Τα πέντe αυτά, eλάχιστα γνωστά, κeίμeνα που αφορούν τον Κάρολο Κουν, την πορeία του στο θέατρο και τις απόψeις του, δημοσιeύτηκαν στον αθηναϊκό Τύπο, νωρίς στην καριέρα του, μέσα στην δeκαeτία του 1940. Τα τέσσeρα πρώτα eμφανίζονται μέσα...
moreΤα πέντe αυτά, eλάχιστα γνωστά, κeίμeνα που αφορούν τον Κάρολο Κουν, την πορeία του στο θέατρο και τις απόψeις του, δημοσιeύτηκαν στον αθηναϊκό Τύπο, νωρίς στην καριέρα του, μέσα στην δeκαeτία του 1940. Τα τέσσeρα πρώτα eμφανίζονται μέσα στην Κατοχή, το 1943, eνώ το τeλeυταίο το 1946. Το πρώτο κeίμeνο eίναι μια σύντομη βιογραφία του ανeρχόμeνου τότe σκηνοθέτη eνώ στο δeύτeρο καταθέτeι τους προβληματισμούς και τις θέσeις «για ένα καινούργιο θέατρο». Το τρίτο κeίμeνο eίναι μια απάντηση του Κουν σe πρόσφατη κριτική του Λέοντος Κουκούλα στον οποίο eπιτίθeται για τις μeθοδeύσeις του προκeιμένου να προσλάβeι ηθοποιούς του Θeάτρου Τέχνης στο Κρατικό Θέατρο Θeσσαλονίκης. Στα δύο τeλeυταία κeίμeνα ο Κουν καταθέτeι τις σκέψeις του για την κατάσταση του θeάτρου στην Eλλάδα και συζητά την τέχνη του θeάτρου και τον ρόλο της στην σύγχρονή του πραγματικότητα.
The author aims in this article is to highlight a significant moment in the history of the reception of Shakespeare in modern Greek theatre. The article outlines the main developments in the perception of Shakespeare's work in Greece...
moreThe author aims in this article is to highlight a significant moment in the history of the reception of Shakespeare in modern Greek theatre. The article outlines the main developments in the perception of Shakespeare's work in Greece from the mid-nineteenth century until the Second World War, and examines Karolos Koun's early experiments in Shakespearean production. Koun's initiatives were diametrically opposed to local theatre traditions, which emphasized psychological or historical realism and pictorial or spectacular illusion. The use of non-realistic stage conventions such as masks and simple, abstract and allusive settings, flamboyant costumes, stylized acting, and the fact that all roles were played by young boys demonstrate the significance of Koun's contribution to a modernist Shakespeare in Greece, culminating in his Romeo and Juliet with the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford in 1967. Antonis Glytzouris is Associate Professor in the School of Drama at t...
As is well known, the birth of theatre modernism intersects with the crisis of nineteenth-century bourgeois society and its realistic ideals. Modernism found expression in naturalism at first as both the heir to bourgeois realism and the...
moreAs is well known, the birth of theatre modernism intersects with the crisis of nineteenth-century bourgeois society and its realistic ideals. Modernism found expression in naturalism at first as both the heir to bourgeois realism and the first step towards modernist theatre (Williams 1990, 84–5). The decisive break took place in the movement of independent theatres. In the above context the birth of theatrical modernism met the emergence of the modern director, as the new artist of the theatre, a process which on its own was an ontological change of classification in the history of theatre. If one seeks to put forward aworking hypothesis on the reception of theatre modernism in Greece until World War II, one will begin to recognise that it is very uncertain if Greek Theatre had achieved the triple historical necessity of naturalism, “free theatre” movement and the modern director. On the contrary, one suspects that the European avant-garde was imported to the dominant native star system as a sign of westernisation (Glytzouris 2010a). This essay is neither a history of the interpretation of Ibsen’s works in Greece nor, far less, a report on their Greek reception as related to the presence of other major modernist authors; it does not provide the reader with an account of the contexts of twentiethcentury Greek theatre itself (which, unfortunately, are still unclear). Rather, the aim of this study is simple and definite: the investigation of Ibsen’s presence in Greece within the above-mentioned triple historical necessity. In this context Ibsen was a catalyst, who very gradually transformed the field in the direction of modernism.
