Page 554 - 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. 554
opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama
cially after 1933 in Nazi Germany and ultimately after World War II all over
the world, turning the provocative and modern art form into a nostalgic
“pain killer” for a traumatized generation of war survivors. Is this how we,
as researchers, want the genre’s history to end, or are there ways of getting
back to what made operetta so revolutionary and glorious in the first place?
Keywords: operetta, sexual liberation, National Socialism, safe space, Par-
is, Vienna, Berlin
Ryszard Daniel Golianek
National Stereotypes and Political Issues
in Polnische Hochzeit (1937) by Joseph Beer
Polnische Hochzeit, composed in 1937 by Joseph Beer to the lyrics of Al-
fred Grünwald and Fritz Löhner-Beda, appears to be one of the most in-
teresting operettas on Polish themes. The authors did not limit themselves
to showing Polish people as an exotic ethnic group, but instead they made
an attempt to present essential cultural issues in a more detailed manner.
The very title, Polish Wedding, implies a tradition of lavish wedding cele-
brations on the territory of Poland, but the proposed analysis discloses a se-
ries of indications alluding to Polish tradition and culture, which proves an
in-depth knowledge of the national background. It seems that it was Beer
himself that contributed to this, as he grew up in Poland and among Pol-
ish people.
The most potent allusions to Polish realities can be noticed in the sphere
of the language used by the characters, but what plays also an important
role for the formation of national values in the structure of the operetta are
various musical categories associated with Polish characteristics. Typically,
elements of national culture, mainly national dances – mazur (mazurka),
krakowiak and polonaise, are used to characterise the Polish protagonists
and related events on stage.
The plot of Polnische Hochzeit takes place in the 19th century, in the times
when there was no Polish state on the maps of Europe as it ceased to exist
as a consequence of 18th-century partitions. The operetta events are situated
in a Polish manor in the Russian partition, which generates an additional
political conflict. The tension between Poles and Russians, as well as domi-
nation of the Russian occupier, are heightened by the constant introduction
of political issues to the operetta’s plot.
Keywords: Joseph Beer, Polnische Hochzeit, Polish culture, national
stereotypes
552
cially after 1933 in Nazi Germany and ultimately after World War II all over
the world, turning the provocative and modern art form into a nostalgic
“pain killer” for a traumatized generation of war survivors. Is this how we,
as researchers, want the genre’s history to end, or are there ways of getting
back to what made operetta so revolutionary and glorious in the first place?
Keywords: operetta, sexual liberation, National Socialism, safe space, Par-
is, Vienna, Berlin
Ryszard Daniel Golianek
National Stereotypes and Political Issues
in Polnische Hochzeit (1937) by Joseph Beer
Polnische Hochzeit, composed in 1937 by Joseph Beer to the lyrics of Al-
fred Grünwald and Fritz Löhner-Beda, appears to be one of the most in-
teresting operettas on Polish themes. The authors did not limit themselves
to showing Polish people as an exotic ethnic group, but instead they made
an attempt to present essential cultural issues in a more detailed manner.
The very title, Polish Wedding, implies a tradition of lavish wedding cele-
brations on the territory of Poland, but the proposed analysis discloses a se-
ries of indications alluding to Polish tradition and culture, which proves an
in-depth knowledge of the national background. It seems that it was Beer
himself that contributed to this, as he grew up in Poland and among Pol-
ish people.
The most potent allusions to Polish realities can be noticed in the sphere
of the language used by the characters, but what plays also an important
role for the formation of national values in the structure of the operetta are
various musical categories associated with Polish characteristics. Typically,
elements of national culture, mainly national dances – mazur (mazurka),
krakowiak and polonaise, are used to characterise the Polish protagonists
and related events on stage.
The plot of Polnische Hochzeit takes place in the 19th century, in the times
when there was no Polish state on the maps of Europe as it ceased to exist
as a consequence of 18th-century partitions. The operetta events are situated
in a Polish manor in the Russian partition, which generates an additional
political conflict. The tension between Poles and Russians, as well as domi-
nation of the Russian occupier, are heightened by the constant introduction
of political issues to the operetta’s plot.
Keywords: Joseph Beer, Polnische Hochzeit, Polish culture, national
stereotypes
552
