Page 222 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2021. Opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama ▪︎ Operetta between the Two World Wars. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 5
P. 222
opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama
scope for the operetta and set up a special ensemble for it. Howev
er, if our audience wanted to have a theatre that fulfils its mission,
it should have innovated the operetta shows and protested against
this harmful element in our theatre in that way.19
This demonstration was one of the factors that prompted Drašar to
look for ways to improve his relationship with the Slovak cultural public.
Besides staging operettas in Slovak, with Lehár’s Paganini (11/11/1933) being
the first step in this direction, he focused mainly on staging the works of
local authors. Ján Móry’s Zimný románik [Winter Story] is considered to be
the first Slovak operetta staged in the Slovak National Theatre. However, its
premiere on 6 February 1932 provoked a serious controversy, not because of
the quality of the operetta itself but, rather, because of the origin of its au-
thor, which was a thorn in the flesh of nationalistically oriented critics. Al-
though Ján Móry came from Slovakia, he kept his Hungarian nationality
even after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. He studied composition in
Budapest and Berlin, and his works were strongly influenced by the charac-
ter of the musical life of these cities. Móry’s fourth operetta in three acts set
a German libretto written by Erwin W. Olbricht and Kurt Wunger. Drašar
staged it in Czech translation during his activities in the Olomouc theatre
in České Budějovice, a seasonal centre at that time (22/01/1931). It was con-
ducted by Jiří Viliam Schöffer, who was the conductor of its Bratislava stag-
ing, too. Since Hungarians viewed Móry as their compatriot living abroad,
the reviews in the Hungarian press were more than positive:
The plot is not stereotypical, it is filled with nice experiences perme
ated with love and cheerfulness during winter sports. The music is
full of softness, its melodies are dominated by strength and feeling,
which is a unique feature of each composition of Móry’s. The oper
etta also contains modern hits and a rumba, which brings it closer
to the musical productions of bars and cafés. The audience, which
filled the theatre and, because of the composer, included an impres
sive number of Hungarians too, welcomed the operetta warmly and
affectionately greeted Móry, who had achieved significant success
even in Germany.20
19 Alexander Moyzes, “Opereta v prvej polovici sezóny 1933–34,” Elán 4, no. 5 (1933/4):
7.
20 Marianna Bárdiová, “Ján Móry a bratislavské inscenácie jeho operiet v prvej polovici
20. Storočia” [Ján Móry and the Bratislava Stagings of his Operettas in the First Half
220
scope for the operetta and set up a special ensemble for it. Howev
er, if our audience wanted to have a theatre that fulfils its mission,
it should have innovated the operetta shows and protested against
this harmful element in our theatre in that way.19
This demonstration was one of the factors that prompted Drašar to
look for ways to improve his relationship with the Slovak cultural public.
Besides staging operettas in Slovak, with Lehár’s Paganini (11/11/1933) being
the first step in this direction, he focused mainly on staging the works of
local authors. Ján Móry’s Zimný románik [Winter Story] is considered to be
the first Slovak operetta staged in the Slovak National Theatre. However, its
premiere on 6 February 1932 provoked a serious controversy, not because of
the quality of the operetta itself but, rather, because of the origin of its au-
thor, which was a thorn in the flesh of nationalistically oriented critics. Al-
though Ján Móry came from Slovakia, he kept his Hungarian nationality
even after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. He studied composition in
Budapest and Berlin, and his works were strongly influenced by the charac-
ter of the musical life of these cities. Móry’s fourth operetta in three acts set
a German libretto written by Erwin W. Olbricht and Kurt Wunger. Drašar
staged it in Czech translation during his activities in the Olomouc theatre
in České Budějovice, a seasonal centre at that time (22/01/1931). It was con-
ducted by Jiří Viliam Schöffer, who was the conductor of its Bratislava stag-
ing, too. Since Hungarians viewed Móry as their compatriot living abroad,
the reviews in the Hungarian press were more than positive:
The plot is not stereotypical, it is filled with nice experiences perme
ated with love and cheerfulness during winter sports. The music is
full of softness, its melodies are dominated by strength and feeling,
which is a unique feature of each composition of Móry’s. The oper
etta also contains modern hits and a rumba, which brings it closer
to the musical productions of bars and cafés. The audience, which
filled the theatre and, because of the composer, included an impres
sive number of Hungarians too, welcomed the operetta warmly and
affectionately greeted Móry, who had achieved significant success
even in Germany.20
19 Alexander Moyzes, “Opereta v prvej polovici sezóny 1933–34,” Elán 4, no. 5 (1933/4):
7.
20 Marianna Bárdiová, “Ján Móry a bratislavské inscenácie jeho operiet v prvej polovici
20. Storočia” [Ján Móry and the Bratislava Stagings of his Operettas in the First Half
220
