Zielony Balonik
Zielony Balonik ( German The Green Balloon ) was the Krakow artist cabaret, active in the restaurant “ Jama Michalikowa ” ( German Michalik's Cave ) from 1905 to 1912.
The founders of the cabaret are: the bank clerk and amateur pianist Edward Żeleński (brother of Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński ), the painter Stanisław Kuczborski and the theater critic and dramaturge Jan August Kisielewski.
The cabaret was opened on October 7th, 1905 in the meeting place of the Krakow artists, the restaurant “Jama Michalikowa” on the ulica Floriańska (St. Florian Street) in the Krakow old town. The performances were only open to ticket holders who formed an elite group. The presented texts avoided the political problems in order to avoid trouble with the Austrian preventive censorship.
At first there was no prepared scenario, the performances were improvised on the go. Only later were the performances carefully prepared, but the invited guests were allowed to step in at any time.
The lithographic tickets were designed by the graphic artists who were friends and later served as wall decorations.
Mostly Jan August Kisielewski was the presenter, who greeted the guests with a funny speech following the example of Aristide Bruant .
Cabaret soon became a thorn in the side of Krakow conservatists, led by the rector of the Jagiellonian University, Stanisław Tarnowski.
The satirical nativity scene
Following the example of the traditional Krakow nativity scene , satirical puppet shows were arranged five times in 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911 and 1912. There were puppets designed by well-known Krakow artists such as Witold Wojtkiewicz , Kazimierz Sichulski , Stanisław Kamocki and Fryderyk Pautsch , representing famous Krakow personalities. Most of the texts were written by Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, who joined the cabaret group and soon played the leading role among the authors. His texts from cabaret appeared in book form under the title “Słówka” (The Little Words) and enjoyed enormous popularity, then as now. The “green balloon” found many imitators, who, however, never reached the level of the original.
Admission ticket from
Witold Wojtkiewicz
Entry ticket from Kazimierz Sichulski
Image by
Kazimierz Sichulski
The pianist Witold Noskowski by Kazimierz Sichulski
The author Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński by Kazimierz Sichulski
Individual evidence
Web links
literature
- Wojciech Jamroziak: Cabaret in Poland . In: Ernst Günther, Heinz P. Hofmann, Walter Rösler (eds.): Cassette. An almanac for the stage, podium and ring (= cassette ). No. 2 . Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, p. 153-167 .
- Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński: Słówka (The Little Words): Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2001, ISBN 83-08-03132-3
- Tomasz Weiss: Legenda i prawda Zielonego Balonika (Legend and Truth of Zielony Balonik): Kraków: Wydaw. Literackie, 1987, ISBN 83-08-01425-9
Coordinates: 50 ° 3 ′ 50.9 ″ N , 19 ° 56 ′ 27.4 ″ E