Page 140 - 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
P. 140
vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju
Soviet military occupation in 1958. Following negotiations that have not, to
this day, been fully elucidated, and which are still shrouded in various leg-
ends,34 the troops of the “liberating” Russian army retreated from Roma-
nian territory, marking a turning point in the relations between the two
countries. Gheorghiu-Dej’s policies thus signaled a profoundly national-
ist direction, but also a vague opening – economic, first and foremost – to-
wards the West.35
The very attempt at writing a book on Romanian opera illustrates the
beginning of the rise of Romanian nationalism under Gheorghiu-Dej’s
leadership (Cosma even quotes him on a few occasions). Nevertheless, the
author’s far too inflexible grounding in “orthodox” socialist realism at a
time when a policy of political relaxation was being signaled quickly made
the book seem anachronistic.
In 2017, however, Cosma offers a complex portrayal of the Sovietization
of the Romanian Opera, which began immediately after 1944 and reached
its climax in the 1950s. The censoring of the repertoire first manifested it-
self in the disappearance of Mozart, Weber and especially Wagner – whose
very mention “seemed risky”36 from the posters, and the massive inclusion
of Russian and Soviet operas in the repertoire.37
Moreover, the employment of the “realist method” of performance,
brought to Romania by various “Soviet greats” was considered a sure-
fire way to achieve success in the 1950s. Referring to the Soviet director
Vladimir Chukov, who had staged Dargomyzhsky’s Rusalka in Bucharest,
Cosma notes that he reached “the so often touted desideratum of offering
‘realist performances.’ In the period, this meant authentic performances,
grounded in life.”38 The issue of “realist” performance was also raised in his
34 See Florin Constantiniu, „Retragerea trupelor sovietice din România (1958): aspecte
obscure” [“On the Withdrawal of the Soviet Forces from Romanian (1958): Obscure
Aspects”], in the magazine Historia, accessed: February 7, 2018https://www.histo-
ria.ro/sectiune/general/articol/retragerea-trupelor-sovietice-din-romania-1958-as-
pecte-obscure.
35 See Dennis Deletant, „România sub regimul comunist (decembrie 1947-decembrie
1989)” [Romania under the Communist regime (December 1947-December 1989)],
in Mihai Bărbulescu, Dennis Deletant, Keith Hitchins, Șerban Papacostea, Pompiliu
Teodor, Istoria României [The History of Romania], 435-436.
36 Cosma, Hronicul Operei Române [The Chronicle of Romanian Opera], vol. 2, 621.
37 In the 1952-1953 season, for instance, “Russian operas and Soviet ballets enjoyed
91 performances (…) which speaks for itself in terms of the policy of obedience to-
wards the Soviet Union and its influence on the repertoire.” Cosma, Hronicul Operei
Române [The Chronicle of Romanian Opera], vol. 2, 857.
38 Ibid., 844.
138
Soviet military occupation in 1958. Following negotiations that have not, to
this day, been fully elucidated, and which are still shrouded in various leg-
ends,34 the troops of the “liberating” Russian army retreated from Roma-
nian territory, marking a turning point in the relations between the two
countries. Gheorghiu-Dej’s policies thus signaled a profoundly national-
ist direction, but also a vague opening – economic, first and foremost – to-
wards the West.35
The very attempt at writing a book on Romanian opera illustrates the
beginning of the rise of Romanian nationalism under Gheorghiu-Dej’s
leadership (Cosma even quotes him on a few occasions). Nevertheless, the
author’s far too inflexible grounding in “orthodox” socialist realism at a
time when a policy of political relaxation was being signaled quickly made
the book seem anachronistic.
In 2017, however, Cosma offers a complex portrayal of the Sovietization
of the Romanian Opera, which began immediately after 1944 and reached
its climax in the 1950s. The censoring of the repertoire first manifested it-
self in the disappearance of Mozart, Weber and especially Wagner – whose
very mention “seemed risky”36 from the posters, and the massive inclusion
of Russian and Soviet operas in the repertoire.37
Moreover, the employment of the “realist method” of performance,
brought to Romania by various “Soviet greats” was considered a sure-
fire way to achieve success in the 1950s. Referring to the Soviet director
Vladimir Chukov, who had staged Dargomyzhsky’s Rusalka in Bucharest,
Cosma notes that he reached “the so often touted desideratum of offering
‘realist performances.’ In the period, this meant authentic performances,
grounded in life.”38 The issue of “realist” performance was also raised in his
34 See Florin Constantiniu, „Retragerea trupelor sovietice din România (1958): aspecte
obscure” [“On the Withdrawal of the Soviet Forces from Romanian (1958): Obscure
Aspects”], in the magazine Historia, accessed: February 7, 2018https://www.histo-
ria.ro/sectiune/general/articol/retragerea-trupelor-sovietice-din-romania-1958-as-
pecte-obscure.
35 See Dennis Deletant, „România sub regimul comunist (decembrie 1947-decembrie
1989)” [Romania under the Communist regime (December 1947-December 1989)],
in Mihai Bărbulescu, Dennis Deletant, Keith Hitchins, Șerban Papacostea, Pompiliu
Teodor, Istoria României [The History of Romania], 435-436.
36 Cosma, Hronicul Operei Române [The Chronicle of Romanian Opera], vol. 2, 621.
37 In the 1952-1953 season, for instance, “Russian operas and Soviet ballets enjoyed
91 performances (…) which speaks for itself in terms of the policy of obedience to-
wards the Soviet Union and its influence on the repertoire.” Cosma, Hronicul Operei
Române [The Chronicle of Romanian Opera], vol. 2, 857.
38 Ibid., 844.
138
