Szőllősy Csila et al. (szerk.): Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis - Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei. C. sorozat 46. (Székesfehérvár, 2018)

Zenetörténet. Kultúra és zene: városok, templomok és kastélyok zenéje Magyarországon. A székesfehérvári Városházán és a fehérvárcsurgói Károlyi-kastélyban 2016. szeptember 22 - 23án megrendezett tudományos konferencia tanulmányai - Demeter Zsófia: "Hébe-korba adtunk egy-egy operácskát" (Déryné emlékezéseiből) Operatársulat létrehozásának kísérlete a székesfehérvári Nemzeti Játékszíni Társulatnál

Demeter Zsófia: „Hébe-korba adtunk egy-egy operácskát" (Déryné emlékezéseiből)

Zsófia Demeter

“NOW AND AGAIN WE STAGED A LITTLE OPERA” (FROM THE MEMOIRS OF DÉRYNÉ)

An attempt to establish an opera company at the National Theatrical Company in Székesfehérvár

‘Now and again we staged a little opera”, the famous actress Déryné wrote in her diary remembering the time she was contracted to Székesfehérvár. Fejér County and Székesfehérvár organised a permanent theatre company between 1814 and 1824 in order to setde down Hungarian acting. The study by Zsófia Demeter surveys the foundations the plan of establishing the opera company was based on: there was a company, a wardrobe of costumes, a library, an orchestra according to the data, a place to play (the great hall of the Pelikán Inn) and of course the audience. Primarily striving to serve the audience hungry for music and, naturally, to make the permanent company sustainable, intendant Pál Kolozsváry made an attempt in 1821 to establish opera, the most popular music genre of the era, in Székesfehérvár and he contracted Déryné for this purpose. However, he failed to contract male singers so the singing genres could not take root with the exception of a few joint performances with the Pécs company. They could no longer finance the permanent company after 1824, either.

Thus the theatrical experiment requiring expensive and special equipment and knowledge remained unsuccessful but the merits of the Hungarian theatrical company of Szépesfehérvár are lasting: the plays ordered to be written in or translated into Hungarian, the performances in the country and the guest performances all contributed to strengthening a connoisseur and theatre-going audience that supported the cause of the Hungarian language.

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