International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts

Société Internationale des Bibliothèques et des Musées des Arts du Spectacle

Actes du XIVe Congrès International des Bibliothèques et des Musées des Arts du Spectacle

Beograd 15-20 septembre 1980.

Beograd : 1982.

ISSN 0361-7500

Mirka Pavlovic

Contributions from Press Records to the History of the Serbian Musical Theatre

This paper reports a search of press records in the study of music in the Serbian theatre. For decades, plays in which music was part of the performance were among the most popular with Serbian theatregoers. However, as music was considered an element relevant to a play's actual performance, it very often received no special mention in official records. This study, therefore, sought to contribute especially on the following points: the repertory of such plays and, in as many cases as possible, the identity of the composer of theatre music; how music was used; whether there were definite forms or schemes which composers followed; the kind of music composed; the lyrics used; whether music was anticipated by the playwright; the way music was "inserted" into a play; the treatment of vocal and instrumental parts; the acceptance enjoyed by translated or adapted foreign plays; the treatment of music in such plays; the possibilities and the problems of performing music in different types of plays; the taste of the public; and finally, the search for missing musical material from these plays. The period covered is some 70 years, from the end  of the 1830s to the turn of the century. This means the years from the earliest precise information available about music as part of a theatrical performance until the emergence of works usually considered the first real example of Serbian opera.

Before going into the actual course of our investigation¹ and the results obtained, a few words are necessary to establish a background against which the development of the Serbian "musical theatre", the problems it faced and its late date will be easier to understand.

First of all, when talking of Serbian theatre in general we refer to the theatre in Serbia proper, i.e. in the eastern part of present-day Yugoslavia, and the Serbian theatre in Vojvodina (Voivodina) and a part of Slavonia, which means in the north-eastern part of the country. National theatres as institutions were founded, first in Vojvodina in 1861 - The Serbian National Theatre based in Novi Sad - and in Serbia in 1868 - The National Theatre in Belgrade. Before the establishment of these institutions, for decades the theatre had been an activity of amateurs or non-trained professionals. People of the most diverse professions were led by their love for the theatre to stage plays or band together in professional touring groups. Such groups, from Vojvodina most notably, provided the nuclei from which emerged the national theatres in Belgrade and in Novi Sad. One such touring group was also behind the first performance in the national language in Zagreb, in Croatia, in 1840.

From the time the national theatres in Belgrade and in Novi Sad were established, records of their work, problems, repertory, etc., have been kept more or less systematically and mostly, satisfactorily. But from the point of view of music, such records are wholly inadequate. A systematic search of the daily and weekly press - which always reflects the general conditions and current of a time and place as well as reactions to different aspects of cultural and social trends - seemed the most suitable starting point in trying to fill the gaps in our knowledge. It should be noted that the data we were able to collect are surprisingly rich in scope, number and detail.

Two factors had a decisive role in the development of the Serbian theatre in the 19th century: historical developments in these regions and the existing, immense popularity, we may say even love, of the theatre. First, a few words of historical background. Serbia in the 1830s, in the years from which we have the earliest concrete information about music as part of theatrical performance, had achieved a limited internal independance after nearly 500 years under Turkish rule. The capital was not yet in Belgrade, but in Kragujevac (Kraguevatz). In most of the larger towns, Turkish garrisons were still maintainted. The leader of the second, decisive uprising (1815) against the Turks was Milos Obrenovic (Milosh Obrenovich). Virtually illiterate, he was nonetheless a very shrewd politician in establishing an internal administration and handling relations with Constantinople (Istanbul). Of the many steps taken during those early years towards administrative and cultural development, one is of direct interest to us here: the organization of "court" theatricals. We recall them as "court" theatricals because they were organized for Milos and his closest associates. The "court" was one of the larger houses in the small town of Kragujevac and the "Theatre" - a spacious room with a stage and a few chairs and benches for Milos and his special quests. The rest of the audience stood. The "actors" were young civil servants and secondary school students; the costumes were clothes borrowed from the local citizenry, the stage decor was made by a local painter. The "actors" provided any voices necessary for singing, the military band the musical accompaniment, and the bandmaster was musical director and composer. This was all in 1835, - let us mention for comparison's sake, - when Beethoven had already died and, in opera, Rossini had ceased composing and Donizetti had just finished his Lucia di Lammermoor. Of decisive importance, however, was Milos's great fondness for music and his insistence that music be part of every play. This same fondness for music of the first "patron" of the Serbian theatre had already made the military band one of the earliest institutions of the still only partially liberated Serbian state.

