Page 379 - 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. 379
slovene oper etta at the crossroads: r adovan gobec’s planinsk a roža
Slovene Operetta between the Wars – 1918–1945
In Slovenia there was no delay re-establishing the activities of the opera
house in Ljubljana and it was achieved with a popular operetta. It was on
21 November 1918, just ten days after the signing of the armistice, that the
first of twelve performances of André Messager’s frivolous operetta involv-
ing confused identities, Les P’tites michu of 1897, launched the new era, on
a wave of hope and optimism. It was followed by 41 performances of Smet-
ana’s ever popular comic opera Prodana nevesta (‘The Bartered Bride’),
together with operettas by Robert Planquette (Cornevillski zvonovi – 14
performances), the French composer Hervé (Mam’zelle Nitouche – 16 per-
formances), Rudolph Piskaček (Slovaška princeska – 14 performances) and,
inevitably, Offenbach (Madama Favart – 7 performances), to say nothing
of more serious operas by Tchaikovsky (Jevgenij Onjegin/Evgenij Onegin –
14 performances), Massenet (Manon – 17 performances) and Puccini (La
Bohéme – 20 performances).15 The audiences in Ljubljana were now becom-
ing more selective in the choice of operatic ventures, with a notable reduc-
tion in the number of performances of operettas and a corresponding in-
crease in the number of performances of operas of all types.
There was another profoundly significant musical event soon after
World War I. The opening of the opera house in Maribor in 1919 with the
first of 15 performances on 1 May 1920 of Hervé’s operetta Mam’zelle Nito
uche gave Slovenes outside Ljubljana the opportunity of experiencing pro-
fessional musical theatre.16 The establishment of this activity was on very
firm footing as events proved, because during the time between the World
Wars (1920–1941), the Maribor Opera House mounted the staggering num-
ber of 88 operettas with a total of some 300 performances.17 To add to this
large number there were also eleven ‘comic operas’ and, probably as a temp-
tation to audiences to explore beyond the frivolous nature of many of the
operettas, some 30 ‘serious’ operas (sometimes given other titles like ro-
mantic opera, dramatic romance and fairy tale opera). It was only after the
presentation of 23 operettas and less well-known operas over two and a half
years after the opening that Maribor witnessed professional performances
of recognised classic full-scale operas with Gounod’s Faust and Verdi’s La
Traviata, in December 1922 and January 1923 respectively.18
15 Ibid., 204–5.
16 Ibid., 431.
17 Ibid., 431–45.
18 Ibid., 431–33.
377
Slovene Operetta between the Wars – 1918–1945
In Slovenia there was no delay re-establishing the activities of the opera
house in Ljubljana and it was achieved with a popular operetta. It was on
21 November 1918, just ten days after the signing of the armistice, that the
first of twelve performances of André Messager’s frivolous operetta involv-
ing confused identities, Les P’tites michu of 1897, launched the new era, on
a wave of hope and optimism. It was followed by 41 performances of Smet-
ana’s ever popular comic opera Prodana nevesta (‘The Bartered Bride’),
together with operettas by Robert Planquette (Cornevillski zvonovi – 14
performances), the French composer Hervé (Mam’zelle Nitouche – 16 per-
formances), Rudolph Piskaček (Slovaška princeska – 14 performances) and,
inevitably, Offenbach (Madama Favart – 7 performances), to say nothing
of more serious operas by Tchaikovsky (Jevgenij Onjegin/Evgenij Onegin –
14 performances), Massenet (Manon – 17 performances) and Puccini (La
Bohéme – 20 performances).15 The audiences in Ljubljana were now becom-
ing more selective in the choice of operatic ventures, with a notable reduc-
tion in the number of performances of operettas and a corresponding in-
crease in the number of performances of operas of all types.
There was another profoundly significant musical event soon after
World War I. The opening of the opera house in Maribor in 1919 with the
first of 15 performances on 1 May 1920 of Hervé’s operetta Mam’zelle Nito
uche gave Slovenes outside Ljubljana the opportunity of experiencing pro-
fessional musical theatre.16 The establishment of this activity was on very
firm footing as events proved, because during the time between the World
Wars (1920–1941), the Maribor Opera House mounted the staggering num-
ber of 88 operettas with a total of some 300 performances.17 To add to this
large number there were also eleven ‘comic operas’ and, probably as a temp-
tation to audiences to explore beyond the frivolous nature of many of the
operettas, some 30 ‘serious’ operas (sometimes given other titles like ro-
mantic opera, dramatic romance and fairy tale opera). It was only after the
presentation of 23 operettas and less well-known operas over two and a half
years after the opening that Maribor witnessed professional performances
of recognised classic full-scale operas with Gounod’s Faust and Verdi’s La
Traviata, in December 1922 and January 1923 respectively.18
15 Ibid., 204–5.
16 Ibid., 431.
17 Ibid., 431–45.
18 Ibid., 431–33.
377
