Oldal 36 [36]
A REFASHIONED IMAGE OF REVOLUTION AS MUSICAL THEATRE
and tedious plot"" were criticized, even if they were the result of transforming
the play into a compelling comedy. According to György Székely, chief director
in the Operetta Iheatre between 1952 and 1956, later a theatre historian,
"playing operettas before Gáspár was based on short texts that connected songs.
[...] But Gäspär said no. There is a story, and from time to time characters must
express emotions at a level that far outstrips prose, and then the music sounds.”
Therefore the working community tried to elaborate the plot meticulously,
which increased the time of the non-musical parts significantly. “We complained
that we play two plays every night. A story in prose and some musical numbers
added, and it takes three hours altogether.”*' The period of developing well-made
plays in prose, hand in hand with well-thought-out staging, began with Students
of Vienna at the Operetta Theatre, but it became a burden after a while. On 30"
October, 1956, in his speech at the “revolutionary meeting of the company”,
Székely already considered “long plays, one in prose, one in music every night”
a failure and suggested “short, comic librettos full of twists and turns” instead.
However, a few hours later Székely followed Margit Gaspar, resigned from his
job, and a seven-year period was over.*
ACTING
Although acting was not free from some arbitrariness, it was thoughtfully
coordinated, and Students of Vienna became one of the first Hungarian
operetta performances to strive for ensemble acting. Young people who had
not yet created their individual mannerism were easily able to adjust their
acting to their colleagues. Therefore, critics saw “the justification for the
theatre policy of our socialist acting” in them.** Zsuzsa Petress took part in the
performance as a second prima donna (besides Hanna Honthy), and although
her acting was not found utterly convincing, her voice was judged as helping
her fulfil her highest hopes.** Laszlé Hadics, for whom the theatre asked the
Ministry of Culture for the purchase of a winter coat, went from factory
worker to bon vivant. He started college as a fellow of the Operetta Theatre
in 1949, and “impressed audiences not only with his beautiful voice, but also
y.y.: Bécsi diákok, 6.
Tamás Gajdó: , Elég hamar rájöttem, hogy színjátéktörténetet írni nagyon kényes feladat",
Székely György portréja, Part 3. Parallel, No. 23, 2012, 19.
Tamás Gajdós interview with György Székely on 25" July, 2011. Typed manuscript, 27.
A paragraph cut from the version published in Parallel in four parts.
György, Dr. Székely: Operettszínház — 1956. Hozzászólás Cseh Katalin tanulmányához,
Színház 44:11 (2011), 30.
Fejér: Kapunyitás, 6.
84 Ferenc Fendrik: Bécsi diákok, Magyar Nemzet, Vol. 5, No. 220, 22"! September, 1949, 5.
85 Cf. Typed letter, Location: The National Archives of Hungary, XIX-I-3-a 02437/1949.
+34»