We can only guess what these first theatrical performances incorporating music were like. Aside of sparse notes by contemporaries, the press is our best source of information. Because of their music, these performances were described as being "in the form of Italian opera" or simply called "opera". Certainly, at this time, the "patron" of the first Serbian theatre had never heard of opera. But some of those working to produce the plays in his theatre, mostly people from Vojvodina, were already at the beginning of the century admirers of opera in Italy. The music, however, in this first Serbian theatre was definitely Serbian, sometimes with some Turkish elements and strictly within the limits of the very modest possibilities.

Because of his autocratic rule, Milos was forced to leave the country by the end of that decade. Soon afterwords a new dynasty was installed. However, his theatre survived and continued working. The same people carried on, joined by a few newcomers - teachers from the local secondary school. The main innovation was that now the theatre was no longer only for a select audience but for anybody willing to pay the entrance fee established for the benefit of the school fund. This was obviously a step forward, a step towards a real national theatre. It should be stressed, that a number of the plays written for that theatre, were from the very beginning conceived with music.

While Serbia was fighting for its final liberation from Turkish rule, Vojvodina remained firmly a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although an outlying province of the Empire - and perhaps because of this under mounting pressure of Hungarianization - its contacts were with big European centres, especially with Vienna and Budapest. As a result, the cultural level in Vojvodina was much higher than in Serbia. But the aim of Serbs, both in Serbia and in Vojvodina, was the same: liberation from foreign domination. They shared also a growing determination to assert their national identity.

In Vojvodina, the 1820s marked an intensifying interest in the theatre, and plays with at least some music gained in popularity.

A great unbounded enthusiasm and love for the theatre was the second decisive factor in the 19th century development of the Serbian theatre. Dynasities fell, political currents shifted, politicians came and went, wars were fought, social and political unrest heightened or ebbed, the struggle for national rights moved ahead with better or worse results. But the love of theatre remained unchanged and a constant.

The general history of the Serbian theatre will not be reviewd here. Many and very valuable works have been written on the subject. Yet, we must note, that there is nothing surprising about the acceptance and popularity enjoyed by the theatre among 19th century Serbs. Theatre did not require a higher education or much of a financial outlay, at least not initially. But, at the same time, theatre above all lent support to the preservation and cultivation of a national consciousness and the national language, allowed the most diverse possibilities of expression (including music), and enabled participation by the broadest sectors of the population - either as performers or as spectators. Working for the theatre were people from different social strata. They did not seek personal gain but were motivated by their conviction alone of the national mission of their task.

In Serbia, notwithstanding the unstable political situation and reversals in dynastic fortunes, the prince-rulers and the members of their families always supported the theatre in word and deed. Other prominent figures in national and political life also gave of their work and influence and often contributed generously financially. The ordinary people expressed their support in humble gifts and important donations. One need cite only the sums collected in the 1850s, with the country still only partially liberated, for the construction of  the National Theatre in Belgrade. Unfortunately, these funds proved badly invested. The location chosen for the theatre had underground water and the builders brought in from abroad lacked the honesty to report this fact. In consequence, the National Theatre in Belgrade was founded and the building finally constructed only 20 years later. All this tedious road is recorded in the press of those times.

In Vojvodina, where the press was even more eager to make note of all news concerning the theatre, conditions were a great deal different. To begin with, in Serbia, although every effort focused on the liberation goals and despite the very unstable political situation, the state supported the theatre by a modest but constant subsidy. In addition, the military band and later, the military orchestra, was almost always associated with the theatre. In Vojvodina, the Serbian National Theatre received no state assistance. In their determination to safeguard their nationality, the Serbs rejected the condition set by Budapest for state assistance and refused to change their theatres name from "The Serbian National Theatre" to "The Serbian Theatre of Novi Sad", foregoing for ever every chance of getting a state subsidy. The Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad was in the true sense a national theatre. It performed for the people and was supported entirely by the people. For decades it survived on the contributions, gifts, legacies and the interest and love of its public. Its base was Novi Sad, but it was in fact a touring company which sometimes for more than two years did not return to Novi Sad. One can only imagine the role of the press in those days in keeping the public informed about the Theatre's activity. Reports in the press of that period provide an extremely vivid picture of theatrical life. One can find all sorts of imformation and details especially valuable to us from the point of view of incidental music. These are sources not only for information about specific productions and the performance of specific actors-singers or vocal and instrumental groups, but provide a record as well of critical assessments and failures, analyses of problems and statements about the character and adequacy of music. They are especially precious documents for establishing the repertory of plays which incorporated a musical element, an area otherwise very deficient in source material.

