Page 133 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2019. Vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju - The Role of National Opera Houses in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 3
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on the romanian opera, bucharest: one author, two views
The interwar period
The interwar period is widely acknowledged as a stage of accelerated devel-
opment in Romanian culture. The Bucharest Opera made significant pro-
gress, marked by numerous premieres, quality stagings, the contributions
of several world-class soloists, as well as the coherent formation of a sin-
gle orchestra.3 An opening towards Europe is illustrated by the presence
in Bucharest of invited guests such as Pietro Mascagni (who conducted his
opera Cavalleria rusticana, on June 12 1927); Bass Feodor Chaliapin (Jan-
uary 24 1930, in Boris Godunov, among others); baritone Titta Ruffo (Janu-
ary 30 1930, in The Barber of Seville), and others. At the same time, a num-
ber of Romanian soloists become visible on the great stages of the world:
Petre Ștefănescu-Goangă (Brussels, Rouen, Amsterdam, Anvers, Rotter-
dam, Ghent, The Hague, Barcelona, Bruges and Namur) or George Nicules-
cu-Basu (Milan, Cairo, Bologna, Lisbon, and so on).
These aspects, as well as the great endeavor that was the establishment
of the Romanian Opera, Bucharest, as a state-sponsored institution are dis-
cussed in detail by Cosma in 2017: from the passing in the Romanian Par-
liament of the Law of Romanian Operas (in Bucharest and Cluj) on July 24
1921, to the opening of the first season, on December 8 1921, with Wagner’s
Lohengrin, conducted by George Enescu.4
On the other hand, in Opera românească [Romanian Opera], in 1962,
the establishment of the Romanian Opera is mentioned only in passing,5
and it is altogether eclipsed by another event from 1921: the establishment
of the Romanian Communist Party (RCP). Employing the tone of state
propaganda, Cosma grants the Party a key role in shaping Romania’s his-
tory in the following two decades, which strongly goes against the histor-
ical record: it was, in fact, an obscure party, largely believed to “place the
interests of the Soviet Union before those of Romania” and outlawed in
1924.6
3 As early as the 1920s, the Philharmonic Orchestra played in both the symphonic con-
certs of the Bucharest Philharmonic and in the Opera performances.
4 See Cosma, Hronicul Operei Române [The Chronicle of Romanian Opera], vol. 2 (Bu-
charest: Editura Academiei Române, 2017), 21–35.
5 Cosma, Opera românească [Romanian Opera], vol. 2, (Bucharest: Editura Muzicală,
1962), 7.
6 Keith Hitchins, „Desăvârșirea națiunii române” [The Fulfillment of the Romanian
Nation] in Mihai Bărbulescu, Dennis Deletant, Keith Hitchins, Șerban Papacostea,
Pompiliu Teodor, Istoria României [The History of Romania] (Bucharest: Corint,
2012), 355–356.
131
The interwar period
The interwar period is widely acknowledged as a stage of accelerated devel-
opment in Romanian culture. The Bucharest Opera made significant pro-
gress, marked by numerous premieres, quality stagings, the contributions
of several world-class soloists, as well as the coherent formation of a sin-
gle orchestra.3 An opening towards Europe is illustrated by the presence
in Bucharest of invited guests such as Pietro Mascagni (who conducted his
opera Cavalleria rusticana, on June 12 1927); Bass Feodor Chaliapin (Jan-
uary 24 1930, in Boris Godunov, among others); baritone Titta Ruffo (Janu-
ary 30 1930, in The Barber of Seville), and others. At the same time, a num-
ber of Romanian soloists become visible on the great stages of the world:
Petre Ștefănescu-Goangă (Brussels, Rouen, Amsterdam, Anvers, Rotter-
dam, Ghent, The Hague, Barcelona, Bruges and Namur) or George Nicules-
cu-Basu (Milan, Cairo, Bologna, Lisbon, and so on).
These aspects, as well as the great endeavor that was the establishment
of the Romanian Opera, Bucharest, as a state-sponsored institution are dis-
cussed in detail by Cosma in 2017: from the passing in the Romanian Par-
liament of the Law of Romanian Operas (in Bucharest and Cluj) on July 24
1921, to the opening of the first season, on December 8 1921, with Wagner’s
Lohengrin, conducted by George Enescu.4
On the other hand, in Opera românească [Romanian Opera], in 1962,
the establishment of the Romanian Opera is mentioned only in passing,5
and it is altogether eclipsed by another event from 1921: the establishment
of the Romanian Communist Party (RCP). Employing the tone of state
propaganda, Cosma grants the Party a key role in shaping Romania’s his-
tory in the following two decades, which strongly goes against the histor-
ical record: it was, in fact, an obscure party, largely believed to “place the
interests of the Soviet Union before those of Romania” and outlawed in
1924.6
3 As early as the 1920s, the Philharmonic Orchestra played in both the symphonic con-
certs of the Bucharest Philharmonic and in the Opera performances.
4 See Cosma, Hronicul Operei Române [The Chronicle of Romanian Opera], vol. 2 (Bu-
charest: Editura Academiei Române, 2017), 21–35.
5 Cosma, Opera românească [Romanian Opera], vol. 2, (Bucharest: Editura Muzicală,
1962), 7.
6 Keith Hitchins, „Desăvârșirea națiunii române” [The Fulfillment of the Romanian
Nation] in Mihai Bărbulescu, Dennis Deletant, Keith Hitchins, Șerban Papacostea,
Pompiliu Teodor, Istoria României [The History of Romania] (Bucharest: Corint,
2012), 355–356.
131
