Amadeo's theatre was founded in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, in 1797 and lasted until 1834. It was the first continuously operating theatre in Zagreb.

Overview

Amadeo's theatre was named after Anton Amade de Varkony, Hungarian

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and notable county prefect of Zagreb. Amadeo's theatre was situated in the former Blatna (Mud) and Kazališna (Theatre) Street, which afterwards got the name Demetrova. The building in which it was situated is the present location of the

Croatian Natural History Museum The Croatian Natural History Museum ( hr, Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej) is the oldest and biggest natural history museum and the main body for natural history research, preservation and collection in Croatia. Located on Dimitrije Demeter Street i ...

and, from 2000, the home of the Amadeo Theatre and Music Company. Amadeo's theatre was a public theatre which was rented by its owner to a contractor – the principal of the theatrical group with the highest offer. Posters, tickets, announcements and advertisements were printed for plays and other events. The earliest preserved poster, dated January 1799, advertised a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born in T ...

. After the death of Amade de Varkony in January 1835, his son sold the building, and theatre life in Zagreb moved to the then newly built Stanković's theatre in St. Mark's Square.

Repertoire

The plays in Amadeo's theatre were performed almost exclusively in the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

. In 1832 and 1833 German actors in Amadeo's theatre performed the first public and professional plays in the Croatian

Kajkavian dialect Kajkavian (Kajkavian noun: ''kajkavščina''; Shtokavian adjective: ''kajkavski'' , noun: ''kajkavica'' or ''kajkavština'' ) is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia, Gorski Kotar and nort ...

. Dragutin Rakovac (1813–1854) translated two comedies by

Kotzebue Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the County seat, borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska en ...

to Kajkavian, and Josef Schweigert, director and actor of a German group who was performing at the theatre at the time, portrayed the following plays: * 2 October 1832 ''Ztari mladosenja i kosharice'' (by Kotzebue) * 28 January 1833 ''Vkanjeni Vkanitel'' (by Florijan) * 23 July 1833 ''Ztari zaszebni kuchish Petra III'' (by Kotzebue) A collective German language repertoire with standard features of the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n province of the time was portrayed in Amadeo's theatre: dramas, operas, ballets and a special kind of uncomplicated plays with singing sections which later developed into an

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

called ''

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

''. At the beginning of the 19th century, the occurrence of writers pertaining to the

Vienna circle The Vienna Circle (german: Wiener Kreis) of Logical Empiricism was a group of elite philosophers and scientists drawn from the natural and social sciences, logic and mathematics who met regularly from 1924 to 1936 at the University of Vienna, cha ...

, who marked the beginning of the

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

folk theatre with their works, is becoming more and more frequent, and without them it would be impossible to imagine the genesis of the Croatian

folk play Folk plays such as Hoodening, Guising, Mummers Play and Soul Caking are generally verse sketches performed in countryside pubs in European countries, private houses or the open air, at set times of the year such as the Winter or Summer solstices o ...

. In the Croatian theatrical history, Amadeo's theatre had a primarily educational role.

References

External links

Amadeo Theatre and Music Company
{{Coord, 45.8171337, N, 15.9725238, E, region:HR-21_type:landmark_scale:4000, display=title, format=dms 1797 establishments in Europe 1834 disestablishments in Europe 1790s establishments in Croatia Theatres in Zagreb History of Zagreb Gornji Grad–Medveščak 18th-century establishments in Croatia