Page 253 - 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
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contested entertainment: discussions on operetta in belgrade ...
in order to exclude operetta completely from the stage and so protect the
musical tastes of Serbian and Yugoslav audiences. It was thus concluded
that the state should by no means finance operetta, in spite of the interest
shown in such works by “ministers, musicians, priests, members of Pаrlia
ment, and professors.”23 In this way it can be seen that with their strong de-
nial of any worth of operetta, except – in some cases – the works of Jacques
Offenbach or Johann Strauss, whose operettas were regarded as “classical”
– the discussions of the most prominent representatives of Serbian music
writers, musicologists, composers, musicians (muzikanti), constructed the
discourses on operetta in Belgrade. Their very negative attitudes to operetta
results in the lack of such works on the stage of the National Theatre in the
capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a unique case in the region.
Appendix
Table 1: Premieres of operettas at the National Theatre (Narodno pozorište) in Belgrade
before World War I and in the interwar period.24
Premiere before World War I Composer, operetta
21 April 1882 Davorin Jenko: Vračara
31 October 1884 Jacque Offenbach: Die Verlobung bei der Lanterne
(performed as Ženidba pri fenjerima)
30 April 1885 Franz Suppè: Die flotten Burschen (Veseli djaci)
25 November 1886 Jacque Offenbach: Un mari à la porte (Muž pred vratima)
17 April 1897 Franz Suppè: Die Schöne Galathée (Lepa Galateja)
21 April 1898 Arthur Sullivan and William Gilbert: Der Mikado oder Die Stadt
Titipu (Mikado ili Jedan dan u Titipu)
25 February 1895 Hugo Doubek: Jabuka
18 March 1899 Carl Zeller: Der Vogelhändler (Ptičar)
29 January 1900 Edmond Audran: La Mascotte or Der Glücksengel
(Maskota or Batlija devojka), also called ‘Komische Oper’
13 June 1900 Jacque Offenbach: Die schöne Helena (Lepa Jelena)
7 June 1901 Sidney Jones: Die Geisha (Gejša)
30 January 1902 Edmond Audran: La poupée (Lutka)
8 June 1902 Jacque Offenbach: Orpheus in der Unterwelt (Orfej u paklu)
23 April 1903 Carl Millöcker: Der Bettelstudent (Djak prosjak)
26 May 1907 Johann Strauss: Die Fledermaus (Slepi miš)
23 “ministri, muzikanti, popovi, poslanici i profesori”. See Petar Krstić, “‘Slepi miš’, op-
ereta u tri čina,” Pravda, December 9, 1932.
24 See Sava V. Cvetković, Repertoar Narodnog pozorišta u Beogradu 1868–1965.
Hronološki pregled premijera i obnova (Belgrade: Muzej pozorišne umetnosti Srbije,
1966).
251
in order to exclude operetta completely from the stage and so protect the
musical tastes of Serbian and Yugoslav audiences. It was thus concluded
that the state should by no means finance operetta, in spite of the interest
shown in such works by “ministers, musicians, priests, members of Pаrlia
ment, and professors.”23 In this way it can be seen that with their strong de-
nial of any worth of operetta, except – in some cases – the works of Jacques
Offenbach or Johann Strauss, whose operettas were regarded as “classical”
– the discussions of the most prominent representatives of Serbian music
writers, musicologists, composers, musicians (muzikanti), constructed the
discourses on operetta in Belgrade. Their very negative attitudes to operetta
results in the lack of such works on the stage of the National Theatre in the
capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a unique case in the region.
Appendix
Table 1: Premieres of operettas at the National Theatre (Narodno pozorište) in Belgrade
before World War I and in the interwar period.24
Premiere before World War I Composer, operetta
21 April 1882 Davorin Jenko: Vračara
31 October 1884 Jacque Offenbach: Die Verlobung bei der Lanterne
(performed as Ženidba pri fenjerima)
30 April 1885 Franz Suppè: Die flotten Burschen (Veseli djaci)
25 November 1886 Jacque Offenbach: Un mari à la porte (Muž pred vratima)
17 April 1897 Franz Suppè: Die Schöne Galathée (Lepa Galateja)
21 April 1898 Arthur Sullivan and William Gilbert: Der Mikado oder Die Stadt
Titipu (Mikado ili Jedan dan u Titipu)
25 February 1895 Hugo Doubek: Jabuka
18 March 1899 Carl Zeller: Der Vogelhändler (Ptičar)
29 January 1900 Edmond Audran: La Mascotte or Der Glücksengel
(Maskota or Batlija devojka), also called ‘Komische Oper’
13 June 1900 Jacque Offenbach: Die schöne Helena (Lepa Jelena)
7 June 1901 Sidney Jones: Die Geisha (Gejša)
30 January 1902 Edmond Audran: La poupée (Lutka)
8 June 1902 Jacque Offenbach: Orpheus in der Unterwelt (Orfej u paklu)
23 April 1903 Carl Millöcker: Der Bettelstudent (Djak prosjak)
26 May 1907 Johann Strauss: Die Fledermaus (Slepi miš)
23 “ministri, muzikanti, popovi, poslanici i profesori”. See Petar Krstić, “‘Slepi miš’, op-
ereta u tri čina,” Pravda, December 9, 1932.
24 See Sava V. Cvetković, Repertoar Narodnog pozorišta u Beogradu 1868–1965.
Hronološki pregled premijera i obnova (Belgrade: Muzej pozorišne umetnosti Srbije,
1966).
251
