Selmeczi László szerk.: Szolnok Megyei Múzeumi Évkönyv (1981)

I. Szabó: Theatre in Estonia

32 szerk: L. VALT-L. RAUDTITS-A. MIHKELSOO: Tallinn. Kratkij enciklopedicseszkij szpravocsnyik. Tallinn, 1980. 174 Soviet Estonia. Land. People. Culture. Tallinn, 1980. 341. p. 33 SZABÓ István: Haladó mozgalmak és a nemzeti értelmiség szerepe Észtországban a 19-20. században. Vezető a Damjanich János Múzeum észt kiállításához. Szolnok, 1972. 18-23 The experts directing theatre life are led by the recognition that our past is carried in our instincts. This recognition provides the basis of performances, and what is more, the general view of performances. The past is in our instincts, and it is not useful to resist this fact, especially when this past is extremely esteemable and full of significant culture. Our decade is not favourable for "behaviour", for occasional faces, manners adopted according to different places and points of time. Natural or instinctive behaviour may be the style of our age. Out of urban environment! Back to Nature and natural insticts!, it is reflected in innumerable trends, now matured arts, of course also known in their exaggerations, heralded as slogans of generational demands. We may say our Estonian friends have created the theatrical basis of this style, led by a natural inner drive but without exaggerations! Theatre activated by the Estonians can be equated only with rare groups and productions famous all over the world. This is so in the case of modern plays as well as classical works. Not only do we deal with outstanding personal renderings but also with the entire attitude to the plays and the movement of all characters on the same level of emotional intensity. The same can be said of the actors, directors, playwrights, scenists, composers, ballet choreographers. The pairing of classic works with the modernest staging is not at all eaggerated, neither are innovations introduced at all cost, as the plays are performed mainly by the members of a generation between 20 and 30, whose impulsive play, behaviour rooted in their age may seem authentic on the stage, too. Even in the case of classic works of the last century they can convey that the emotions covered by impressive words must be uttered and incarneted as vehemently and with the same gestures as they erupt from the 20th century personalities of these actors. This can be done even by the actor of professional pretension and imitation if he believes in what he does, if he sincerely serves the Muse of theatre, if he identifies himself with his chosen vocation. This has been characteristic of Estonian theatre from the beginings. The career of August Wiera, first director of Vanemuine theatre in Tartu, provides a prominent example of the above. He was born a child of peasant people. In order to redeem himself from the hard obligations of the landlords, he moved to the town where he learnt a trade and became a craftsman. His musicality led him to an amateur choral society. For the sake of art he gave up his trade, obtained after so many difficulties and which was by that time fairly profitable, and became the devoted organizer and director, though of uncertain existence, of the Estonian cultural life. He organized a group of about a hundred members from enthusiasts. After some time the members of this group counterchanged the life of daily work and singing and learning roles at nights for the stage work of the group for next to 34 H. W. MEYER: Vendégek Tartuból. Film-Színház-Muzsika. XVI. évf. 13. sz. 18 35 szerk: L. VALT-L. RAUDTITS-A. MIHKELSOO: Tallinn. Kratkij enciklopedicseszkij szpravocsnyik. Tallinn, 1980. 175 36 összeáll.: ANGI István: Gondolatok a művészetről. Bukarest, 1975. 132 37 SZABÓ István: Az észt színjátszás történetéből. JAKU. XIX. évf. 2-3. sz. (1973. június-szeptember). 136-137 nothing. Wiera's career is not unpaired in the history of the Estonian culture. The intensive cultural and political activity in cultural disguise started only in the 19th century. In fact even at the begining of this century the parents or grandparents of all Estonian writers, politicians, scientists, artists were rural peasants. Even if viewed in the narrower or broader sense their families organically fitted into the environment of the peasantry, the majority of the population, whose life was bound to the very origins, the heritage of the forefathers. Suffice it here to refer to the best-known, who attained European fame, such as the painter Ants Laikmaa who just like Wiera, was the son of peasant parents of another Estonian village and left for Düsseldorf to study. We can mention the example of writers (eg. Fr. Tuglas), musicians (E. Sörmus), The number of the possible examples by the end of the last century is fairly great, although the process itself hardly started much earlier. Beside the Baltic Germans who had played an almost exclusive role in the cultural life of Russia, a new power turned up. The Russian intelligentsia, larger and larger in number, claimed their place. At that time the Baltic Germans started vehement attacks against the other Baltic peoples, who has been kept under vast economical and cultural opression for centuries, in order to prove and demonstrate their strength and significance. The efforts proved to be final. By the begining of the 19th century the Baltic peoples, having survived a period of two hundred years during which their pure existence had been in danger, could make use of the favourable political situation due to the end of the Napoleonic wars and the influence of the enlightment. They attained the introduction of the laws of serfdom of 1816 and 1819, which were unique in Russia at that time. Although this reform, securing the personal freedom of the Baltic peasants, was not entirely carried out, it was nevertheless significant. It provided opportunities for single members to emerge from serfdom. They had the chance to study at the universities or Tartu and Petersburgh and achieve civic vocations. They later became the advocates and representatives of the interests of their people. Those intellectuals, having German names in accordance with established traditions, were the first to recognise the danger of the attacks aiming at the extermination of their people. That feeling of danger seems to be exaggerated only after one and a half centuries, in the light of past events. At that time it was real and factual, threatening their very existence. It was the feeling of the final danger of the people's disappearance by unwanted assimilation, which moved all patriots to take radical steps. What steps could be taken under such limited circumstances? This was the age of romanticism, the waking of István, Szabó: i THEATRE IN ESTONIA 232