Page 44 - 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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opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama
etta history in this essay and ask: were operettas ever safe spaces that shield-
ed groups from alien intrusion? Were operetta theaters ever ‘cleaned up’
venues where audiences and artists enjoyed themselves without being dis-
turbed by opposing moral or religious values? Were operetta theaters and
the shows performed there ‘positive spaces’? And what about triggers in op-
eretta, not just in times of iTunes where titles are marked as ‘clean’ or ‘ex-
plicit’ to prevent unwanted encounters with supposedly ‘dirty’ content?
To meditate on this, I will follow the development of opéra bouffe and
early operetta from the 1850s to the present day in chronological order. And
I will ask what exactly drew audiences at different times to the genre com-
monly known as operetta today, and why it is important to keep their dif-
ferent motivations for associating with operetta in mind when evaluating
this particular form of musical theater. Because one person’s idea of op-
eretta, at any given moment, might not be someone else’s, yet both will
have good reason to believe that their definition of the genre is historical-
ly correct.
In her 2012 study Das deutschsprachige Operettenlibretto: Figuren, Stof
fe, Dramaturgie author Heike Quissek comes to the following definition of
the genre, after 290 pages of analysis:
As a text the operetta libretto is a plural-media work of art (pluri
mediales Kunstwerk). […] For the reception of an operetta it is es
sential to consider its presentation: which staging and casting ef
fects are utilized, which external comic elements are added and
what (grotesque) dancing in combination with dialogue and music
is added? Together these elements define the visual catchiness that
determines the pulling power of an operetta. As a result, operetta
is a theatrical art form whose basis is the stage representation. […]
The exchange and interchange with other ‘social institutions’ – such
as the theaters in which operettas are performed, censorship offic
es, the press etc. – are more important in defining what operetta is
than in any other text-based genre. So, in order to demarcate and
sind die zentrale, modellhafte Metapher für Reaktionen auf die Überforderung durch
expandierenden Pluralismus. […] Begriffe wie ‘Heimat’ und ‘Safe Spaces’ setzen der
Globalisierung trauliche Miniaturwelten entgegen, in denen man, gleichsam von der
Wiege eines idyllischen Zuhause geschaukelt, keine Furcht haben muss vor dem Ein
bruch vermeintlich fremder Phänomene ins vermeintlich Alleineigene: reiner Raum.”
– Caroline Fetscher, “Das Phantasma des reinen Raums,” Tagesspiegel, May 8, 2018,
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/angst-vor-der-globalisierung-das-phantasma-
des-reinen-raums/21258152.html.
42
etta history in this essay and ask: were operettas ever safe spaces that shield-
ed groups from alien intrusion? Were operetta theaters ever ‘cleaned up’
venues where audiences and artists enjoyed themselves without being dis-
turbed by opposing moral or religious values? Were operetta theaters and
the shows performed there ‘positive spaces’? And what about triggers in op-
eretta, not just in times of iTunes where titles are marked as ‘clean’ or ‘ex-
plicit’ to prevent unwanted encounters with supposedly ‘dirty’ content?
To meditate on this, I will follow the development of opéra bouffe and
early operetta from the 1850s to the present day in chronological order. And
I will ask what exactly drew audiences at different times to the genre com-
monly known as operetta today, and why it is important to keep their dif-
ferent motivations for associating with operetta in mind when evaluating
this particular form of musical theater. Because one person’s idea of op-
eretta, at any given moment, might not be someone else’s, yet both will
have good reason to believe that their definition of the genre is historical-
ly correct.
In her 2012 study Das deutschsprachige Operettenlibretto: Figuren, Stof
fe, Dramaturgie author Heike Quissek comes to the following definition of
the genre, after 290 pages of analysis:
As a text the operetta libretto is a plural-media work of art (pluri
mediales Kunstwerk). […] For the reception of an operetta it is es
sential to consider its presentation: which staging and casting ef
fects are utilized, which external comic elements are added and
what (grotesque) dancing in combination with dialogue and music
is added? Together these elements define the visual catchiness that
determines the pulling power of an operetta. As a result, operetta
is a theatrical art form whose basis is the stage representation. […]
The exchange and interchange with other ‘social institutions’ – such
as the theaters in which operettas are performed, censorship offic
es, the press etc. – are more important in defining what operetta is
than in any other text-based genre. So, in order to demarcate and
sind die zentrale, modellhafte Metapher für Reaktionen auf die Überforderung durch
expandierenden Pluralismus. […] Begriffe wie ‘Heimat’ und ‘Safe Spaces’ setzen der
Globalisierung trauliche Miniaturwelten entgegen, in denen man, gleichsam von der
Wiege eines idyllischen Zuhause geschaukelt, keine Furcht haben muss vor dem Ein
bruch vermeintlich fremder Phänomene ins vermeintlich Alleineigene: reiner Raum.”
– Caroline Fetscher, “Das Phantasma des reinen Raums,” Tagesspiegel, May 8, 2018,
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/angst-vor-der-globalisierung-das-phantasma-
des-reinen-raums/21258152.html.
42
