Page 236 - 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. 236
opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama
People want entertainment, so let them have it; it should in no case
dominate in the theatre and live on the expense of drama and com
edy. I believe that it is to a great extent to blame for the artistic cri
sis. If someone gets used to operetta, they will not be able to bear
dramas, even the lightest ones.38
It is also interesting to read the opinion of a “common theatre patron”,
a certain Isak Perić, who calls himself a “ friend of theatre” in the survey.39
Perić believed that operetta should not be removed but rather however that
it should be improved:
The first reason is that it fills the house and the second – as unbe
lievable as it seems – that it educates the audience musically. It is
only operetta that can make even more serious musical pieces, such
as opera, reach unmusical and uneducated audiences. As trite and
‘immoral’ as it is, when we endure the repertoire such as ‘Were
wolf ’, ‘Blameless Husband’, ‘Kiki’ and ‘Peg, My Darling’, we should
endure operetta as well.40
The division of the cultural public with regard to the removal of oper-
etta is evident here. Theatre critic Ivan Peserle (1882–1932) condemned the
decision to remove operetta from the repertoire, and the reason he gave was
that it the genre was an expression of the taste of most of the Sarajevo au-
dience, and it also gave an opportunity for the theatre to make more mon-
ey, which in turn would allow the performance of serious literary works,
which were not popular among broader audiences.41
Upon the arrival of manager Mirko Korolija (1886–1934), near the end
of the 1928/1929 season, smaller ballet and choral ensembles were again en-
gaged. Despite the limited financial resources, pieces with music, singing,
and ballet were reintroduced in the repertoire, and plans included the stag-
ing of an opera with the theatre’s resources.42 Thanks to efforts by con-
ductor Alfred Pordes, Mascagni’s Cavaleria Rusticana (28 September 1928),
38 Jakša Kušan, “Anketa o krizi sarajevskog Nar. Pozorišta,” Pregled, July 10, 1927, 7.
39 This may be merchant Isak Perić, who was involved in the production and trade of
fabrics in Sarajevo. See Eli Tauber, “Jevreji kao nerazdvojni dio razvoja privred i kul-
ture u Bosni i Hercegovini,” in Identiteti Bosne i Hercegovine kroz historiju: zbornik
radova, ed. Husnija Kamberović (Sarajevo: Institu za istoriju, 2011), 98. https://issuu.
com/institutzaistorijusarajevo/docs/identitet_bih_knjiga_1/98.
40 Isak Perić, “Anketa o krizi sarajevskog Nar. Pozorišta,” Pregled, July 10, 1927, 7.
41 Lešić, Sarajevsko pozorište između dva rata, vol. 1, 299–300.
42 Ibid., 313.
234
People want entertainment, so let them have it; it should in no case
dominate in the theatre and live on the expense of drama and com
edy. I believe that it is to a great extent to blame for the artistic cri
sis. If someone gets used to operetta, they will not be able to bear
dramas, even the lightest ones.38
It is also interesting to read the opinion of a “common theatre patron”,
a certain Isak Perić, who calls himself a “ friend of theatre” in the survey.39
Perić believed that operetta should not be removed but rather however that
it should be improved:
The first reason is that it fills the house and the second – as unbe
lievable as it seems – that it educates the audience musically. It is
only operetta that can make even more serious musical pieces, such
as opera, reach unmusical and uneducated audiences. As trite and
‘immoral’ as it is, when we endure the repertoire such as ‘Were
wolf ’, ‘Blameless Husband’, ‘Kiki’ and ‘Peg, My Darling’, we should
endure operetta as well.40
The division of the cultural public with regard to the removal of oper-
etta is evident here. Theatre critic Ivan Peserle (1882–1932) condemned the
decision to remove operetta from the repertoire, and the reason he gave was
that it the genre was an expression of the taste of most of the Sarajevo au-
dience, and it also gave an opportunity for the theatre to make more mon-
ey, which in turn would allow the performance of serious literary works,
which were not popular among broader audiences.41
Upon the arrival of manager Mirko Korolija (1886–1934), near the end
of the 1928/1929 season, smaller ballet and choral ensembles were again en-
gaged. Despite the limited financial resources, pieces with music, singing,
and ballet were reintroduced in the repertoire, and plans included the stag-
ing of an opera with the theatre’s resources.42 Thanks to efforts by con-
ductor Alfred Pordes, Mascagni’s Cavaleria Rusticana (28 September 1928),
38 Jakša Kušan, “Anketa o krizi sarajevskog Nar. Pozorišta,” Pregled, July 10, 1927, 7.
39 This may be merchant Isak Perić, who was involved in the production and trade of
fabrics in Sarajevo. See Eli Tauber, “Jevreji kao nerazdvojni dio razvoja privred i kul-
ture u Bosni i Hercegovini,” in Identiteti Bosne i Hercegovine kroz historiju: zbornik
radova, ed. Husnija Kamberović (Sarajevo: Institu za istoriju, 2011), 98. https://issuu.
com/institutzaistorijusarajevo/docs/identitet_bih_knjiga_1/98.
40 Isak Perić, “Anketa o krizi sarajevskog Nar. Pozorišta,” Pregled, July 10, 1927, 7.
41 Lešić, Sarajevsko pozorište između dva rata, vol. 1, 299–300.
42 Ibid., 313.
234
