Tuulte pöörises
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | In the whirl of the winds |
| Original title: | Tuulte pöörises |
| Genus: | tragedy |
| Original language: | Estonian |
| Author: | August Kitzberg |
| Publishing year: | 1906 |
| Premiere: | August 25, 1906 |
| Place of premiere: | Tartu , Vanemuine Theater |
| Place and time of the action: |
Estonia
Time: 1905/06 |
| people | |
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Tuulte pöörises (in German about "Im Wirbel der Winde") is a drama in five acts by the Estonian writer August Kitzberg (1855–1927). It premiered in 1906.
Emergence
At the beginning of his career as a playwright, August Kitzberg wrote a few village comedies that are now almost forgotten. Tuulte pöörises is his first serious acting. It was a resounding success because of its current political-social relation and because of the psychologically gripping characters, which was only surpassed by Kitzberg's 1911 drama Libahunt ("The Werewolf").
action
Estonia in the countryside 1905/06 against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution . The attractive farmer's daughter Leena is courted by two men: the landless farmhand Jaan and the determined neighbor farmer Kaarel. Jaan's late father had once owned the boggy land on the Mäe-Soosaare farm and made it arable, but then had to sell it to Leena's father, Jaak. So Jaan became a landless man who had to work hard.
Jaan goes out to make money and buy back the farm. He is close to social democratic and revolutionary ideas, which alienates him more and more from the apolitical Leena, who had loved him dearly at a young age. She becomes engaged to Kaarel, the promising neighbor farmer, who, however, repeatedly postpones the marriage because professional matters are his priority.
Leena vacillates between the two suitors. Jaan finally seduces her on his mother's advice; Leena becomes pregnant and gives birth to the child. For Kaarel this is no reason to refuse the marriage. He stands firmly by Leena's side.
Half a year later: Jaan is becoming more and more obsessed with getting his father's former farm back. He wants to find justice and joins violent revolutionaries who eventually storm the court of Jaak and Leena. In the commotion, Jaan shoots a bullet, which gets lost and kills Leena. In the end, the embittered Jaan also kills Kaarel. Left behind is Leena's father Jaak, who mourns his dead daughter.
performance
With the piece was on August 12th July. / August 25, 1906 greg. the Vanemuine Theater opens in Tartu . It was the first professional theater in what is now Estonia. In the same year the play was also published in book form.
With the drama, the first professional theater in the city of Rakvere was inaugurated in February 1940 .
reception
Tuulte pöörises has been a long-running hit on Estonian stages since its premiere in 1906, regardless of all prevailing political systems.
This is mainly due to the complexity of the piece. It raises many political, social and interpersonal-psychological questions without ultimately answering them. Kitzberg consciously avoids black and white drawings. The oppressed landless have every reason for their revolt, but with their violence they end up as common murderers. Is it really about justice or, in the end, just about selfish motives? Conversely, Kitzberg lets his protagonists show a great deal of understanding for social democratic ideas and criticism of the prevailing property structure, which was daring in Russia in 1906.
- “The long-term success of the piece cannot be based on the subject matter, but must have its causes elsewhere. On the one hand, it is certainly the sovereign language with its fluent, popular and technically masterfully composed dialogues and the dramaturgical composition in general. On the other hand, it is the subtle, differentiated and above all psychological treatment of social and political problems that cannot be fitted into template-like thinking and is therefore always open to different interpretations - on the stage and in criticism. Every time, every staging can set its own priorities. "
- - Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. Berlin, New York 2006 ( ISBN 3-11-018025-1 ), p. 388
literature
- Ants Järv: August Kitzbergi "Tuulte pöörises" 100. Tallinn 2006