One further background note is due here. Namely, as the Serbian National Theatre in Vojvodina was under constant financial strain, it was impossible to think of training professional singers or having even a modest permanent instrumental ensemble. Often even a musical director was out of the question. The theatre could only count on the special additional talents of its actors or actresses: a beautiful voice or proficiency on the piano or harmonium for accompaniments. It could, however, turn for help to amateurs or the members of local choral groups or their directors. In Vojvodina, at that time, even the smallest towns had well-organized choral societies, which, it should be noted, had not only an important cultural role but a patriotic role as well. These groups were frequently led by well-trained professionals, foreigners, most often Czechs. The members of such local groups were eager to lend their help and participate when the Serbian National Theatre visited their towns. And their enthusiasm for the theatre often meant they were active members also of a local theatrical group. Certainly, the acting of professional actors was on a higher level, but music vocal and instrumental, because, local groups usually included excellent voices and were directed by professionals, was often better performed by amateurs.

In those days, reporters were not professional newsmen, but townsmen who from time to time wrote about local events. They regularly reported any performance of the Serbian National Theatre and, with no less eagerness, the theatrical endeavors of local amateurs. In these kind of reports we sometimes come across wonderful bits of information. From these articles, for instance, we learned that amateur theatrical groups tried their hand at opera (Schubert, Massé) long before the National Theatre did. They were first to write and stage national operettas, and, in the 1880s, productions of locally written national heroic opera are reported. In a number of cases, these involved musically quite complicated undertakings, which explains the pioneer role of provincial choral societies and their professional, well-trained directors. Most probably, little of the musical material of these efforts has survived, but a serious search still remains to be made.

The information in press reports such as those cited above is rounded out by occasional notes about local singers who after having studied abroad became prominent members of various European opera houses. From the press, we learn also, that often during vacations, these established professionals returned home and generously put their art and craft at the disposal of their fellow citizens. Their participation is recorded in concerts of local singing groups and even in local productions of a number of operas. The importance of such participation in the cultural development of these small towns needs no emphasis. At the same time, the fact that these small communities were receptive to such endeavors and successful in their realization is certainly worthy of admiration.

The attitude in small towns towards the theatre and towards the "musical theatre" in particular is reflected not so much in official theatre documents, many of which were destroyed during the wars, as in short notes, comments, reviews, etc. in the press. In existing official documents, the struggle for survival of the Serbian National Theatre is constantly present, but one can understand how the battle was won only from the press. It registered often fascinating details, touching in their simplicity, great in their value as part of the whole picture. The examples are countless and most diverse. In illustration we shall mention a few. For instance, a short note that a farmer has sold his crop and from the florins received, made a contribution to the theatre; or, that a road cobbler has died and of his 200 florins life savings, left 100 for his burial and 100 to the Serbian National Theatre; or, that a local lady has paid for all the costumes for a production of Shakespeare's Richard III; or that the director of the town's singing ensemble has given up his private classes in order to prepare, free-of-charge, the musical numbers and singers for a local theatre production; or, that the director of the Serbian National Theatre has made a gift of his year's salary to the Theatre, or that one of the greatest Yugoslav playwrights, Jovan Sterija Popovic (Yovan Steria Popovich) - who was born in Vojvodina, but for a nunber of years worked in Serbia - has in 1842 ceded all rights for the performance of his plays to the Serbian theatres etc., etc. Daily papers, furthermore, carried a regular column - Contributions to the National Theatre - reporting even the smallest contributions and all gifts in clothes, furniture, arms, or anything else of possible use to the theatre. In the official reports periodically published by the Theatre about its work, problems, finances, etc, we read about impressive contributions in money, legacies, and gifts - of buildings, land, forests, etc. These donations enabled the Serbian National Theatre in Vojvodina to survive and the National Theatre in Serbia to put up its own building.

However, despite the fundamental differences between the conditions prevailing for the National Theatre in Serbia where national freedom was won during these decades - and the Serbian National Theatre in Vojvodina - where it was not - Serbia and Vojvodina throughout this period shared many of the people dedicated to working for or in the theatre and much of their repertory.

