Enschedesch Opera en Operetta Gezelschap
The Enschedesch 'Opera- en operetta-Gezelschap (German: Enscheder operas - and operettas -Gesellschaft shortly EOOG ) was in the 1930s, a cross-border association in the Dutch town of Enschede and its German neighboring town of Gronau . The company was founded in 1935 and existed until the beginning of the Second World War . In its time it was the only such music society that dared to "leap" across the border.
history
founding
In the midst of 13 singing, twelve theater and two oratorio associations, the EOOG was the only Ensched society in the second half of the 1930s that had dedicated itself to opera and operetta. It was founded on September 21, 1935 on the initiative of Pieter Herfst . Herfst was its chairman and conductor at the same time , his children joined the orchestra, and his apartment (across from Hotel Dolphia) served as the club's secretariat.
The EOOG was not as Dutch as it appeared from the outside: The “supporting pillars” of Gronau's cultural life - u. a. Durk Dragstra, Alfred Klose, Nora Stroink and Richard Moritz - were also among the founding members here. Joachim von Ostau and the theater group of the society "recovery" joined them.
After the concert orchestra was founded on the basis of numerous smaller café orchestras and the simultaneous revitalization of the club theater , the step towards the complex structure of an operetta company was dared - with orchestra, choir , soloists and complete stage equipment . Around 80 people participated in the operetta performances. Pieter Herfst and Joachim von Ostau brought the necessary know-how with them from their Berlin days. In addition, they relied on experts such as A. Alexanders ( The Hague / Amsterdam ) and Tatjana Tamarova ( Brussels ). Numerous companies from Enschede, Gronau and Münster were also integrated into the network of the amateur association . Professionalism was the top priority.
Goal setting and self-image
“Een dilettantengezelschap, dat in Nederland eenig is”
"A lay society as it is unique in the Netherlands"
“The EOOG is“ not a business enterprise […], but an association of friends of the musical art of the stage, who also want to cultivate friendly neighborly relations in our border area by bringing Dutch and German art lovers hand in hand to the successful performance of good operas and operettas wanted to contribute. Even if, for understandable reasons, some important roles were assigned to aspiring specialists (in this case, students from the Bochum Music School), by far the largest number of contributors was to be found in lay circles . This is all the more to be recognized because these members tirelessly made themselves available after their professional work with the pure joy of working. In addition, this work also serves as a kind of selection, because some talent can be discovered here first. ""
Sponsors
The list of sponsors , some of which has been preserved , includes illustrious names, especially ladies from Enschede's good company: Mayor's wife Rückert Bosch heads the list, as are the manufacturer families Baurichter, Brasz, Scholten, Stroink Beltman, Tattersall-Borgman, van Gelderen and van Heekter Horst, but also the newspaper and publishing house owner van der Loeff is not missing.
The saying from the Gronau textile industry, "The more German the company, the more Dutch the capital", was reversed in the cultural sector. The rule here was: "The more Dutch the operetta company, the more German its capital (and staff)"!
Reaction to the national socialist cultural policy?
This construction presumably reduced the control and say in the Reich Chamber of Culture to a minimum, which was also reflected in the repertoire: If a successful Jewish composer was played in 1936 (which was specifically prevented "from above" since the 1933/34 theater season), so From 1937 onwards they switched to Strauss operettas.
As an as yet unknown, non-Jewish composer, Hans-Martin Majewski was “outside the game” and, among other things, got a chance because works were urgently needed to fill the void of the banned “Jewish” composers. Majewski's operetta " Insel der Träume ", composed with Joachim von Ostau , was premiered by the EOOG in Gronau in May 1938 - on May 12, 1938 in a closed performance for dignitaries and sponsors, and on May 16, 1938 in a public performance.
From September 1935, the Gronau performances were "officially" only "guest performances" by a foreign amateur association. Nevertheless, there was an obligation that no profit could be made, i. This means that the income had to be paid strictly for the winter relief organization or the German Red Cross .
The end
The EOOG is the only known operetta company that dared to leap across the German-Dutch border. The beginning of the Second World War put an end to this model project.
From EOOG to EOG
The EOOG was replaced by the EOG ( Enschede's Operetta Gezelschap ) in 1950, eleven years after the start of the Second World War . Her name was linked to the pre-war period, Pieter Herfst was also re-elected conductor, he also conducted the first post-war concert in “Ons Huis” in 1951 - but since 1938 a lot had changed. Herfst left the Enscheder Gesellschaft in 1955 in conflict because it was too “amateurish” for him, and until his death conducted exclusively in Hengelo and Oldenzaal . New contacts to Gronau arose only decades later when the EOG appointed Rudolf Heise as conductor in 1992. In the same year the EOG modernized its name and was now called " Music All ".
Professionalization: The way to the "Reisopera"
As a result of the professionalization of the Ensched cultural business from 1954, the lay organizations lost their importance. “Opera Form” or today's “National Reisopera ” took the place of the EOOG.
literature
- Alfred Hagemann, Elmar Hoff (ed.): Island of dreams. Music in Gronau and Enschede (1895–2005) , Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2006. ISBN 978-3898616201
- Alfred Hagemann: "Eenig in Nederland": The Enschedesch 'Opera- en Operette-Gezelschap. In: Alfred Hagemann, Elmar Hoff (eds.): Gronau - Enschede - Berlin: A musical journey through the world of entertainment from the Weimar Republic to the post-war period , Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2011, pp. 60–64. ISBN 978-3-8375-0537-5
- Jan Haverkate: Een schnabbel in Auschwitz. Het dubelleven van de Enschedese café pianist Pieter Herfst (A lucrative additional musical income in Auschwitz. The double life of Ensched café pianist Pieter Herfst). In: De Twentsche Courant Tubantia, December 13, 2006, pp. 19, 21.
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. on the current situation: BOOG-Nederland, Bond voor het Amateur Muziektheater
- ↑ Internet presence of Music All Enschede .
- ↑ Website of the Nederlandse Reisopera