Page 230 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2021. Opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama ▪︎ Operetta between the Two World Wars. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 5
P. 230
opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama
which lasted from 22 to 24 October 1921.9 The theatre choir was formed at
the end of the 1921/1922 season and, with short interruptions, was a perma-
nent part of the ensemble. It was mostly young actors (thirteen new mem-
bers were hired in the 1921/1922 season) who performed in the singing and
choral numbers in pieces with singing.10
The popular pieces with singing were not favoured by theatre critics,
who tolerated them as a “necessary evil” which filled the theatre’s cash reg-
ister, justified as the first step toward the formation of a permanent theatre
audience. However, pieces with singing were a constant in the repertoire of
National Theatre, with the frequent production of new pieces at which at-
tendance was always excellent.11 Moreover, the first two seasons consisted
entirely of pieces with singing which, due to the loyalty of Sarajevo audi-
ences to this form of stage performance, remained in the repertoire for sev-
eral years.
Introduction of Operetta: 1923/1924–1926/1927
The musical part of the repertoire was the most demanded and most visit-
ed one. It was Sarajevo audiences’ appetite for “musical performances” and
light pieces with an entertaining character that brought about the intro-
duction of operetta into the National Theatre repertoire, on two occasions
– from 1923/1924 until its removal in early 1927, and again starting from the
1935/1936 season.
In the 1923/1924 season, influenced by the new theatre conductor Jo-
sif Rožđalovski, the theatre manager Dušan Đukić (1883–1927) introduced
operetta to the repertoire.12 Conductor Rožđalovski, “energetic and persis-
tent in the Czech way”, managed, in a short time, to form a sound theatre
choir that could meet the requirements of the genre.13 The first season saw
performances of the operettas Mam’zelle Nitouche by Louis-Auguste-Flori-
mond Ronger Hervé (28 February 1924) and La poupée by Edmond Audran
(21 April 1924). Season 1924/1925 saw the staging of Franz Schubert’s Das
Dreimäderhaus (30 October 1924), Davorin Jenko’s Vračara (20 Decem-
9 Sarajevo, Academy of Music, University of Sarajevo, The Archives of the Institute of
Musicology, Program svečanog otvorenja Pozorišta Sarajevo, 22.−24. 10. 1921.
10 Lešić, Sarajevsko pozorište između dva rata, vol. 1, 113.
11 Ibid., 146.
12 B. J, “Čitulja: Josif Rožđalovski,” Pregled, March 16, 1931, 203–4.
13 Ibid.
228
which lasted from 22 to 24 October 1921.9 The theatre choir was formed at
the end of the 1921/1922 season and, with short interruptions, was a perma-
nent part of the ensemble. It was mostly young actors (thirteen new mem-
bers were hired in the 1921/1922 season) who performed in the singing and
choral numbers in pieces with singing.10
The popular pieces with singing were not favoured by theatre critics,
who tolerated them as a “necessary evil” which filled the theatre’s cash reg-
ister, justified as the first step toward the formation of a permanent theatre
audience. However, pieces with singing were a constant in the repertoire of
National Theatre, with the frequent production of new pieces at which at-
tendance was always excellent.11 Moreover, the first two seasons consisted
entirely of pieces with singing which, due to the loyalty of Sarajevo audi-
ences to this form of stage performance, remained in the repertoire for sev-
eral years.
Introduction of Operetta: 1923/1924–1926/1927
The musical part of the repertoire was the most demanded and most visit-
ed one. It was Sarajevo audiences’ appetite for “musical performances” and
light pieces with an entertaining character that brought about the intro-
duction of operetta into the National Theatre repertoire, on two occasions
– from 1923/1924 until its removal in early 1927, and again starting from the
1935/1936 season.
In the 1923/1924 season, influenced by the new theatre conductor Jo-
sif Rožđalovski, the theatre manager Dušan Đukić (1883–1927) introduced
operetta to the repertoire.12 Conductor Rožđalovski, “energetic and persis-
tent in the Czech way”, managed, in a short time, to form a sound theatre
choir that could meet the requirements of the genre.13 The first season saw
performances of the operettas Mam’zelle Nitouche by Louis-Auguste-Flori-
mond Ronger Hervé (28 February 1924) and La poupée by Edmond Audran
(21 April 1924). Season 1924/1925 saw the staging of Franz Schubert’s Das
Dreimäderhaus (30 October 1924), Davorin Jenko’s Vračara (20 Decem-
9 Sarajevo, Academy of Music, University of Sarajevo, The Archives of the Institute of
Musicology, Program svečanog otvorenja Pozorišta Sarajevo, 22.−24. 10. 1921.
10 Lešić, Sarajevsko pozorište između dva rata, vol. 1, 113.
11 Ibid., 146.
12 B. J, “Čitulja: Josif Rožđalovski,” Pregled, March 16, 1931, 203–4.
13 Ibid.
228
