Page 297 - 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. 297
václav talich at the slovene provincial theatr e in ljubljana
comparatively small. Of these conductors, the one who undoubtedly left the
greatest mark on the activities of the Slovene theatre over the course of a
full 15 seasons was Hilarion (Hilarij) Beníšek, a Czech.10
Talich’s first season (1909/10) in Ljubljana
It was Václav Talich who succeeded Beníšek as director of music of the Slo-
vene Provincial Theatre, taking over as operetta conductor in the 1909/10
season and, finally, as opera conductor in the 1911/12 season. Critics wri-
ting in the Slovene daily press were almost unanimous in their highly fa-
vourable accounts of his initial contribution to the theatre, writing of the
“unexpected yet notable progress of the theatre and a new era in Slove-
ne musical life”11 or stating that “With the new orchestra, Slovene opera
and operetta have elevated themselves to a level that until now we could
only dream of.”12 While it is worth taking these reports in the Slovene press
with a pinch of salt – the aim of critics in the bi-national, highly competi-
tive environment of that period was always “to praise, and in this way to
encourage and fill the theatre”13 – the authors of these pieces nevertheless
unanimously agreed that over the course of the two seasons of Talich’s mu-
sical-dramatic activity (1909/10 and 1911/12), the latter proved himself to be
a capable, spirited and skilful conductor and a remarkable interpreter, who-
se stagings of musical-dramatic works were well-rounded and precise, and
prepared with true artistic enthusiasm.14 Even the politically more objective
Laibacher Zeitung was unstinting in its praise for Talich, frequently highli-
ghting his ardent temperament and the maturity of his artistic interpretati-
on, along with the remarkable discipline he had succeeded in imposing on
the orchestra, with an iron hand, in such a short time.15
Stanko Premrl, one of the most conscientious chroniclers of the or-
chestra’s activity, wrote a piece in the periodical Dom in svet about the new
composition of the Slovenian Philharmonic, which from this point on had
37 permanent members, more than half of whom were graduates of the Pra-
10 Jernej Weiss, “Hilarion Beníšek (1863–1919) and other Czech conductors at the Slo-
venian Provincial Theatre at the turn of the 20th century,” Zbornik Matice srpske za
scenske umetnosti i muziku 51 (2014): 53–63.
11 Slovenski narod 41 (1908), 260 (6. 11.): 3.
12 Ibid.
13 Lah, “Slovensko-nemška dihotomija v Deželnem gledališču v Ljubljani,” 100.
14 Taken from reviews published in the newspapers Laibacher Zeitung and Slovenski
narod between 1908 and 1912.
15 Ibid.
295
comparatively small. Of these conductors, the one who undoubtedly left the
greatest mark on the activities of the Slovene theatre over the course of a
full 15 seasons was Hilarion (Hilarij) Beníšek, a Czech.10
Talich’s first season (1909/10) in Ljubljana
It was Václav Talich who succeeded Beníšek as director of music of the Slo-
vene Provincial Theatre, taking over as operetta conductor in the 1909/10
season and, finally, as opera conductor in the 1911/12 season. Critics wri-
ting in the Slovene daily press were almost unanimous in their highly fa-
vourable accounts of his initial contribution to the theatre, writing of the
“unexpected yet notable progress of the theatre and a new era in Slove-
ne musical life”11 or stating that “With the new orchestra, Slovene opera
and operetta have elevated themselves to a level that until now we could
only dream of.”12 While it is worth taking these reports in the Slovene press
with a pinch of salt – the aim of critics in the bi-national, highly competi-
tive environment of that period was always “to praise, and in this way to
encourage and fill the theatre”13 – the authors of these pieces nevertheless
unanimously agreed that over the course of the two seasons of Talich’s mu-
sical-dramatic activity (1909/10 and 1911/12), the latter proved himself to be
a capable, spirited and skilful conductor and a remarkable interpreter, who-
se stagings of musical-dramatic works were well-rounded and precise, and
prepared with true artistic enthusiasm.14 Even the politically more objective
Laibacher Zeitung was unstinting in its praise for Talich, frequently highli-
ghting his ardent temperament and the maturity of his artistic interpretati-
on, along with the remarkable discipline he had succeeded in imposing on
the orchestra, with an iron hand, in such a short time.15
Stanko Premrl, one of the most conscientious chroniclers of the or-
chestra’s activity, wrote a piece in the periodical Dom in svet about the new
composition of the Slovenian Philharmonic, which from this point on had
37 permanent members, more than half of whom were graduates of the Pra-
10 Jernej Weiss, “Hilarion Beníšek (1863–1919) and other Czech conductors at the Slo-
venian Provincial Theatre at the turn of the 20th century,” Zbornik Matice srpske za
scenske umetnosti i muziku 51 (2014): 53–63.
11 Slovenski narod 41 (1908), 260 (6. 11.): 3.
12 Ibid.
13 Lah, “Slovensko-nemška dihotomija v Deželnem gledališču v Ljubljani,” 100.
14 Taken from reviews published in the newspapers Laibacher Zeitung and Slovenski
narod between 1908 and 1912.
15 Ibid.
295