The essay discusses the relations between European Modernism and the processes of modernization and westernization of the early twentieth- century Greek theater, taking as a paradigm the tours of Eleonora Duse in n-de-siècle Athens. The...
moreThe essay discusses the relations between European Modernism and the processes of modernization and westernization of the early twentieth- century Greek theater, taking as a paradigm the tours of Eleonora Duse in n-de-siècle Athens. The tour was important not only because it contributed to the inclusion of the Greek stage in the international theatre market, but also because it o ered to the contemporary Athenians their rst (and last) chance to see foreign productions of Modernist drama at rst hand (plays of Ibsen and D’Annunzio). I argue that there were serious problems in the reception of these dramas, mainly a kind of substitution of Modernism with westernization for the sake of modernization. These problems were also interwoven with a very serious domestic, pathogenic condition, i.e., a peculiar idealistic conviction of the inheritance of the glorious Ancient Greek past.
The young Venetian widow, Rosaura, wants to remarry. She has already met, at a ball, an Englishman (Milord Runebif), a Frenchman (Monsieur Le Blau), a Spaniard (Don Alvaro de Castiglia), and an Italian (Conte di Bosco Nero), all of whom...
moreThe young Venetian widow, Rosaura, wants to remarry. She has already met, at a ball, an Englishman (Milord Runebif), a Frenchman (Monsieur Le Blau), a Spaniard (Don Alvaro de Castiglia), and an Italian (Conte di Bosco Nero), all of whom are spending the summer in the city. Each of these gentlemen devotes himself to an ardent flirtation which expresses at the same time his national characteristics. Rosaura is struggling to choose between the phlegmatic Englishman, the elegant Frenchman, the foppish Spaniard, and the jealous Italian. So, she puts her art to work to find the correct solution: wishing to be sure of each suitor's commitment she takes advantage of the opportunity offered by the carnival to disguise herself in turn, as an English, a French, a Spanish, and an Italian lady, flirting with each of the gentlemen in accordance with this disguise. In the end she settles for the Italian, believing him to be the most likely to be faithful. There is, however, one item of unfinis...
The iconic Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis returned to playwriting with Othello Returns (1937) after a break of almost ten years. During this period he had carefully observed developments on directing in Europe and had translated a...
moreThe iconic Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis returned to playwriting with
Othello Returns (1937) after a break of almost ten years. During this period
he had carefully observed developments on directing in Europe and had translated
a series of plays for the Royal Theater of Greece. Othello Returns has
been characterized as “Pirandellian” for a long time, but the in-depth analysis
undertaken here shows that it is the product of Kazantzakis’s sui generis, yet
conformist, theatricalism. His theatricalism is not a departure from the traditions
of Greek drama during the interwar years, but a reaffirmation of a crisis
in Greek drama and theater that manifested itself in a downturn in the output
of Greek playwrights, followed by an upsurge of creativity, the emergence of a
new theater-going public, the rise of the director as a key player, and the impasse
of modernism both in terms of playwriting and stage direction.
"This essay aims at a systematic investigation of theatre performances of Prometheus Bound and Suppliant Women at the Delphic Festivals (1927, 1930) with particular reference to the art of dance. It attempts to analyse the artistic and...
more"This essay aims at a systematic investigation of theatre performances of Prometheus Bound
and Suppliant Women at the Delphic Festivals (1927, 1930) with particular reference to
the art of dance. It attempts to analyse the artistic and ideological content of the tragic
chorus such as conceived and implemented by Eva Palmer-Sikelianos. The article initially
attempts to analyse her theoretical concerns and then attempts a detailed presentation of the
Delphic performances. The revival of the tragic dance acquired an aura of ‘resurrection’, in
the sense that it embodied a basic ideological component: the forging of Modern Greek
identity upon alleged hereditary relations of ‘affinity’ between the ancient Greece and the
Modern Greek folk culture. In order to illuminate this objective, the essay also examines:
(a) similar approaches attempted in the Modern Greek stage from the end of the
nineteenth century, (b) the Neo-Romantic roots of the initiative and (c) instances of
American lovers of ancient and traditional Greece in the first quarter of the twentieth
century."
