Seite 37 [37]
ENDRE MARTON: STUDENTS OF VIENNA, 1949
with his realistic way of acting”.*° Zoltán Szentessy was the second bon vivant
since he got the role of Strauss Jr. instead of Janos Sardy, with whom the theatre
failed to agree, and Szentessy “provided a powerful performance burning with
revolutionary fire”.*’ Their enormous success made all of them frequently
employed artists of the Operetta Theatre. Among members of the young
generation, Janos Bagyinszky’s Havranek was also praised. The character
of the peasant boy from Upper Hungary was interpreted as a quasi-Tiborc
(from one of the most famous Hungarian dramas, Jozsef Katona’s Bank ban),
so the reviewer of Magyar Nemzet considered “his heartwarming humanity,
complaint, outrage and rebellion penetrate the imperial uniform”.**
As far as the older generation was concerned, “the best forces of operetta
were mobilized”, “but instead of stars — for the first time in this genre —
an excellently coordinated ensemble” could be seen.” Tivadar Bilicsi, who
revived the “joviality of old Vienna”,° received as much praise as Hanna
Honthy, who played a frivolous prima donna. Although Honthy was in a
period of crisis,” partly at her age (she was 56 years old), partly because of the
changed theatrical conditions in which she struggled to find her place, she
became “the number one favorite of the new audience” as well.” Three years
before her successful change of role-types in The Count of Luxembourg, she
triumphed as the first prima donna in Students of Vienna with her “brilliant
voice, conquering appearance and excellent acting technique”.** The working
community contributed to her success with an entrée and two long duets
among the overall not-so-generously allocated songs.
In contrast, Kalman Latabár, one of the most popular actors of the time,
was very badly treated in the press. He played Gerzson Torlai, the title role
in Obernyik’s farce, who was “reduced” to a supporting role in Students of
Vienna. Latyi’s acting was highly esteemed by some newspapers, but Népszava
joined the atrocity campaign against him, naming him “the representative of
an outdated bourgeois entertainment industry” and trying to forbid him from
the stage." The critic scolded the audience’s favorite with the vehemence of
86 Róbert Rátonyi: Operett, Vol. 2, Budapest, Zenemükiadö, 1984, 263.
y.y.: Bécsi diákok, 6.
88 Fendrik: Bécsi diákok, 5.
Fejér: Kapunyitás, 6.
"T...] which is diminished by the fact that this ‘jovial old Vienna’ was killing Robert Blum and
his fellow proletarians at the very same time." y.y.: Bécsi diákok, 6.
Cf. György Sándor Gál: Honthy Hanna. Egy diadalmas élet regénye, Budapest, Zeneműkiadó,
1973, 578-591.
Fejer: Kapunyitäs, 6.
93 Fendrik: Bécsi diákok, 5.
7 Gyöngyi Heltai: Az operett metamorfózisai 1945-1956. A , kapitalista giccs"-től a ,haladó
mimusjáték"-ig, Budapest, ELTE Eötvös Kiadó, 2012, 89. — “[...] in the beginning they wanted
to transform the very genre, namely the Hungarian boulevard operetta, to which he owed his
greatest success." Ibid.
91
92