Page 234 - 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
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opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama
that exists and that works on dramas, though without special fees”, while
the need for an orchestra in a drama was “either removed or reduced to a
minimum.”31
A few times the management found a way out of financial crisis by re-
ducing expenditures related to the musical part of the ensemble. Still, this
was not the only reason for such actions. The relationship with musical en-
sembles depended on the theatre’s repertoire policy, which was designed by
the theatre manager, whose artistic beliefs32 typically did not correspond to
the taste of the majority of Sarajevo audiences. This led to a distinctive hes-
itancy, which wavered between the focus on popular and profitable pieces
where music was widely present, and more serious though poorly attend-
ed dramatic works.
In this season, the ensemble managed to stage three new operettas, al-
though operetta was now pushed to the backseat compared to the previous
season. The operettas performed included Kálmán’s Das Hollandweibchen
(27 November 1926), Oskar Nedbal’s Polenblut (31 March 1927), and Oscar
Nathan Straus’s Die Teresina (3 May 1927).33 When operetta was removed
from the repertoire, Fridman, Cvetković, Hrvojić, and Đurkić left Sarajevo,
and the occasional performances of operettas were exclusively the respon-
sibility of the dramatic ensemble.
Sarajevo’s cultural public was divided concerning the function of op-
eretta in the National Theatre. After an article on the “crisis of our thea-
tres” published in March 1927, the journal for political and cultural life Pre
gled conducted a survey aimed at finding a solution to both the financial
and artistic problems.34 One of the six survey questions pertained to the
31 Ibid., 241–2.
32 From its establishment to the outbreak of the war in 1941, the managers of Nation-
al Theatre included Stevan Brakus (October 1920–November 1923), Dušan Đukić
(November 1923–December 1924), Stevan Brakus (December 1924–February 1925),
Branislav Nušić (February 1925–April 1928), Mirko Korolija (April 1929–December
1930), Milutin Janjušević (December 1930–April 1941). “Uprave Narodnog pozoriš-
ta u Sarajevu,” in Narodno pozorište u Sarajevu: izložba 75 godina rada Narodnog
pozorišta, 100 godina zgrade sa osvrtom na teatarski život Sarajeva prije osnivan
ja Pozorišta: teatrografska studija Repertoar Pozorišta (1921–1996), Prilozi o razvo
ju Drame, Opere i Baleta i teatarskom životu, ed. Tamara Sarajlić-Slavnić (Sarajevo:
Muzej k njiževne i pozorišne umjetnosti BiH, 1998), 351–2.
33 Lešić, Sarajevsko pozorište između dva rata, vol. 2, 320–1.
34 The survey consisted of six questions: “1. Is the crisis of our theatre of financial or
artistic character?; 2. What do you think about the artistic result of this season, in
terms of the repertoire and engaged acting forces?; 3. Have the reviews, written or oral,
been up to standard, and have they encouraged raising of the theatre’s artistic level?;
232
that exists and that works on dramas, though without special fees”, while
the need for an orchestra in a drama was “either removed or reduced to a
minimum.”31
A few times the management found a way out of financial crisis by re-
ducing expenditures related to the musical part of the ensemble. Still, this
was not the only reason for such actions. The relationship with musical en-
sembles depended on the theatre’s repertoire policy, which was designed by
the theatre manager, whose artistic beliefs32 typically did not correspond to
the taste of the majority of Sarajevo audiences. This led to a distinctive hes-
itancy, which wavered between the focus on popular and profitable pieces
where music was widely present, and more serious though poorly attend-
ed dramatic works.
In this season, the ensemble managed to stage three new operettas, al-
though operetta was now pushed to the backseat compared to the previous
season. The operettas performed included Kálmán’s Das Hollandweibchen
(27 November 1926), Oskar Nedbal’s Polenblut (31 March 1927), and Oscar
Nathan Straus’s Die Teresina (3 May 1927).33 When operetta was removed
from the repertoire, Fridman, Cvetković, Hrvojić, and Đurkić left Sarajevo,
and the occasional performances of operettas were exclusively the respon-
sibility of the dramatic ensemble.
Sarajevo’s cultural public was divided concerning the function of op-
eretta in the National Theatre. After an article on the “crisis of our thea-
tres” published in March 1927, the journal for political and cultural life Pre
gled conducted a survey aimed at finding a solution to both the financial
and artistic problems.34 One of the six survey questions pertained to the
31 Ibid., 241–2.
32 From its establishment to the outbreak of the war in 1941, the managers of Nation-
al Theatre included Stevan Brakus (October 1920–November 1923), Dušan Đukić
(November 1923–December 1924), Stevan Brakus (December 1924–February 1925),
Branislav Nušić (February 1925–April 1928), Mirko Korolija (April 1929–December
1930), Milutin Janjušević (December 1930–April 1941). “Uprave Narodnog pozoriš-
ta u Sarajevu,” in Narodno pozorište u Sarajevu: izložba 75 godina rada Narodnog
pozorišta, 100 godina zgrade sa osvrtom na teatarski život Sarajeva prije osnivan
ja Pozorišta: teatrografska studija Repertoar Pozorišta (1921–1996), Prilozi o razvo
ju Drame, Opere i Baleta i teatarskom životu, ed. Tamara Sarajlić-Slavnić (Sarajevo:
Muzej k njiževne i pozorišne umjetnosti BiH, 1998), 351–2.
33 Lešić, Sarajevsko pozorište između dva rata, vol. 2, 320–1.
34 The survey consisted of six questions: “1. Is the crisis of our theatre of financial or
artistic character?; 2. What do you think about the artistic result of this season, in
terms of the repertoire and engaged acting forces?; 3. Have the reviews, written or oral,
been up to standard, and have they encouraged raising of the theatre’s artistic level?;
232