Ο Καζαντζάκης συνέδεσε τα πρώτα βήματα της καλλιτεχνικής σταδιοδρομίας του με τα ονόματα ορισμένων από τους σημαντικότερους Έλληνες ηθοποιούς, που πρωτοστάτησαν στην ανανέωση της εγχώριας υποκριτικής τέχνης στις αρχές του 20ού αιώνα. Όπως...
moreΟ Καζαντζάκης συνέδεσε τα πρώτα βήματα της καλλιτεχνικής σταδιοδρομίας του με τα ονόματα ορισμένων από τους σημαντικότερους Έλληνες ηθοποιούς, που πρωτοστάτησαν στην ανανέωση της εγχώριας υποκριτικής τέχνης στις αρχές του 20ού αιώνα. Όπως είναι γνωστό, το Ξημερώνει παραστάθηκε τον Ιούλη του 1907 από θίασο τον οποίο συν-διεύθυνε ο Θωμάς Οικονόμου, ενώ στα χέρια του ίδιου καλλιτέχνη ο Καζαντζάκης είχε εμπιστευθεί επίσης και το αγαπημένο του Φασγά. Παράλληλα, ωστόσο, εκδηλώθηκε, από νωρίς, μια απογοήτευση απέναντι στους καλλιτέχνες της αθηναϊκής σκηνής, απογοήτευση που οξύνθηκε μετά το 1908· με αποτέλεσμα, ο συγγραφέας να οδηγηθεί σε μια πλήρη σχεδόν αποξένωση από το νεοελληνικό θέατρο μετά το 1910, όταν κανένας θίασος δεν φάνηκε πρόθυμος να ανεβάσει τον βραβευμένο στο Λασσάνειο Πρωτομάστορα. Η παραπάνω απογοήτευση δεν αφορούσε, όμως, μόνον την κατάσταση της νεοελληνικής σκηνής της εποχής αλλά συμβάδιζε με τη στάση ίδιου του συγγραφέα, στάση που χαρακτηριζόταν από μια σαφή αντιθεατρική προκατάληψη, λανθάνουσα αρχικά αλλά ανοιχτή αργότερα, που εντάθηκε κι αυτή με το πέρασμα των χρόνων. Στις δύο περίπου δεκαετίες που ακολούθησαν, ο Καζαντζάκης απείχε από τον κόσμο του νεοελληνικού θεάτρου και οι σχέσεις του με την εγχώρια υποκριτική τέχνη ήταν σχεδόν ανύπαρκτες· για να αποπειραθεί να γεφυρώσει και πάλι κάπως το χάσμα στη δεκαετία του 1930. Στόχος της ανακοίνωσής μου είναι να εξετάσει τους λόγους αυτής της αμφιθυμίας του κορυφαίου Έλληνα λογοτέχνη απέναντι στην τέχνη του ηθοποιού εστιάζοντας στην νεανική περίοδο της καριέρας του.
"The author aims in this article is to highlight a significant moment in the history of the reception of Shakespeare in modern Greek theatre. The article outlines the main developments in the perception of Shakespeare’s work in Greece...
more"The author aims in this article is to highlight a significant moment in the history of the reception of Shakespeare in modern Greek theatre. The article outlines the main developments in the perception of Shakespeare’s work in Greece from the mid-nineteenth century until the Second World War, and examines Karolos Koun’s early experiments in Shakespearean production. Koun’s initiatives were diametrically opposed to local theatre
traditions, which emphasized psychological or historical realism and pictorial or spectacular illusion. The use of non-realistic stage conventions such as masks and simple, abstract and allusive settings, flamboyant costumes, stylized acting, and the fact that all roles were played by young boys demonstrate the significance of Koun’s contribution to a modernist Shakespeare in Greece, culminating in his Romeo and Juliet with the Royal Shakespeare
Company at Stratford in 1967."
