The “Slavic Spirit” and the Opera Scene in Olomouc, 1830–19201 Jiří KOPECKÝ Department of Musicology, Faculty of Arts of Palacký University Olomouc Univerzitní 3, 771 80 Olomouc, Czech Republic E-mail:
[email protected] Lenka KřUPKOVÁ Department of Musicology, Faculty of Arts of Palacký University Olomouc Univerzitní 3, 771 80 Olomouc, Czech Republic E-mail:
[email protected] (Received: June 2017; accepted: September 2017) Abstract: In 1830, a new theater building was opened in the Olomouc Upper square. The stable theatrical life enriched enormously the cultural life of the city and en- couraged the development of publishing activities in the field of music journalism and publishing. The public debates on the artistic value of theater performances, on abilities of particular artists and on other subjects gained new quality after the 1860 October diploma because Czechs living in and around the traditional German town put pressure on theater directors and demanded Czech plays on the stage. The fights for the national repertoire on the stage of the Olomouc Provincial Theater are demon- strated in this essay in two contrary ways: at first, the introduction of Czech dramas into the German scene during the 1860s is discussed, then the intensive promotion of German operas during the 1880s and 1890s when internationally played Slavonic operas were performed in all theaters. The director Carl König (1862–1868) offered a contract to many artists who were able to speak both German and Czech, so he could open an independent subscription for the Czech public. The relatively tolerant atmos- phere allowed König’s company to give performances in both languages and connect the Olomouc theatrical life to the Prague Provisional Theater.