Page 387 - 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. 387
slovene oper etta at the crossroads: r adovan gobec’s planinsk a roža
tion into the dramatic structure enhances the plot towards a more tightly
controlled plan.
Sivec notes the operetta’s continued popularity as shown by perfor-
mances in many places, not only in Slovenia:
Planinska roža has had many different performances (three times
in Žalec, then in Cleveland, Murska Sobota, Majšperk, Postojna,
Ljubljana, Maribor, Trieste and Osijek).27
He also makes important points about the nature of the operetta:
Gobec in Planinska roža discards dance diversity and strives for
musical focus, which is achieved through the presentation of the
central melody and even more by careful motivic work. This is
probably not irrelevant for the libretto to offer besides standard op
eretta motives and moments of realism, but also the unusual cross
ing of the theatre stage, and the mixing of real and unreal events.
It is the latter and also the replacement of dance-rhythmic sections
with emphasized melodic shifts. Planinska roža is even slightly clos
er to opera, and such a shift towards a more serious genre is bal
anced by the stereotypical operatic typing of the main characters
and the withdrawal into the mountain idyll.28
Gobec’s last operetta Habakuk was composed in 1938 and first per-
formed on Christmas Day 1940 in the National Opera House in Maribor
and ran for 18 performances.29 Planinska roža, however, was not performed
there until many years later. By now, however, the political situation was to-
tally transformed, with the innocence of operetta being lost forever. Most of
Europe was at war, but even so performances of operas and operettas took
place in Ljubljana during the war years. Most of the productions featured
well established operas, by such composers as Verdi, Donizetti, Puccini,
Massenet, Mozart, Janáček, Beethoven and even Wagner. There were also
operas by Slovenes and Croats: Matija Bravničar’s Hlapec Jernej in njegova
pravica, Danilo Švara’s Kleopatra and Veronika deseniška, Kozina’s Ekvi
nokcij were all performed in the war years or soon after, as was Ero the Jok
er by the Croatian Jakov Gotovac. Operettas were few and far between, con-
sisting almost exclusively of the best known works of Strauss and Léhar.30
27 Sivec, Radovan Gobec, 44.
28 Ibid.
29 Moravec, Repertoar slovenskih gledališč 1867–1967, 445.
30 Ibid., 243–56.
385
tion into the dramatic structure enhances the plot towards a more tightly
controlled plan.
Sivec notes the operetta’s continued popularity as shown by perfor-
mances in many places, not only in Slovenia:
Planinska roža has had many different performances (three times
in Žalec, then in Cleveland, Murska Sobota, Majšperk, Postojna,
Ljubljana, Maribor, Trieste and Osijek).27
He also makes important points about the nature of the operetta:
Gobec in Planinska roža discards dance diversity and strives for
musical focus, which is achieved through the presentation of the
central melody and even more by careful motivic work. This is
probably not irrelevant for the libretto to offer besides standard op
eretta motives and moments of realism, but also the unusual cross
ing of the theatre stage, and the mixing of real and unreal events.
It is the latter and also the replacement of dance-rhythmic sections
with emphasized melodic shifts. Planinska roža is even slightly clos
er to opera, and such a shift towards a more serious genre is bal
anced by the stereotypical operatic typing of the main characters
and the withdrawal into the mountain idyll.28
Gobec’s last operetta Habakuk was composed in 1938 and first per-
formed on Christmas Day 1940 in the National Opera House in Maribor
and ran for 18 performances.29 Planinska roža, however, was not performed
there until many years later. By now, however, the political situation was to-
tally transformed, with the innocence of operetta being lost forever. Most of
Europe was at war, but even so performances of operas and operettas took
place in Ljubljana during the war years. Most of the productions featured
well established operas, by such composers as Verdi, Donizetti, Puccini,
Massenet, Mozart, Janáček, Beethoven and even Wagner. There were also
operas by Slovenes and Croats: Matija Bravničar’s Hlapec Jernej in njegova
pravica, Danilo Švara’s Kleopatra and Veronika deseniška, Kozina’s Ekvi
nokcij were all performed in the war years or soon after, as was Ero the Jok
er by the Croatian Jakov Gotovac. Operettas were few and far between, con-
sisting almost exclusively of the best known works of Strauss and Léhar.30
27 Sivec, Radovan Gobec, 44.
28 Ibid.
29 Moravec, Repertoar slovenskih gledališč 1867–1967, 445.
30 Ibid., 243–56.
385
