Inscenační proměny Žebrácké opery v režiích Andreje Kroba

Mgr. Judita Hoffmanová

Bachelor's thesis

The Beggar's Opera and its Stage Variations under the Direction of Andrej Krob

Abstract:

Anotace Ve své bakalářské práci jsem se zabývala třemi inscenacemi Žebrácké opery v režiích Andreje Kroba, realizované v letech 1975, 1995 a 2005. V první kapitole jsem popsala jsem vývoj textu Žebrácké opery, od první poloviny 18. století, přes první adaptaci Třígrošové opery Berthota Brechta z roku 1928 až po poslední známou verzi Václava Havla - Žebrácká opera na téma Johna Gaye, jež vznikla roku 1972. V další části jsem provedla analýzu zmiňovaného textu, založenou na srovnání Havlovy a Gayovy verze. Analýza mi posloužila jako východisko pří srovnávání jednotlivých inscenací, jejich změn v posunu tématu, proměnách souboru, režijně-dramaturgické koncepci i vývoje samotného režiséra a jeho pohlížení na text.

Abstract:

Resumé In my final thesis I study three different adaptations of The Beggar’s Opera under the directions of Andrej Krob realized in 1975, 1995 and 2005. The Beggar’s Opera appeared for the first time at the beginning of the eighteenth century when the original version was written by the English playwright John Gay. His play concentrates on criticism of the society and the Italian opera, which was a genre already obsolete at that time. The first adaptation of this text was created in 1928 in Germany by Bertholt Brecht. Its theme undergoes a procces of modification and a critique of capitalism emerges. The second adaptation was produced in 1972 in Czechslovakia by Václav Havel. He himself takes a little different attitude which he demostrates by using the genre of the absurd drama in order to emphasize the main subject of his version, the loss of identity. Andrej Krob, the director, uses this text proper to work with. He, as well as Václav Havel, focuses on the story that allows him to find some deeper meanings and moral values, which his dramas always include. The first performace was held in 1975 in Horní Počernice, when Václav Havel’s plays were not performed in theatres because of his ‘politically bad profile’ in the communist era in the then Czechoslovakia. This only performance, played by an amateur theatre company, immediately became a symbol of political oppression. Two other versions of The Beggar’s Opera, which Andrej Krob rehearsed with his theatre company “Divadlo na tahu”, was created under completely different conditions – in a free country. In Chapter one I describe the history of the Beggar’s Opera and its various themes and forms in connection with the period in which it was created. In Chapter two I analyse Havel’s version in terms of form, contens, characters and language. In my work I partly draw from Gay’s text. It helps me to illustrate the basic points Václav Havel used in his play. In Chapter three I examine the actual versions of the play. I compare changes in association with the time, differences in the theatre company and at the same time the development of the director himself.

Keywords

Žebrácká opera, John Gay, Bertholt Brecht, Václav Havel, Andrej Krob, Divadlo na tahu

Language used: Czech

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 18. 6. 2007

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 21. 6. 2007
• Supervisor: prof. PhDr. Margita Havlíčková

Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Bachelor programme / field:
General Theory and History of Arts and Culture / Theatre Science