Naďa Földváriová

The Dramaturgy of Oskar Nedbal and its Starting Points
Oskar Nedbal, the director and entrepreneur of the Slovak National Theatre in the period 1923–1930, helped the theatre to achieve success abroad and, even more importantly, to gain the favour of the German and Hungarian long-time residents of Bratislava and educate the Slovak theatre audience. He was criticised, however, for a dramaturgy that did not follow a certain “strong and fixed plan” (Štefan Hoza). A more careful study can reveal the core of his dramaturgical thinking. Almost every one of Nedbal’s choices takes into account the experience from the preceding periods of his artistic path. His Bratislava dramaturgy reflects especially the era of Karel Kovařovic in the Prague National Theatre (1900–1906). Other Bratislava productions reveal the return to Nedbal’s Vienna projects. His choice of collaborators – set and costume designers, stage directors – confirms that Nedbal accentuated the scenic component of the performance, but he lacked the knowledge of the latest tendencies in the realm of staging. His artistic development was over before he came to Bratislava, but the way in which he reflected the disappearing world of Late-Romantic music theatre is vital and authentic, and as such it became the perfect launching pad for a new, modern artistic orientation, which was later accomplished by his nephew and successor Karel Nedbal.