The article is devoted to the analysis of metanarratives in contemporary art. Contradicting famous statement of J.F. Lyotard that the postmodern is defined as incredulity towards metanarratives, the author asserts that metanarratives in the age of Postmodern have not faded, but acquired new features, thus becoming an essential component of postmodern aesthetics. Old metanarratives, which have been invariably entailed with ideology and thereby have lost their relevance, are now replaced with the new ones, tied with contemporary problematics and particular postmodern sense of tragic. The author emphasizes that the total revision of the axiological grounds of the modern society is absolutely crucial, being a way of liberating the contemporary problems’ perception from the burden of the old, noncurrent approaches and clearing the way to the new metanarratives, free of the bombast and prejudices of the past.

The methodology of the article is based on the interdisciplinary approach. It involves exploration of metanarratives, expressed not only in fiction, but also in the performance of the opera “La Traviata,” shown during the Salzburger Festspiele on 2005, directed by Willy Decker. Particular attention is given to the problem of the empty metaphysical center, which itself can be a source of pluralistic metanarration, free from ideology.