By the sound you can understand that the word is not Russian. It came to us from the Greek language. A coryphaus is a choir leader in an ancient Greek tragedy. The main function of the luminary is communication, communication between the actors and the choir.
Like this, for example …
When actors sing on stage, especially if the action takes place in a foreign language, the uninformed viewer does not really understand what is happening. It was almost the same in Ancient Greece. A coryphaus is the person who explained to the audience exactly what the choir was singing about, he could sum up the monologue given by the artist, proclaim the appearance of a new character on the stage, could give parting words to the hero who leaves the action.
As Wikipedia tells us:
Coryphaeus (ancient Greek κορῠφαῖος - leader, leader, head; theatrical: chief, leader) - in ancient drama, the head of the choir. At an early stage, the tragedy began with the entry into the orchestra of the choir led by the luminary - the parod. The luminary belonged to the opening recitative in the solemn anapestas.
The coryphaus made contact between the actors and the choir, he summed up the monologue he had heard in two or three verses, or informed about the arrival of a new character, or admonished the departing one. Subsequently, this term began to be used to refer to people who have achieved outstanding success in their business, most often in art or science.
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In classical ballet, a leading figure or leading figure is a solo dancer (dancer) who dances in front of the corps de ballet, but does not perform the main parts in the performance.
Do not forget about the origin and continue thinking. A luminary is, on the one hand, a person belonging to the choir and associated with it, and on the other, a completely separate element that stands out from the rest. In doing so, he performs a connecting role and does it well.
In addition, this is a person who perfectly understands what is happening at the moment on stage, can give this interpretation. Gradually, the luminary (the meaning of the word) began to be defined in a new way, now he is a person who has achieved significant success in any field, as a rule, in art or science. So you can call a professor who made an outstanding discovery, a person who is very respected in society, an old and very good artist.
The connection with tradition is retained even when it comes to the meaning of the word "leading figure" in ballet. In this field of art, this is the name of the artist who is the leader of the corps de ballet, performs the solo part in the performance, but not the main part.
If we talk about the word "luminary" (its meaning is currently being analyzed) in a general sense, then it in itself does not bear a negative or ironic connotation. And to characterize figures of art, culture and science, even respected professors use it in their lectures. Naturally, venerable teachers have no ill-intentioned goals when they say so.
But as we understand it, the emotional coloring of an expression or word can vary depending on who exactly says it and in what context it is used. Even the most serious, bookish, lofty word can be lowered and applied in a completely different sense from which history and language have awarded it. However, we move on to examples.
After it became known what meaning is given to the word "luminary", you can talk about people who could be characterized by such a word. Let's start with the movie. Of course, each viewer has his own pantheon of film gods. There can be no claim to the ultimate truth. Nevertheless, it seems that Al Pacino, mentioned at the beginning of the article, deserves the title of leading figure. The same can be said for his co-star The Godfather Robert De Niro.
It is more difficult with Russian cinema in recent times, but we can definitely say that the Soviet era gave us many outstanding figures. First of all, I remember Sergei Bondarchuk and his masterpiece "They Fought for the Motherland." Luminaries in literature Of course, in any field of art, including literature, everyone can determine for himself who is considered a leading figure and who is not. However, there are generally accepted figures. For example, the well-known Russian classics - L. N. Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky. Someone will classify the modern English writer JK Rowling as luminaries.
The figure of Tolstoy is important not only because he wrote brilliant novels, he had a strong influence on the development of literature, both domestic and world, thanks to his views, a new religious and moral trend called "Tolstoyism" arose. Russian religious philosophy emerged from Dostoevsky's works. ON THE. Berdyaev wrote: "We are the spiritual children of Dostoevsky."
The author of "Demons", using a detective plot, wrote religious and philosophical treatises, which necessarily contained moral and ethical lessons for the reader. No one will argue with the fact that the two classics, who left a bright mark both in the history of literature and in the mass consciousness, are real luminaries. Although "luminaries" are too shallow for them, they are geniuses. However, let's leave our wonderful classics, turn to the present day and talk a little about foreign literature, about "Harry Potter". This landmark series of books "about the boy who survived" has enchanted millions of readers. Of course, the writer is a master of her craft, which means that she can also be called a leading figure.
