Page 257 - 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. 257
oi: https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-055-4.255-268
National Stereotypes and Political Issues
in Polnische Hochzeit (1937) by Joseph Beer
Ryszard Daniel Golianek
Univerza Adama Mickiewicza, Poznanj
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
Within the opulent repertoire of German operetta, particularly in the in-
terwar 1930s times, an important place is occupied by works whose plot in-
volves references to Polish themes, or those wherein Polish characters ap-
pear.1 The predominant – though not the only– method of presenting the
Polish milieu is a confrontation with representatives of invading nations
(Germany, Austria and Russia), and the differences in behaviour as well
as personal qualities of the characters, resulting from such confrontations,
frequently generate the main dramatic conflicts in operettas’ plots. Both
the manner in which protagonists are developed and their characteristics
concurrently become manifestations of peculiar stereotypes of a particu-
lar nation, whereas moral assessments of a protagonist’s behaviour often
lead to overgeneralisations transferred onto communities, or even entire
nations.2
1 In order to simplify the discourse, I keep using the notion of ‘German operetta’ in
the sense of operetta works in the German language, written in Germany, Austria
and in the countries that were ruled and governed by them. In spite of a certain lack
of precision, the term is applied in the subject literature, similarly to the names used
for other vocal-instrumental works such as Italian and German opera in the works
of Mozart, Haydn, etc.
2 The question of presence of Polish themes in operetta has already been mentioned
by Oswald Panagl, who discusses, in a short article, issues related to four operettas:
Der Bettelstudent (1882) by Carl Millöcker, Polenblut (1913) by Oskar Nedbal, Der
letzte Walzer (1920) by Oscar Straus and Die blaue Mazur (1920) by Franz Lehár. See:
Oswald Panagl, “‘Solang’s noch solche Frauen gibt, ist Polen nicht verloren’. Iden-
titätskrisen und Solidaritätsstiftung auf der Operettenbühne.” In Politische Mythen
255
National Stereotypes and Political Issues
in Polnische Hochzeit (1937) by Joseph Beer
Ryszard Daniel Golianek
Univerza Adama Mickiewicza, Poznanj
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
Within the opulent repertoire of German operetta, particularly in the in-
terwar 1930s times, an important place is occupied by works whose plot in-
volves references to Polish themes, or those wherein Polish characters ap-
pear.1 The predominant – though not the only– method of presenting the
Polish milieu is a confrontation with representatives of invading nations
(Germany, Austria and Russia), and the differences in behaviour as well
as personal qualities of the characters, resulting from such confrontations,
frequently generate the main dramatic conflicts in operettas’ plots. Both
the manner in which protagonists are developed and their characteristics
concurrently become manifestations of peculiar stereotypes of a particu-
lar nation, whereas moral assessments of a protagonist’s behaviour often
lead to overgeneralisations transferred onto communities, or even entire
nations.2
1 In order to simplify the discourse, I keep using the notion of ‘German operetta’ in
the sense of operetta works in the German language, written in Germany, Austria
and in the countries that were ruled and governed by them. In spite of a certain lack
of precision, the term is applied in the subject literature, similarly to the names used
for other vocal-instrumental works such as Italian and German opera in the works
of Mozart, Haydn, etc.
2 The question of presence of Polish themes in operetta has already been mentioned
by Oswald Panagl, who discusses, in a short article, issues related to four operettas:
Der Bettelstudent (1882) by Carl Millöcker, Polenblut (1913) by Oskar Nedbal, Der
letzte Walzer (1920) by Oscar Straus and Die blaue Mazur (1920) by Franz Lehár. See:
Oswald Panagl, “‘Solang’s noch solche Frauen gibt, ist Polen nicht verloren’. Iden-
titätskrisen und Solidaritätsstiftung auf der Operettenbühne.” In Politische Mythen
255
