Page 334 - 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. 334
opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama
Of these four operettas, it is worth particularly highlighting Habakuk,
which, unlike Beg iz harema and Hmeljska princesa, both of which were
premiered in Žalec, received its first performance in Maribor on 25 Decem-
ber 1940. With the performance of Gobec’s Habakuk and the fourth per-
formance of Parma’s Caričine amazonke on 22 February 1941, the period of
the interwar activity of the National Theatre in Maribor came to an end af-
ter more than two decades. Operettas of course remained a constant part of
the repertoire of the German municipal theatre – the Stadttheater in Mar
burg – during the Second World War, with thirteen operetta premieres in
the first season alone.
Comparison of operetta production at the National Theatre
in Maribor and the National Theatre Opera in Ljubljana
between the wars
In the period between the two world wars, almost twice as many operettas
– by both Slovene and foreign composers – were premiered at the National
Theatre in Maribor as in Ljubljana. A total of 107 operettas were premiered
in Maribor between 1919 and 1939, of which 13 were by Slovene compos-
ers and 94 by foreign composers, while Ljubljana saw just 60 operetta pre-
mieres in the same period, six of them by Slovene composers and 54 by for-
eign composers.
A survey of the most frequently performed Slovene and foreign oper-
ettas in the two main Slovene national theatres shows that the Maribor the-
atre changed operettas more frequently, while in Ljubljana the theatre tend-
ed to persist with individual tried and tested works. It should be mentioned
that in Ljubljana, alongside the core Viennese repertoire, the operettas of
the Czech composer Jara Beneš were extremely popular. Three of his works
(Auf der grünen Wiese, Der heilige Antonius and Die kleine Schwindlerin)
are among the most frequently performed operettas in Ljubljana between
the wars. Despite the greater number of operetta premieres in the Maribor
theatre, the total numbers of performances in Maribor and Ljubljana do
not differ significantly. If Maribor saw a total of 1,173 performances, Ljublja-
na saw 948 in the same period, despite the fact that operetta performances
were extremely rare in Ljubljana in the first years of the interwar period.20
Which means that some operettas enjoyed significantly more repeat per-
formances in Ljubljana than in Maribor.
20 Moravec, Repertoar slovenskih gledališč 1867–1967.
332
Of these four operettas, it is worth particularly highlighting Habakuk,
which, unlike Beg iz harema and Hmeljska princesa, both of which were
premiered in Žalec, received its first performance in Maribor on 25 Decem-
ber 1940. With the performance of Gobec’s Habakuk and the fourth per-
formance of Parma’s Caričine amazonke on 22 February 1941, the period of
the interwar activity of the National Theatre in Maribor came to an end af-
ter more than two decades. Operettas of course remained a constant part of
the repertoire of the German municipal theatre – the Stadttheater in Mar
burg – during the Second World War, with thirteen operetta premieres in
the first season alone.
Comparison of operetta production at the National Theatre
in Maribor and the National Theatre Opera in Ljubljana
between the wars
In the period between the two world wars, almost twice as many operettas
– by both Slovene and foreign composers – were premiered at the National
Theatre in Maribor as in Ljubljana. A total of 107 operettas were premiered
in Maribor between 1919 and 1939, of which 13 were by Slovene compos-
ers and 94 by foreign composers, while Ljubljana saw just 60 operetta pre-
mieres in the same period, six of them by Slovene composers and 54 by for-
eign composers.
A survey of the most frequently performed Slovene and foreign oper-
ettas in the two main Slovene national theatres shows that the Maribor the-
atre changed operettas more frequently, while in Ljubljana the theatre tend-
ed to persist with individual tried and tested works. It should be mentioned
that in Ljubljana, alongside the core Viennese repertoire, the operettas of
the Czech composer Jara Beneš were extremely popular. Three of his works
(Auf der grünen Wiese, Der heilige Antonius and Die kleine Schwindlerin)
are among the most frequently performed operettas in Ljubljana between
the wars. Despite the greater number of operetta premieres in the Maribor
theatre, the total numbers of performances in Maribor and Ljubljana do
not differ significantly. If Maribor saw a total of 1,173 performances, Ljublja-
na saw 948 in the same period, despite the fact that operetta performances
were extremely rare in Ljubljana in the first years of the interwar period.20
Which means that some operettas enjoyed significantly more repeat per-
formances in Ljubljana than in Maribor.
20 Moravec, Repertoar slovenskih gledališč 1867–1967.
332
