Gergely Pál: Az Akadémia szerepe a pesti Nemzeti Színház létrehozásában (A MTAK kiadványai 37. Budapest, 1963)

The role of the Hungárián Academy in establishing the National Theatre of Pest by PÁL GERGELY The study summarizes the development of one of the most important aetivities of the Hungárián Academy (formerly, in its first decade: the "Hungárián Learned Soeiety"), the "cultivation of the Hungárián language", which has been its main task from its very stfirt in 1831, with special view to promoting the Hungarian-speaking theatre. There were, however, attempts made from 1791 to perform Hungarian-speaking plays and dramas and to put foreign dramas into Hungárián (e.g. of special significance was the translation of Shakespeare's Hamlet by Ferenc Kazinczy). Performanees of the first I lungarian theatres, especially those in Buda, Kassa, and Kolozsvár, were of a pioneer character. It was Count István Széchenyi, the great founder of the Academy, who did his best to keep up an agitation for erecting the first Hungárián permanent theatre in the capital. As a result of his pamphlet on the theatre published in 1831, the Academy set prizes of 100—200 golds every year to reward the best originál Hungárián dramatic plays or the best translations of foreign works. (The first grand-prize was awareded to Mihály Vörösmarty for his drama "Vérnász" in 1833.) Competition was conducted for treatises dealing with the problems of establishing the first Hungárián permanent theatre to be built in the capital as well as with the various theoretical and practical aspects of equipping the stage, and with problems of generál character concerning the Hungárián theatres and schools of dramatic art. András Fáy, the author of the first Hungárián növel of manners (the "Bélteky Ház"), won the prize of 30 golds of a secret competition for the theoretical elaboration of a project, of building a theatre. At the same time, Fáy returned the wholc sum for the benefit of the theatre to be built. Fáy was on friendly terms with Széchenyi, and in accordance with Széchenyi's favourite idea, he alsó wanted to have the theatre built on t he Danube embankment, in front of the Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) constructed somewhat later. However, motivated by vanity that the construction of the new theat re would be attributed to their own initiative, the noblemen of the County Pest achieved t he Government's building permit in 1836 for a groundplot situated at t he corner of the present-day Rákóczi út and Muzeum körút. Prince Grassalkovicli gave this groundplot of somé 900 square-fathoms as a gift for this pupose which was, at that time, situated beyond the medieval city wall, facing the Hatvani Kapu (Hatvani Gate), in the vicinity of a. ru bbish-shoot and a timber-yard. Széchenyi had been scolding this "rubbish-shoot" in several priváté letters, but finally he reeognized that the real purpose of giving the Hungárián nation a permanent, theatre in the capital is more important than his favourite idea, and stopped publie arguing against the County's noblemen, instead he gave remarkable financial aids to the t heatre even from Döbling where he was treated during the fifties in the neurological elinic. The theatre was opened in August 1837, but soon burnt down, and tho restoration required nationwide donations again. The cause of tho theatre was a steady item in the agenda of tho sossions of tho Academy. Special emphasis was laid on writing new dramatic; plays and translating dramas of high literary value. In 1833 tho Academy set up its "Standing Committe on the Theat re" tho members of which were elected from the best writers, literary and theatrical export s of the roform-era (covering tho years 1830—1840). Among the members of the Committee there were: Mihály Vörösmarty, the poet of the Szózat (a poem regarded as the second Hungárián national anthem) and of a number of other lyric, epie, and dramatic works, András Fáy, novellist and oconomist, Gábor Döbrentei, the secratary of the Academy 8