Myth in the Romanian Opera Creation

Abstract

Both myths, Mioriţa [The Little Ewe] and Meşterul Manole [The Master Builder Manole] are based on an enhancement of death. The presence of death at the core of Romanian popular spirituality does not mean a pessimistic vision of the world, but a direct contact with peasant life. Orpheus is the hero having sacrificed his life in order to unveil the charm of art to humans. Prometheus has always been depicted as a great friend of human beings. Don Juan has never been taken seriously. Departing from this tradition and considering him with some gravity, we can find him throughout the centuries, and have become a myth. The Romanian reply to Don Juan’s myth is given by Cornel Ţăranu, in the opera “Don Giovanni’s Secret”. In conclusion, myth is the one that determines the human being to create and offers him/her ever-newer inventiveness perspectives.