Page 336 - 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. 336
vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju
ism”, influenced modernism and the avant-garde of European and Ameri-
can stage and it is still present in contemporary times.3
Its earliest institutional age, the Slovene Theatre in Ljubljana, in ac-
cordance with common practice, performed a variety of musical and the-
atrical works which often demanded both acting and singing ability from
the individual as they performed plays with singing, operetta, and opera.
This meant that the ensemble was generally uniform, until its more detailed
concentration to opera and/or operetta, which occurred only after World
War I, or after 1925, when the director of the Opera Theatre in Ljubljana be-
came Mirko Polič.4 In accordance with the educational system and rooted
practice, musical performances were directed by stage directors, who were
usually employed in the drama ensemble, but they were expected to occa-
sionally manage musical and theatre performances. An exception was Josip
Nolli (1841-1902), an internationally renowned singer who returned to his
native Ljubljana in 1890 after a successful European career, and as a sing-
er and director, he co-formed opera and operetta performances from 1892
until his death in 1902.5 In the first period of the Slovenian Provincial The-
atre, Ignacij Borštnik (1858-1919) also stands out as an actor and represent-
ative of the Vienna “modern realistic direction”. He was active as a drama,
and occasionally opera, director and worked in Ljubljana from 1886 to 1894
when he left for Zagreb due to unrealized career opportunities. After his
departure, Slovene theatre and opera performances were usually directed
by Czechs, mostly professional actors who continued the Prague direction.
After 1909, a new generation of Slovenian actors and directors in the same
person, such as Hinko Nučič (1883-1970) and Josip Povhe (1884-1951), start-
ed to act at the Drama and Opera, introducing the characteristics of the re-
3 The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. 4 (ur. S. Sadie), Production 4: The Enlighten-
ment: 1122.
4 Prim. Darja Koter, »Evropska kulturna migracija in ljubljanska Opera v obdobju
Mirka Poliča (1925–1939)« / “European Cultural Migration and Ljubljana Opera in
the Period of Director Mirko Polič (1925–1939),” Uprizoritvene umetnosti, migracija,
politika: slovensko gledališče kot sooblikovalec medkulturnih izmenjav / Perform-
ing Arts, Migration, Politics: Slovenian Theatre as an Agent of Intercultural Exchange,
edited by Barbara Orel (Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, 2017),
64–83.
5 Darja Koter, »Josip Nolli – pionir Dramatičnega društva v Ljubljani« / “Josip Nolli -
the pioneer of the Dramatic Society in Ljubljana,” Začetki in dosežki slovenskega gle-
dališča moderne dobe: ob 150-letnici ustanovitve Dramatičnega društva v Ljubljani /
The Beginnings, Achievements and Successors of Slovenian Theatre in the Modern Era:
at The 150th Anniversary of the Dramatic Society in Ljubljana, edited by Štefan Vevar
and Barbara Orel (Ljubljana: Slovenski gledališki inštitut, 2017), 65.
334
ism”, influenced modernism and the avant-garde of European and Ameri-
can stage and it is still present in contemporary times.3
Its earliest institutional age, the Slovene Theatre in Ljubljana, in ac-
cordance with common practice, performed a variety of musical and the-
atrical works which often demanded both acting and singing ability from
the individual as they performed plays with singing, operetta, and opera.
This meant that the ensemble was generally uniform, until its more detailed
concentration to opera and/or operetta, which occurred only after World
War I, or after 1925, when the director of the Opera Theatre in Ljubljana be-
came Mirko Polič.4 In accordance with the educational system and rooted
practice, musical performances were directed by stage directors, who were
usually employed in the drama ensemble, but they were expected to occa-
sionally manage musical and theatre performances. An exception was Josip
Nolli (1841-1902), an internationally renowned singer who returned to his
native Ljubljana in 1890 after a successful European career, and as a sing-
er and director, he co-formed opera and operetta performances from 1892
until his death in 1902.5 In the first period of the Slovenian Provincial The-
atre, Ignacij Borštnik (1858-1919) also stands out as an actor and represent-
ative of the Vienna “modern realistic direction”. He was active as a drama,
and occasionally opera, director and worked in Ljubljana from 1886 to 1894
when he left for Zagreb due to unrealized career opportunities. After his
departure, Slovene theatre and opera performances were usually directed
by Czechs, mostly professional actors who continued the Prague direction.
After 1909, a new generation of Slovenian actors and directors in the same
person, such as Hinko Nučič (1883-1970) and Josip Povhe (1884-1951), start-
ed to act at the Drama and Opera, introducing the characteristics of the re-
3 The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. 4 (ur. S. Sadie), Production 4: The Enlighten-
ment: 1122.
4 Prim. Darja Koter, »Evropska kulturna migracija in ljubljanska Opera v obdobju
Mirka Poliča (1925–1939)« / “European Cultural Migration and Ljubljana Opera in
the Period of Director Mirko Polič (1925–1939),” Uprizoritvene umetnosti, migracija,
politika: slovensko gledališče kot sooblikovalec medkulturnih izmenjav / Perform-
ing Arts, Migration, Politics: Slovenian Theatre as an Agent of Intercultural Exchange,
edited by Barbara Orel (Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, 2017),
64–83.
5 Darja Koter, »Josip Nolli – pionir Dramatičnega društva v Ljubljani« / “Josip Nolli -
the pioneer of the Dramatic Society in Ljubljana,” Začetki in dosežki slovenskega gle-
dališča moderne dobe: ob 150-letnici ustanovitve Dramatičnega društva v Ljubljani /
The Beginnings, Achievements and Successors of Slovenian Theatre in the Modern Era:
at The 150th Anniversary of the Dramatic Society in Ljubljana, edited by Štefan Vevar
and Barbara Orel (Ljubljana: Slovenski gledališki inštitut, 2017), 65.
334
