Music and Time Annotation << Back "Sei mir gegrubt, o Sonne!":Franz Schubert’s Operasand the Pastoral Topicin the Early 19th CenturyMusical Theatre N.V. Pilipenko The article considers the role one of the text motifs closely related to the pastoral topic in Schubert’s stage works, which we can designate as "a delight in beauty of nature". This motif, on the one hand, rooted in the late 18th – early 19th century operas reflecting the typical Enlightenment view on nature, on the other, anticipates some trends representative to the romantic opera. It is associated with a number of repetitive poetic images, which can be found in different libretto of the time. Its basic functions consist in the indirect characterization of the positive characters and the introduction to the pastoral atmosphere of the action. This motif is realized in music through specific devices, getting the stable meaning in the works of different composers. Keywords: Franz Schubert, opera, pastoral topic, early 19th century musical theatre. Contacts: E-mail: n_pilipenko@mail.ru Pp. 18-28.