
This article examines the first Kazakh opera ‘Kyz Zhibek’ is considered from the
point of view of the philosophy of intertextuality. Intertextuality is a concept first outlined
in the works of poststructuralism theorists Julia Kristeva and Roland Barthes, and refers to
the emergence and understanding of any single text from the vast network of discourses and
languages that make up culture. No text, in the light of intertextuality, stands alone; all texts,
including musical ones, are interconnected with the preceding texts, while the author of the
text, determining in the process of creativity the relation of his text to others, not only enters
into the dialogical context of the preceding, present and subsequent culture, but also develops
his aesthetic and ideological position and artistic forms that most adequately allow it to be
expressed. The concept of intertextuality goes back to the fundamental idea of postmodern nonclassical philosophy, which allows us to consider the phenomenon of opera not only from purely
musicological, but also from philosophical, cultural, linguistic positions. Opera is considered
as a system of signs: a combination of songs, different types of arias, dances, as well as various
storylines and musical framing. The use of the concept of intertextuality as an expression of
the highest theoretical achievements of Western philosophy in relation to the national domestic
musical and artistic material allows us to take a fresh look at the famous opera work and prove
that the opera ‘Kyz Zhibek’ is a unique product of the era, based on both the Kazakh musical
and Western European opera tradition.
