Page 449 - 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. 449
summaries
century marked the endeavour to put the Latvian national music and dra-
ma onto the level of European high culture. The article outlines the role of
Latvian National Opera as institution and opera as a genre in the context of
Latvian national culture in 3 main aspects: 1) representations of Latvian na-
tional identity in the pre-state period until 1918; 2) national representations
in first Latvian operas marking the turning point in national musical cul-
ture of the First Republic (1918-1940) and the Soviet era as well as the con-
cept of “White House” – a poetic metaphor used to speak of Latvian Na-
tional Opera as a symbol of Latvian culture , and 3) relationship of opera
and national culture today in-and-out opera house: short outline of Latvian
diaspora discourse in opera through the example of “The Heiress of “Vilk-
achi” by Bruno Skulte staged in 2011 and the current trend of world-famous
Latvian opera singers as cultural „ambassadors” of Latvia establishing a
perception of opera as national brand.
Keywords: Latvian National opera, Latvian operas, national culture, sing-
ing nation
Biljana Milanović
Opera productions of the Belgrade National Theatre
at the beginning of the 20th century between political
rivalry and contested cultural strategies
One of the most intricate problems of Serbian culture at the beginning
of the 20th century referred to the attempts to establish a separate Opera
branch of the National Theatre in Belgrade. Polemics about whether the
Theatre should cultivate spoken drama only, or both drama and opera as
well, contributed to the arising of the “opera question”, a complex issue af-
fected by aesthetic, political, social and economic agents. The “opera ques-
tion” resulted in discontinuities in improvements of musical ensemble and
opera performances of the time, being resolved only later, in restructur-
ing of the Belgrade National Theatre after the First World War (branches of
Drama and Opera in 1920, and of Ballet in 1923).
I focus my attention on a set of behind-the-scene aspects of opera produc-
tions of the National Theatre at the beginning of the 20th century in order to
define different, but mutually intertwined agents of the postponed reorgan-
isation of this institution. My main aim is to show that 1) the political and
cultural rivalry of leading intellectuals of this institution, and 2) the weak
positions of musical representatives in the distribution of power at the Na-
tional Theatre were crucial in different attempts to establish a separate Op-
447
century marked the endeavour to put the Latvian national music and dra-
ma onto the level of European high culture. The article outlines the role of
Latvian National Opera as institution and opera as a genre in the context of
Latvian national culture in 3 main aspects: 1) representations of Latvian na-
tional identity in the pre-state period until 1918; 2) national representations
in first Latvian operas marking the turning point in national musical cul-
ture of the First Republic (1918-1940) and the Soviet era as well as the con-
cept of “White House” – a poetic metaphor used to speak of Latvian Na-
tional Opera as a symbol of Latvian culture , and 3) relationship of opera
and national culture today in-and-out opera house: short outline of Latvian
diaspora discourse in opera through the example of “The Heiress of “Vilk-
achi” by Bruno Skulte staged in 2011 and the current trend of world-famous
Latvian opera singers as cultural „ambassadors” of Latvia establishing a
perception of opera as national brand.
Keywords: Latvian National opera, Latvian operas, national culture, sing-
ing nation
Biljana Milanović
Opera productions of the Belgrade National Theatre
at the beginning of the 20th century between political
rivalry and contested cultural strategies
One of the most intricate problems of Serbian culture at the beginning
of the 20th century referred to the attempts to establish a separate Opera
branch of the National Theatre in Belgrade. Polemics about whether the
Theatre should cultivate spoken drama only, or both drama and opera as
well, contributed to the arising of the “opera question”, a complex issue af-
fected by aesthetic, political, social and economic agents. The “opera ques-
tion” resulted in discontinuities in improvements of musical ensemble and
opera performances of the time, being resolved only later, in restructur-
ing of the Belgrade National Theatre after the First World War (branches of
Drama and Opera in 1920, and of Ballet in 1923).
I focus my attention on a set of behind-the-scene aspects of opera produc-
tions of the National Theatre at the beginning of the 20th century in order to
define different, but mutually intertwined agents of the postponed reorgan-
isation of this institution. My main aim is to show that 1) the political and
cultural rivalry of leading intellectuals of this institution, and 2) the weak
positions of musical representatives in the distribution of power at the Na-
tional Theatre were crucial in different attempts to establish a separate Op-
447