In Carlo Goldoni’s The Artful Widow (1748) the handling of the theme about an artful widow who decides to remarry puts him in the front-line of Modernity. Undoubtedly, in this pioneering play of the Age of the Enlightenment, the Italian...
moreIn Carlo Goldoni’s The Artful Widow (1748) the handling of the theme about an artful widow who decides to remarry puts him in the front-line of Modernity. Undoubtedly, in this pioneering play of the Age of the Enlightenment, the Italian master is in his peak, with his unprecedented deep realistic insights and his matured thoughtful approach of the dissemination of new liberal morals. In view of all this, historians of the theatre may be surprised to learn that in 1790s The Artful Widow circulated in three Greek translations in Constantinople and Vienna. This essay discusses the transformation of Goldoni’s both theatrical form and socio-political agenda in their journeys to the East-Mediterranean Greek communities; and it attempts to examine the Constantinopolitan adaptation in the light of the reception of the ethnographic comedy of manners in the context of Greek Enlightenment.
Το δοκίμιο εξετάζει τη μετάβαση από τις πρώτες ιψενικές παραστάσεις του Κάρολου Κουν – την Έντα Γκάμπλερ (1939) και το Κουκλόσπιτο (1942) με τον θίασο Κατερίνας και την Αγριόπαπια με τον θίασο Κοτοπούλη (1939) – στις κατοχικές και...
moreΤο δοκίμιο εξετάζει τη μετάβαση από τις πρώτες ιψενικές παραστάσεις του Κάρολου Κουν – την Έντα Γκάμπλερ (1939) και το Κουκλόσπιτο (1942) με τον θίασο Κατερίνας και την Αγριόπαπια με τον θίασο Κοτοπούλη (1939) – στις κατοχικές και μεταπολεμικές ιψενικές παραγωγές του Θεάτρου Τέχνης: Αγριόπαπια (1942, 1956), Ρόσμερσχολμ (1943), Βρικόλακες (1943), Τζων Γκάμπριελ Μπόρκμαν (1949). Η εργασία αναλύει τον ‘ποιητικό ρεαλισμό’ των παραστάσεων, σχολιάζει τις επιδράσεις του Κονσταντίν Στανισλάβσκι και του Γεβγένι Βαχτάνγκωφ. Το άρθρο υποστηρίζει ότι ο Κουν οδήγησε στην ωρίμανση της υποδοχής του Ίψεν στην Ελλάδα αλλά και ότι η δραματουργία του Νορβηγού στάθηκε ένα σημαντικό εφαλτήριο για την εκτόξευση του Κουν στη μεταπολεμική πρωτοπορία. Τέλος, η παραπάνω ζύμωση, συνέβαλε αποφασιστικά στη διαμόρφωση του νεοελληνικού θεατρικού Μοντερνισμού.
The essay discusses the relations between European Modernism and the processes of modernization and westernization of the early twentieth- century Greek theater, taking as a paradigm the tours of Eleonora Duse in n-de-siècle Athens. The...
moreThe essay discusses the relations between European Modernism and the processes of modernization and westernization of the early twentieth- century Greek theater, taking as a paradigm the tours of Eleonora Duse in n-de-siècle Athens. The tour was important not only because it contributed to the inclusion of the Greek stage in the international theatre market, but also because it o ered to the contemporary Athenians their rst (and last) chance to see foreign productions of Modernist drama at rst hand (plays of Ibsen and D’Annunzio). I argue that there were serious problems in the reception of these dramas, mainly a kind of substitution of Modernism with westernization for the sake of modernization. These problems were also interwoven with a very serious domestic, pathogenic condition, i.e., a peculiar idealistic conviction of the inheritance of the glorious Ancient Greek past.