Six-level ontology of opera

- · 25.06.2026

Original article
DOI: 10.56620/2227-9997-2026-2-10-24

Alexander V. Markov

Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia,
markovius@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6874-1073

 

Angelina S. Alpatova

Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin,
shtaynshtayn@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1701-3147

 
Abstract: The subject of this research is opera as a complex, multi-level phenomenon, whose being cannot be reduced to the sum of its components. The article proposes and substantiates a six-level ontological model of opera that integrates data from various scientific and philosophical disciplines — from physics and physiology to semiotics, phenomenology, and metaphysics. The aim is to overcome the limitations of reductionist and narrowly art-historical approaches by demonstrating that opera is an emergent phenomenon whose essence lies in its capacity to be an event of the disclosure of being, where material and meaningful aspects intertwine into a unique instrument of philosophical inquiry. The research methodology is based on the principles of philosophical ontology and transcendental reflection, which allow for the construction of stratified models of complex phenomena. The scientific novelty and conclusions of the work lie in the development of a comprehensive six-level ontological model (physico-chemical, biological-physiological, semiotic, phenomenological, socio-historical, metaphysical levels), previously absent in scholarly literature. The model possesses high heuristic value, providing a universal framework for the analysis of any operatic work.

Keywords: ontology of opera, philosophy of music, emergence, multi-level ontology, phenomenology of perception, metaphysics of art, social ontology of art, Mieczysław Weinberg, opera and science, synthesis of the arts

For citation: Markov A. V., Shtayn O. A. Six-level ontology of opera. Scholarly papers of Gnesin Russian Academy of Music. 2026;(2):10-24. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.56620/2227-9997-2026-2-10-24

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