Kupcy operetki. Importowana nowoczesność na scenie niemieckiego teatru w Łodzi przed I wojną światową
The Buyers of Operetta: Imported Modernity on the Stage of the German Theatre in Łódź Before the First World War

Author(s): Monika Wąsik-Linder
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Cultural history, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919)
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: Operetta; Revue; Łódź; Modernity; German theatre
Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the history of the German Thalia theatre in Łódź and its place in the wider context of the operetta industry of the early 20th century. The author draws attention to the challenges the Thalia had to face as a theatre operating in the provinces, which wanted to play the same modern repertoire as in European metropolises. It was difficult to fulfil these ambitions, among other things, due to falling attendance and the problem of keeping titles in the repertoire for longer and, consequently, financial difficulties. The theatre was also not helped by the scepticism of reviewers, who saw the operettas fashionable on European stages only as a temporary sensation. Meanwhile, operettas not only offered an escape from reality, but also subtly commented on social and political problems, making them a vehicle for the cultural politics of the era. Despite its commercial nature, the modern operetta had a deeper impact on the formation of societies and was an expression of mass identity. In this sense, it may have influenced the development of modern societies, including that of Lodz, which, on the eve of the First World War, tried to emulate the lifestyle of Western metropolises.

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