Golden operetta era
A period in the history of Viennese operetta from around 1860 to around 1900 was called the golden operetta era .
term
The transformation of this time into the golden era began in the course of the old Vienna fashion in the 1920s (for example with Erich Wolfgang Korngold's adaptation of the operetta Eine Nacht in Venice by Johann Strauss (son) from 1923) and should be part of the entertainment culture of the present, For example , juxtapose the revue operetta , which is incoherent in terms of content , with a lost ideal.
The term was instrumentalized by the National Socialists since the 1930s and was used against Jewish composers and lyricists.
Origins
Interest in musical theater and solvency among the Viennese population increased significantly during the early days of the company. In addition to the expansion of the audience, their mobility also increased, aided by the demolition of the city walls and the construction of the Ring and Belt Roads . In 1858, the French operettas by the composer Jacques Offenbach found their way into Vienna. The Carltheater , the Theater am Franz-Josefs-Kai and later the Theater an der Wien in particular had quick successes with these mostly one-act plays .
In order to create a counterbalance to French fashion and to emphasize their own artistic importance, the Viennese bandmasters subsequently relied on reviving the “German” tradition without losing sight of the changing tastes of the growing audience.
Characteristics
The setting for the operettas during the "golden era" is almost always Vienna , which at that time was one of the cultural centers of the world as the capital of the Danube monarchy . A popular subject of these operettas was the supposed life of the aristocracy , while the audience was mostly citizens. In particular - were musical Strauss ' rule - works of waltz - and polka music dominates. In addition, there was often Hungarian folklore such as the Csárdás .
Another typical feature of the operettas of this time was their rapid adaptation to current events. While the total working time remained the same, the production time was shortened by the fact that several librettists , a composer and sometimes an orchestrator participated at the same time. However, due to their current relevance, the pieces quickly went out of fashion again.
repertoire
The golden operetta era was shaped by the composer Franz von Suppè ( Das Pensionat , Afrikareise , Boccaccio ), by Johann Strauss jun. ( Die Fledermaus , The Gypsy Baron , One Night in Venice ), furthermore Carl Millöcker ( The Beggar Student , Gasparone , The Poor Jonathan ), Richard Heuberger ( The Opera Ball ) and Carl Zeller ( The Obersteiger , The Bird Trader ). Especially Johann Strauss's bat is still in the repertoire of opera theaters around the world. In Austria, other of these operettas are still performed.
Sopranos Marie Geistinger , Josefine Gallmeyer and comedian Alexander Girardi shone in the world premieres . Tenors like Karl Treumann were not as much in the foreground as in the time of the so-called Silver Operetta .
Decline
In the last quarter of the 19th century, the golden operetta era reached its peak. Carl Michael Ziehrer (1843–1922) was one of its last representatives. After the turn of the century, the Viennese operetta began to take a different path in terms of content and music, and it passed into the silver operetta era.
In secondary literature, a sharp distinction between the golden and silver operetta era is discussed. The theater scholar Marion Linhardt, for example, only identifies a “general departure in entertainment theater at the beginning of the 20th century”, which can be defined by three terms:
- Internationalization : In favor of better international marketability, non-Viennese fashions are included and local peculiarities are dispensed with.
- Medialization : The emerging new media of film and records as well as variety and cabaret are exerting an influence.
- Potentiation : Everyday life is becoming increasingly technical and entertainment theater is becoming mass production.
These developments also had an impact on the operetta, which led to an undisputed change in style.
literature
- Marion Linhardt: Residence city and metropolis: On a cultural topography of the Viennese entertainment theater (1858-1918) . 1st edition. Max Niemeyer, Tübingen 2006, ISBN 3-484-66050-3 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kevin Clarke: Operetta in the Nazi era, in: Wolfgang Benz: Handbuch des Antisemitismus. Vol. 7: Literature, Film, Theater and Art , de Gruyter, Berlin 2015, pp. 368–373. ISBN 978-3-11-025873-8
- ^ Linhardt: Residenzstadt und Metropolis . 2006, p. 5.
- ^ Linhardt: Residenzstadt und Metropolis . 2006, p. 124ff.