Abstract
<jats:p>In the works of composers of the Russian Far East, oral musical traditions are widely reflected, among which the role of East Slavic origins is significant. The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics of the embodiment of the Russian national principle in the musical imagery and style of the opera “I Believe” by A. V. Novikov (1987). The article reveals the ideological, figurative, musical and stylistic features of the work, which go back to the Russian mentality and folklore and genre origins. Scientific novelty is determined by the introduction into scientific circulation of a sample of domestic opera, which represents the regional (Far Eastern) trend of Russian neo-folklorism. As a result of the study, three musical and thematic plans, different in content and functions, were identified in the figurative dramaturgy of the work. It is shown that the psychological plan of action includes fundamentally dynamic portrait characteristics of the characters with their detailed display, typical of chamber opera. The other two planes – Russian folk-genre expressiveness and the “voice from the author” – represent collective (traditional) and maximally generalized images, distinguished by their background-commentary role. It is emphasized that the national principle, which colors all these plans to varying degrees, made it possible to individualize each of them, as well as to enrich the style of domestic chamber opera with features of neo-folklorism.</jats:p>