Divadelní revue (Czech Theatre Review) vol. 32 · 2021 · no 1
Summary
The first issue of 2021 Czech Theatre Review presents a section of essays that covers the Czech theatre history and theory of the late 19 th and 20 th century. Zita Skořepová's “Exoticism, Jazz and E. F. Burian's Ideas on Music and Theatre in the 1920s” examines the stage work of Czech theatre director and composer Emil František Burian. Applying the concept of musical exoticism, the study seeks to present another possible perspective on several examples of Burian's stage music and theoretical writings from the second half of the 1920s. The goal of the essay is to explore (1) the role of exoticism in the context of period ideas regarding jazz and (2) Burian's approach to the new conceptualization of music in the context of his own musical-theatre practice and thinking. The essay analyzes the extant sources that document the stage music for the production of Eugene O'Neill's Emperor Jones, as well as the first productions of Liberated Theater. Moreover, the essay discusses Burian's theoretical writings, especially his short treatises Jazz and Black Dances. In the essay “An Old Hindu Drama on the Czech Stage. Shudraka's The Little Clay Cart at the Prague National Theater” Jiří Hubáček discusses the circumstances of the 1893 stage presentation of Shudraka's The Little Clay at the Prague National Theatre, rendered in a peculiar German adaptation by Emil Pohl. The essay situates the method of adaptation and its Czech critical reflection in the context of European reception of the old Hindu drama (represented e.g. by Kalidasa's Shakuntala), as well as in the context of Czech discussions regarding the translation of Oriental literature. In this respect, the essay demonstrates similar features that relate Czech rendition and ensuing discussions with the wider European perception of this phenomenon, but also emphasizes the specific Czech features that originated from the period literary and translational debates. The essay is a supplement to the critical edition of the Czech translation of Emil Pohl's play, published in the journal Nový orient. Barbora Příhodová in her “Transatlantic transmissions in opera: the forgotten work of Czech-American Designer Richard Rychtarik” restores to the historical record the work of the Czech American theatre set-designer Richard Rychtarik (1894–1982). Born in what would later become Czechoslovakia, and trained as an architect in Prague, Rychtarik moved to the United States in 1925 where he worked successfully with many opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera. Příhodová analyzes three selected productions that mark important transitions in Rychtarik's career and offer rich insight into his work: Die Walküre (The Cleveland Orchestra, 1934), Lady Macbeth of Mzensk (The Cleveland Orchestra, 1934), and Alceste (MET, 1941). Příhodová intends to demonstrate Rychtarik's appropriation of European theatre modernists such as Adolphe Appia, Max Reinhardt and Vlastislav Hofman in his work for opera. As a scenographer, he combined architectonic forms, distinctive colors, and conceptual work with light to transform the stage into a multifunctional dramatic space. In his “About ‘reading' Zich and structuralism” Ondřej Sládek reacts to Jaroslav Etlík's essay “Two Traditions in One: Theory as Experiencing Memory” Czech Theatre Review published in the previous issue. Sládek, Brno-base literary scholar, takes issue with some of Etlík's argumentation strategies. He especially addresses the abstract, at times ahistorical, and – for Sládek – rather depersonalized and reductive perspective on the Czech theory, namely structuralism. Although Sládek appreciates Etlík's attempt at tackling the “genetic” roots of Czech theatre theory and its terminology, he questions its impact of such an approach on the productive enrichment and development of this complex body of ideas and terms. The issue contains an interview with the Slovak theatre historian, reviewer, and translator Soňa Šimková, as well as Pavel Drábek's review of Tomáš Kačer's book that reflects – in Czech for the first time – pre-O'Neillian history of American playwriting. The closing section “documents” is dedicated to the academic work of Czech theatre historian, anthropologist, translator, and sinologist Dana Kalvodová. Anna Cvrčková and Lenka Chaloupková, in collaboration with the editors of Czech Theatre Review, collected and systematized Kalvodová's rich bibliography, including her academic work, as well as translations.
essays & documents
Zita SkořepováExoticism, Jazz and E. F. Burian's Ideas on Music and Theatre in the 1920s [peer-reviewed article]
Jiří Hubáček
An Old Hindu Drama on the Czech Stage. Shudraka's The Little Clay Cart at the Prague National Theater. [peer-reviewed article]
Barbora Příhodová
Transatlantic transmissions in opera: the forgotten work of Czech-American Designer Richard Rychtarik. [essay]
Ondřej Sládek
About „reading“ Zich and structuralism. Ad Jaroslav Etlík: Two Traditions in One: Theory as Experiencing Memory (DR 3/2019) [essay]
interview
Theatre scholar travelling towards. Interview theatre with the Slovak theatre historian, reviewer and translator Soňa Šimková (Miroslav Dacho)review
Pavel Drábek„...contributed to American playwriting...“ (Tomáš Kačer: Dvousetletá pustina: Dějiny starší americké dramatiky)
new book relases
(January–April 2021)document
Anna Cvrčková & Lenka Chaloupková & editorial-boardBibliography of Czech Theatre Scholar and Sinologist Dana Kalvodová [bibliography]
Zita Skořepová
Exoticism, Jazz and E. F. Burian's Ideas on Music and Theatre in the 1920s. [peer-reviewed article]
E. F. Burian's musical compositions, theatre practice, as well as his theoretical thinking have been analyzed by both theatre scholars and musicologists, who focus on both classical and popular music and their intersections. Musical exoticism permeated the emerging jazz and “jazz” inspirations and as such influenced Burian's music, theatre practice, and theoretical thinking. Applying the concept of musical exoticism, the study seeks to present another possible perspective on several examples of Burian's stage music and theoretical writings from the second half of the 1920s. The goal of the essay is to explore (1) the role of exoticism in the context of period ideas regarding jazz and (2) Burian's approach to the new conceptualization of music in the context of his own musical-theatre practice and thinking. The essay analyzes the extant sources that document the stage music for the production of Eugene O'Neill's Emperor Jones, as well as the first productions of Liberated Theater. Moreover, the essay discusses Burian's theoretical writings, especially his short treatises Jazz and Black Dances.
Contact: Zita Skořepová | ORCID 0000-0002-0290-8720 | Etnologický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i. | skorepova[at]eu.cas.cz.
Jiří Hubáček
An Old Hindu Drama on the Czech Stage. Shudraka's The Little Clay Cart at the Prague National Theater. [peer-reviewed article]
The study discusses the circumstances of the 1893 stage presentation of Shudraka's The Little Clay Cart at the Prague National Theatre, rendered in a peculiar German adaptation by Emil Pohl. The essay situates the method of adaptation and its Czech critical reflection in the context of European reception of the old Hindu drama (represented e.g. by Kalidasa's Shakuntala), as well as in the context of Czech discussions regarding the translation of Oriental literature. In this respect, the essay demonstrates similar features that relate Czech rendition and ensuing discussions with the wider European per- ception of this phenomenon, but also emphasizes the specific Czech features that originated from the period literary and translational debates. The essay is a supplement to the critical edition of the Czech translation of Emil Pohl's play, published in the journal Nový Orient.
Contact: Jiří Hubáček | ORCID 0000-0002-7336-1646 | Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy | jirihubacek92[at]gmail.com