Theatre in Kosice - History

Perhaps we ought to say a little about the historical background.
The beginnings of the theatre in Kosice can be traced back to the 14th century; in 1347 Kosice was accorded the rights of a market town. Various itinerant players, magicians and dancers would perform at the market.
From the 16th century on, school theatre development began, with the support of both Catholic and Protestant Churches. In 1648, the Jesuit order came to Kosice. They held meetings in a large lecture theatre, "auditorium academicum".
After 1732, with the rebuilding of the Kosice Academy, two stages were erected for the performance of plays. At this time, Kosice had no theatre building of its own.
The town was frequently visited by theatrical groups. So the need for a theatre building arose. A local carpenter, Fidelius Schwendtner, put forward proposals for a building in 1787, but they fell through. Two very active proposers and organizers of the building were Michal Sztaray, leader of the local council and, later, Mikulas Vecsey. The building was designed in the classical style by the Royal Architect J. Tallher, and was completed in November 1789; this is taken as the earlier date of a permanent stage facility in Kosice.
In March 1984, the town was obliged, for reasons of safety, to close the theatre. Plays continued to be performed at the Concert Hall of the Schalkhaz Hotel; in a riding-ground building; and on a makeshift scene in the town park.

Artistic Aspirations

Prior to 1918, plays were performed only in German. In January of that year, the "Falcon" amateur group performed a play in Czech for the first time.
The people of Kosice greeted with pleasure the news of the inauguration of the Slovak National Theatre (SND) in Bratislava in 1920. In Kosice, our first professional theatre opened in the autumn of 1920, with tha play "Hana" by Razus. Since that time, the SND opera and theatre ensembles have visited Kosice every year. But this could not make up for the lack of a permanent theatre base.
The National Theatre of Eastern Slovakia (VND), opened the Autumn, 1924, season with a performance of "Kocurkovo" by Chalupka. The Czech producer, Jozef Hurt, was appointed theatre director. Hurt engaged a B company of Czech and Slovak actors and operetta singers. In the beginning it was one undivided company.
But the VND theatre was plagued with many difficulties - financial, economic, practical and artistic. There were few performances in Slovak; plays by non-Slovak writers were put on in Czech. Kosice theatre gradually became home for the opera. In 1929, the first opera to be performed there was Smetana's "Bartered Bridge". In the years 1920 - 1930, VND gradually fell apart; and ceased to exist altogether in 1937. The seven years of existence of the VND in Kosice was an important period for the development of society and theatrical culture. Several masterworks were performed on the Kosice stage.
In 1937 - 1938, VND was revived. Ivan Lichard was appointed theatre director, and a number of actors from SND joined the company. The repertoire of Kosice theatre was based mainly on the repertoire in Bratislava.
Slovak was not heard on the Kosice stage again until 1945. The Slovak National Council decreed in its resolution No. 65/45, dated July 3, 1945, the establishment of theatres in Kosice , Bratislava and Martin. The first director was the well known theatrical manager, Janko Borodac. His aim was to produce performances of plays, opera and ballet.
The first performance of "Marina Havranova" by Stodola, was given on September 15, 1945. There was a performance of "The Polish Blood" by Nedbal, on October 6, 1945. The first opera to be performed was Verdi's "La Traviata" on December 1, 1945. Janko Borodac worked with the Kosice theatre from 1945 to 1953. He was excellent actor-manager. He succeeded in building a foothold for Slovak theatre in ethnically Hungarian Kosice. The repertoire was varied, and popular with the public. The profile of the thespian scene in Kosice was dominated by the personality of Julo Zborovjan, the theatrical producer, who is best remembered as the "conscience of the theatre".
The first decade of the National Theatre was the most productive. The 60's and 70's, were a time of artistic stagnation. This applied particularly to drama production. Plays put on followed the dictates of socialism. The situation for opera nd ballet was easier, since they had an extensive repertoire of classical and romantic works to choose from. Audience in Kosice could, however, also see several outstanding performances during this period.
Our Kosice Theatre has a tradition to live up to. We must try to be worthy of our beautiful theatre.