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

I. Szabó: Theatre in Estonia

of uniting the nation the deeds of theatres were indispensable. In Tzarist Russia where any new phenomena must have been suspectable and thousands of paid spies and official denouncers of the police state operated, the education and organization of the people by agitation would have been a hopelessly futile enterprise. The masses could be affected only by the allowed though strongly limited cultural activities. In a situation like that the importance of theatre became unrivalled. Its sudden development could be attributed to those circumstances. Thus Estonian theatre was not only a means of propagating culture but also that of a definite political and social agitation as well. That is why the rural people, previously unfamiliar with theatre, were strongly interested in new performances, and so were those amateur societies which were rapidly growing in number at the end of the last century, following in the footsteps of Wiera's "Vanemuine" theatre. That remained the most important of the companies for a long time. "Estonia" in Tallinn, "Endla" in Pärnu, "Keit" and "Ilmarine" were also important societies, along with innumerable others. At the end of the 19th century the papers mentioned 75 different theatrical companies. At that time, however, the organization of a regular theatre was not yet possible. It only took place in the first decade of the 20th century, on August 13, 1906. Wiera's successor, Karl Menning (a student of Max Reinhard and Stanislavski) opened "Vanemuine" theatre with the premiere of "In the Storm of Winds", a play by the Estonian author A. Kitzberg. Following the foundation of "Vanemuine" "Estonia" became a regular company. In the Estonian capital theatrical life became lively in the last decade of the 19th century (after 1894). Especially the performances of "Estonia" were of primary significance first of all between 1899 and 1905 when a gifted director of intuition, Willem Tal supervised its work. His conceptions and aspirations after true art were also reflected by the repertory, which included the plays of Gorky, Ibsen and Sunderman. In the first years of the present century the performances of some Finnish plays appeared as novelties. ("The Bootmakers of the Village" by Kivi, "Anna Liiza" by M. Kanta etc.) In the meantime the performances of the company's actors became more mature. Tal took care that new well-trained young people of talent should alsojoin the company. The artists, who later became the leading actors of the regular theatre in 1906, were trained under his guidence. "Estonia" theatre, unlike the one of Tartu, staged musical plays from the very beginings. Besides the operettas in 1908 operas as well as ballets were regularly on (Flotow's "Alessandro Stradella"). The engagements of a few young singers (O. Mikk, H. Einek, B. Hausen, A. Sällik) contributed to the successes of these musical productions, and so did the gifted and determined conductor of the theatre, R. Kull. Beyond its repertoire policy "Estonia'"s attitude to the interpretation of plays also diferred from that of "Vanemuine" in Tartu. Her dramatic performances were much more theatrical than in Tartu thanks to the fact that the leadership of the theatre adjusted the-company's performance to that of certain actors of high style. This interpretation brought about the "Estonia""s peculiar character. The company's activity became much more intensive in 1913, by which time the spacious building of the theatre had been built up. The new building consisted of a stage-hall, dressing rooms and a concert-hall. There were also several rehearsal rooms. Being more equipped resulted in more refined performances of higher level. Scenes were also developed by the decorateurs and scenests who had by then attained a high level of proficiency. The performances of Hamlet in 1913 were especially significant because for the first time, special scenery had been designed for the stage (R. Niiman). During the October Revolution the Estonian theatre there was founded by Julius Rossfeldt and Alfred natural consequence of the newly established close ties between the Russian and Estonian societies. In 1917 the first proletarist theatre there was founded by Julius Rosefeld and Alfred Umberg. Its name was the Workers' Theatre. After the counterrevolution all these enterprises vanished. During the bourgeois republic the theatres were again controlled by businessmen, and artistic functions became of secondary significance. All this resulted in decline, fall of the artistic level in comparison even to Tzarist times. When after the supression of the Baltic feudal lords and the Tzarist rule had been shaken off and the dramatic art as well as the other branches of culture could have advanced, the control-over dramatic life was gained by enterpreneurs. A sudden fall took place instead the anticipated development. The 20s and 30s were a crucial period especially for "Vanemuine". The Estonian intelligentsia, that had several times proved to be fastidious and helpful supporters of the theatre, in 1932 publicly declared a protest in order to draw attention to the desparate situation of "Vanemuine". In 1934 on the initiative of the democratic intelligentsia of Tartu the studio of the Tartu Dramatic Theatre was founded. In accordance with expectations the company of its students ought to have replaced the old-company of "Vanemuine". The enterprise was able to achieve certain successes. Although not directly, it contributed to the elaboration of the theatre. It started the career of several theater experts (Epp Kaidu and Karel Ird among others). "Vanemuine" as well as the other Estonian theatres was set back by the fact that they gave up their prior identity. The critico-realist tendency under the director Karl Menning was characterized by a vast interest in social matters attracting all strata of the audience. In the years of decline they deviated from this trend, they gave up staging plays rich in ideas, or they did not focus on presenting social problems. Instead they preferred cheap theatrical tricks, whose main purpose was pure amusement. Prosaic plays were replaced by more and more operettas. The dramatic art was subordinated to the taste of the bourgeoisie petit. Only one serious effort can be traced in the period. It was a two years' series of experimenting in the Workers' Theatre in Tartu between 1937-39. The company of that theatre was a legal group of the Estonian Communist Party underground at that time. Without any state support, they were able to compete with the financially well-backed theatres like "Vanemuine" and "Estonia". That period did not last for long since in 1939 the Workers' Theatre was charged with anti-state activity and closed, yet it was an important landmark in the history of the Estonian drama. The Workers' Theatre released the leading personalities of the post-liberation era, who had formerly been the members of the Dramatic Studio. After the re-establishment of Soviet power in 1940 the most significant event was the nationalization. In Estonia this was of primary importance because the theatres were set free of the influence of the businesslife which had threatened its very existence. The new Estonian leaders of the theaters, unlike those in other republics in a similar situation were personalities who had also played an outstanding and determining role in the dramatic life of the interwar period and had acquired merits in the Communist movement, which was a prerequisite of the establishment of the new society. Without these leaders the present level of Estonian dramatic life would not have been possible. These leaders had the possibility of undisturbed work and the security of regular financial support from the state, and made official the line they had fought for. No wonder that the artistic level of the performances considerably grew, not only in comparison with that of the 20s and 30s. The process is marked by the titles of the plays staged already in the first year. (The Mother by Gorky, The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, Eugene Grandét by Balzac, Servant of Two Lords by Goldoni etc.) Then came the war, the German occupation, the evacuation. Still dramatic life continued uninterrupted during the hard times. Actors and actresses gathered in companies under the 234