The question of repertory, as seen through the press, is particularly interesting. Its direction was imparted by the prevailing view of the theatre. The theatre was looked upon as a great school whose principle responsibilities were educational and national. Its value as entertainment followed third. Therefore, the works of, let us say, Shakespeare, Moliere, Goldoni, Schiller, Lessing, Hugo, Laube, Gogol, or of Scribe, Sardou, Labiche, Legouvé, Dennery, Szigligeti, Szigeti, Benedix, Raimund, etc., for a very long time were paralleled if not surpassed in popularity by plays inspired by Serbian national history, legends, epics and folklore. This was especially so in Vojvodina where national aspirations remained unfulfilled. Many of these plays included music. In the absence of plays in sufficient number by Yugoslav playwrights, foreign plays were often translated and adapted by transposing the place of action to Serbian localities, replacing foreign names with Serbian names and adding nationally coloured music. In addition, Serbian poets would sometimes write special verses which were then put to music and inserted into the translations. So, for example, the first two Serbian operettas (by D. Jenko and R. Tollinger), both composed in 1882 - in Belgrade and in Kikinda in Vojvodina - base their libretti on foreign plays. The second of these is especially interesting. It was based on a play by Emil Pohl, but specially composed verses by one of the leading Serbian poets of the time (Laza Kostich) were added. This detail, a commentary about the high level of that work, as well as when and where it was performed is new information we came upon in our recent investigation of press records. The significance of these new finds is enhanced by the paucity, otherwise, of information on music in the 19th century Serbian theatre. Despite the immense popularity of "musical plays" with Serbian theatregoers and the large number of such plays making up the repertory of that period, this field has remained scarcely touched until now.

As most trained musicians were foreigners, music in the Serbian theatre from the standpoint of the authenticity of national musical expression was often discussed in the press. These discussions shed light on the views, tastes and musical judgement of the times. Understandably, not all the musicians could have had the necessary sensitivity and be gifted composers. But when the music was successfully composed, the songs and fragments of the music were independently published, mostly as piano transcriptions accompanied by the lyrics of the songs. There were cases when the music outlived the plays it was composed for.

It is difficult to establish the full list of plays which included music as part of their performance. To illustrate the clues we have had to follow down, let us mention the case of an advertisment found in the press for a collection of the lyrics of songs from different plays. We traced the book. It contains the impressive number of 800 songs from more than 80 plays staged in the National Theatre in Belgrade until 1884. Many of these lyrics have no poetic value whatsoever. But the book remains an invaluable find because most of these plays were also performed by the Serbian National Theatre in Vojvodina and all of them are listed in the official theatre repertory in Belgrade, but in many of cases without any mention of music having been part of their performance. All together, we have been able to establish the titles of some 250 plays which included a musical dimension. This means that from the time of the foundation of the national theatres in Serbia and Vojvodina in the 1860s until the turn of the century, half of the plays by Yugoslav authors and a third of the total repertory were presented with music. In many cases, we could identify the composers. At the same time, we have learned that the music for a play was not always the same and that different composers would write music for the same play.

The next question posed is the use made of music in the Serbian theatre of the 19th century.

Many of these plays with music were real, local, examples of the "singspiel" (songplay), with all the characteristics of that form. Even the local name for this kind of play - "komad s pevanjem - has the same meaning as "singspiel". Sometimes, however, plays had only one or a few inserted songs, solo or ensemble, with a relatively simple accompaniment on the piano, harmonium, a few wind instruments or even folk instruments, played on the stage. A simple accompaniment was particularly characteristic of Vojvodina. The theatre there, as we have noted, lacked the financial resources to maintain a permanent instrumental ensemble. For this same reason, the music used generally stressed the vocal parts and was usually especially composed for the particular play in question. There were, however, cases of inserting well-known popular songs into plays, sometimes ignoring any connection with the plot. This was done partly because of the great popularity of plays with music and partly to heighten the aspect of national affirmation. We have come across press comments reporting that the songs in a play were remarkably well sung (which is not surprising since the vocalists were members of a local singing group) but criticizing their insertion in the play without any heed for the plot.

In examining the uses made of music in 19th century Serbian theatre, we did not dwell on music not actually a part of the performance of a play. Grand musical finales were sometimes performed to end an evening of theater and music was also offered between the acts of a play. There are indications however, that towards the end of the centruy, the tendency was to use music to prepare the atmosphere or reflect the setting of a play. In the case of a play translated, for instance from Russian, music by Russian composers was played, or, if the play's author was French, French music would be chosen. We have however, given close attention to especially composed overtures, thematically related to a play.

