Page 233 - 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. 233
oper etta in sar ajevo between the two wor ld wars
theatrical form with the highly competent musical ensembles (conductors,
directors, choir and ballet):
At the time, the Sarajevo theatre had such an elaborate and com
prehensive operetta troupe, both in terms of soloist material and
singing choir and ballet chorus, and was so well-equipped that it
could compete with the best ones in Yugoslavia.28
Operetta performances helped the theatre overcome the financial cri-
sis it has faced on opening, and created a permanent theatre audience in
Sarajevo.
Removal of Operetta: 1927/1928–1934/1935
Three years after the introduction of operetta into the regular theatre sea-
son, at the moment when National Theatre managed by Nušić “got itself on
its feet”, on the eve of the beginning of the 1926/1927 season, the Ministry of
Education sent instructions to all regional theatres with regard to planning
their repertoires, with an extremely negative view on performing operettas:
Frivolous Budapest and Vienna operettas (Fala, Kalman, Lehar,
etc.) should be particularly avoided. If it becomes absolutely nec
essary, for financial or special local reasons, to include operetta in
the repertoire, then perform only classical operettas (Lecocq, Offen
bach, Millöcker, Planquet, Suppé), which may raise serious musi
cal and theatrical interest. In this way, regional theatres will not di
vert from their goal, and will avoid the criticism that they nourish
questionable art on their stages and they serve to protect destruc
tive foreign influences.29
The operetta ensemble (choir, orchestra, ballet, and soloists) of Sa-
rajevo’s theatre could not fulfil the interpretative requirements of “classi-
cal operetta” and, having been forbidden to perform the Vienna-Budapest
operetta, it became too heavy a burden for the theatre budget. When the
Ministry of Education, with its decision of 18 January 1927, decreased the
subsidy by 240,000 dinars,30 Nušić was forced to transform the musical part
of the theatre repertoire. The choir and orchestra were retained, but oper-
etta was “removed or occasionally performed in the scope and with the staff
28 B. J, “Čitulja: Josif Rožđalovski,” 204.
29 Lešić, Sarajevsko pozorište između dva rata, vol. 1, 237–8.
30 Ibid., 239.
231
theatrical form with the highly competent musical ensembles (conductors,
directors, choir and ballet):
At the time, the Sarajevo theatre had such an elaborate and com
prehensive operetta troupe, both in terms of soloist material and
singing choir and ballet chorus, and was so well-equipped that it
could compete with the best ones in Yugoslavia.28
Operetta performances helped the theatre overcome the financial cri-
sis it has faced on opening, and created a permanent theatre audience in
Sarajevo.
Removal of Operetta: 1927/1928–1934/1935
Three years after the introduction of operetta into the regular theatre sea-
son, at the moment when National Theatre managed by Nušić “got itself on
its feet”, on the eve of the beginning of the 1926/1927 season, the Ministry of
Education sent instructions to all regional theatres with regard to planning
their repertoires, with an extremely negative view on performing operettas:
Frivolous Budapest and Vienna operettas (Fala, Kalman, Lehar,
etc.) should be particularly avoided. If it becomes absolutely nec
essary, for financial or special local reasons, to include operetta in
the repertoire, then perform only classical operettas (Lecocq, Offen
bach, Millöcker, Planquet, Suppé), which may raise serious musi
cal and theatrical interest. In this way, regional theatres will not di
vert from their goal, and will avoid the criticism that they nourish
questionable art on their stages and they serve to protect destruc
tive foreign influences.29
The operetta ensemble (choir, orchestra, ballet, and soloists) of Sa-
rajevo’s theatre could not fulfil the interpretative requirements of “classi-
cal operetta” and, having been forbidden to perform the Vienna-Budapest
operetta, it became too heavy a burden for the theatre budget. When the
Ministry of Education, with its decision of 18 January 1927, decreased the
subsidy by 240,000 dinars,30 Nušić was forced to transform the musical part
of the theatre repertoire. The choir and orchestra were retained, but oper-
etta was “removed or occasionally performed in the scope and with the staff
28 B. J, “Čitulja: Josif Rožđalovski,” 204.
29 Lešić, Sarajevsko pozorište između dva rata, vol. 1, 237–8.
30 Ibid., 239.
231
