From the History of Artistic Interpretations of the Biblical Story about the Lazarus Resurrection
The story of the biblical character Lazarus, who was resurrected by Jesus, has repeatedly been the subject of numerous debates among the interpreters of the Bible. The artistic embodiment of the plot in the works of art is of the equal interest. The article discusses the most paradoxical versions of the Biblical story, which appeared in the second half of the 20th century. Among them are the novel of the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis “The Last Temptation of Christ”, in which the relationship's line of Jesus and Lazarus is detailed, a novel by Nobel prize winner, Portuguese writer José Saramago “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ” and a cantata by the Italian composer Azio Corgi “La morte di Lazzaro”(“Death of Lazarus”). By analyzing the structure of the cantata's text the author reveals the speciﬁcs of the realization in the plot and semantic space of the original artistic idea of Saramago – “no one on Earth has sinned so grievously, to die twice...”. Corgi's Cantata becomes a kind of philosophical reﬂection on the eternal theme of life and death.