In the repertory of translated plays, there were many for which music was composed after they were translated. Because of their music, some of these remained popular for decades with the Serbian public. Some translated plays had their own original music, to which new inserts by local composers would occasionally be added. There are also reports of well-known operas (Mozart, Rossini) being performed, adapted to the possibilities of local singers. When on occasion a few singers would become available locally, short operas would be staged (Weber, Massé, Mascagni, Blodek).

It must be stressed that most of the documentation for these assertions has been found in press records.

A curious-fact deserves comment. Despite great popularity with the Serbian public of "musical plays", despite several successful examples of Yugoslav operettas - the operetta as a musical form never won a place in the Serbian theatre. This is true even today. Press records give us decades of polemics over the operetta. Most often, the prevailing opinion considers the theatre a primarily educational institution and to introduce operettas would mean encouraging public taste in the wrong direction, towards a longer road to true musical values. Attractive music and a special soloist would, from time to time, result in an operetta being staged but it usually received stormy reactions in the press. Serbs seem not to have had the psychological affinity or the historical and political climate for such productions, and, in truth, this was no great loss to their general musical development. On the other hand, the "singspiel" remained popular with some sectors of the Serbian public long after opera had become an established form and attained, between the two world wars, a high European standard.

Along with the systematic survey of the press, a search was begun of various archives for musical material from the plays of this period. The stormy historical period in question leaves no doubt that much of the material was destroyed, lost or misplaced very early. The whole endeavor is further complicated by the preponderance of theatrical initiatives in small towns and the facts that the Serbian National Theatre of Novi Sad was really a touring company and that often military orchestras were in one way or another attached to national theatres in Serbia. The press records are often very helpful in telling us where to look and what to look for, but a hard, long and rather complicated task lies ahead and will demand perseverance. However, as our first steps have turned out to be unexpectedly fruitful, we hope there is no cause for pessimism. A number of noteworthy documents concerning the military band, which played in the first Serbian theatre in 1835 and 1836, came to light. Our initial conclusions have been supported by the even more recent find of a rich collection of very early musical material connected with the Serbian theatre, which, by a happy accident, had reached the archives of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Art at the end of the last century. It is music written by the bandmaster of the first military band and first conductor of the Serbian theatre. The material consists of a great deal of his work over a period of 40 years, and among these compositions are the incidental music he wrote between 1835 and 1869. Except for the first play, which was a translation, the rest of the plays he wrote music for were by Serbian authors and inspired by national history and legend. It is of importance that most of these plays were from the very beginning conceived with music. Though the material is not complete, it is more than enough to give a clear picture of the evolution of the composer and the musicians, It is interesting that some of the material is annotated as "opera". Considering, furthermore, that libretti for Serbian operas were being written already in the 1830s and that an immense enthusiasm for "musical plays" was evident among Serbs, the question arises of why it took so long for the first real Serbian opera to materialize. Directly or indirectly, the answer to this question can also be found in the press. But, this is a different subject which will perhaps be discussed on another occasion.

In conclusion, the information found in press records about Serbian musical theatre in the 19th century may be assessed as invaluable, First, it has filled many blanks in our knowledge; second, it has altered the dates in many of our previous conclusions; third, it has greatly enlarged our knowledge of the repertory of plays which had music as part of their performance. In addition, it helps us to recreate the picture, climate and pulse of theatrical life in that period. Finally, the information garnered will contribute to a better grasp and evaluation of the aspirations and achievement, the ideals and capabilities, the longings and attainments,   the needs and possibilities, eagerness and abilities, the struggles, doubts, defeats and victories of several generations of theatre devotees. 0verall, our survey of press records seems to project a long-ago film, against which the music - already recovered or still to be recovered - from the plays of the 19th century Serbian theatre will be judged with more scope, evaluated with more understanding, criticized with more sympathy.

¹ The project was initiated by the Institute of Musicology of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.[Return]
 

URL: http://www.theatrelibrary.org/sibmas/congresses/sibmas80/belgrad_09.html
Information about this site: Maria Teresa Iovinelli, Secretary General
Last modified: 08/01/03

Rules
Statuts

Executive Committee
Comité exécutif

Institutional Members
Membres institutionnels

Joining SIBMAS
Adhérer à la SIBMAS

International Directory
Répertoire international

Congresses
Congrès

National Collections
Collections nationales

Research Sites
Sites de recherche

Partner Organisations
Organisations soeurs

WHAT'S NEW
NOUVEAUTÉS

FORUM