Written by: Ivan Ban
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Although at first glance a curtain seems like a supporting actor of the theatre’s visual ensemble, it occupies a prominent position in the development of contemporary theatre. Basically, the theatre curtain separates the auditorium from the stage, space from time and time from space, this side from the other side, so lifting the curtain on the show immerses the spectator into the enchanting world of art.
Theatre curtains can be major players in the play itself – just think of the Varijete Europa (Orfej) play by Tea Tupajić at the Zagreb Youth Theatre, or a more recent example of The Adventurer at the Door play by Helena Petković at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. Many thespian devotees lament contemporary theatre performances starting under curtains that have already been lifted, which strips these beetling witnesses to the history of a certain nation and area of their meaning.
The respectable scholar, editor, and musicologist Zdravko Blažeković, director of the Research Center for Music Iconography at The City University of New York, gave a compelling lecture this winter and sparked interest in theatre curtains. It was the first opportunity for the audiences to see all eight curtains on the stage of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb at once, and the jam-packed theatre that November morning gave a standing ovation to Professor Blažeković, who not only talked about our theatre gems, but also the rich and remarkable history of theatre curtains in Europe and the world alike, bringing forth a series of well- and lesser-known details.
For example, before the unification of Italy, its legendary La Scala theatre also had curtains in the boxes. When they were drawn, important political talks took place behind the curtain. Curtains in Baroque theatres usually depicted motifs from ancient mythology and clearly painted the picture of the extent of power of royal or aristocratic theatre owners. During the Romantic era, artists used their brushes on curtains to stroke the ego of royal houses, presenting compositions teeming with patriotic messages, while Italian theatres favoured themes related to local history.
The most illustrious curtains in Europe and the world were predominantly made by great artists, but the biggest change was brought about by the famous German composer Richard Wagner in the middle of the 19th century. Wagner asserted that it is better for both art and people who come to the theatre when the curtain slowly parts, gradually immersing the spectators into the theatre and the magical world of art, which is not the case when the curtain abruptly lifts before their eyes.
Throughout its history, the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb has amassed one iron and seven painted curtains that are unveiled on various festive occasions. This is, as Blažeković pointed out, an exceptionally large number of curtains even for the largest theatre, and the drapes in question were made by some of the most prominent Croatian visual artists.
Even though the present building of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb on the Trg Republike Hrvatske square opened its doors on October 14, 1895, the history of the first curtain stretches back half a century further to the old theatre in the Upper Town, also known as the Stanković Theatre, which was the centre stage of the city’s cultural and theatrical life with a capacity of more than 750 seats.
Djed, unuk i vila (“The Grandfather, the Grandson, and the Fairy”) is the forefather of all the theatre’s ceremonial curtains, and it is attributed to the painter Vjekoslav Karas. It was put up around 1850 and it is the only preserved artefact from the stage equipment of the old theatre in the Upper Town. The curtain is fan-shaped and presents a reproduction of the Djed i unuk (“Grandfather and Grandson”) painting by the same painter.
In the nineties of the 19th century, in the spirit of building a new theatre on the outskirts of Zagreb of the time, the intendant Stjepan Miletić put forth many suggestions to the government, seeking, among other things, that the ceremonial curtain for the opening of the new theatre in 1895 be made by the painter Vlaho Bukovac.
Nowadays, as one of the most distinctive motifs of the historical period of the Illyrian movement, the curtain is best known as Illyrian Revival (its original name is Revival of Croatian Literature and Art), while its working title was Celebration of Folk Lyric Poetry and Drama. When deciding on a theme for the ceremonial curtain, Miletić was guided by the idea of cultural unity between the two Croatian centres, namely Zagreb and Dubrovnik.
Although history and collective consciousness remember Vlaho Bukovac, who painted the foreground (Bela Čikoš Sesija helped him put things into perspective), as the author of the entire curtain, the decorative frame of Illyrian Revival is the work of the painter Ferdo Kovačević.
The preeminent Croatian theatre curtain, measuring six meters in height and nine meters in width, is nothing short of a cultural monument, and Bukovac was awarded a whopping six thousand forints for his contribution to the art scene of the region. In 1999, after a hundred years of wear and tear, the curtain was replaced by a replica made by the painters Ivica Šiško and Eugen Kokot, and the original is kept in the depot of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb.
The painting on the curtain depicts the vestibule of the ancient temple where the Dubrovnik poet Ivan Gundulić sits surrounded by fairies, and 19 people, mostly revivalists, come to pay homage to him: Ljudevit Gaj, Antun Mihanović, Janko Drašković, Dimitrije Demeter, Antun Mažuranić, Mirko Bogović, Stanko Vraz, Ivan Kukuljević, Pavao Štoos, Petar Preradović, Antun Nemčić, Vatroslav Lisinski, Branimir Livadić, Ljudevit Vukotinović, and Dragutin Rakovac, as well as theatre artists Josip Freudenreich, Adam Mandrović, and two women – Sidonija Erdödy Rubido and Marija Ružička-Strozzi..
In the background, through the trellis of the ancient building, one can see the skyline of Dubrovnik and the Minčeta tower, and the hoi polloi from the Dubrovnik area celebrating freedom, as well as Zagreb and the inhabitants of Northern Croatia. Bukovac’s picture-perfect depiction of Northern and Southern Croats coming together became a symbol of the idea of Croatian unity.
During the reconstruction of the theatre building from 1967 to 1969, three new curtains – one made of iron and two painted pieces – were added to the tapestry of Croatian history. Iron curtains were invented to divide buildings into two parts and thus prevent the spread of fire in the times when theatres were illuminated by candles and kerosene lamps, and the iron curtain devised by Croatian painters Kamilo Tompa and Fran Šimunović, and designed and executed by the painter Vladimir Pintarić in 1969, was placed above the portal and is still in use today.
That same year, Frano Šimunović drew up the Titov naprijed (Tito’s Forward) curtain based on the poem of the same title by Croatian poet Vladimir Nazor, while Krsto Hegedušić made the A.D. 1573. curtain inspired by the Peasant Revolt of 1573.
In 1994, on the occasion of the nine hundredth anniversary of the city of Zagreb and the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Zagreb, the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb was presented with the ceremonial curtain called Četiri godišnja doba (Four Seasons) made by the painter Rudolf Labaš, following the design by Ivan Lacković Croata. Three years later, on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the premiere of The Devil in the Village ballet by Fran Lhotka, Ivan Lovrenčić painted the ceremonial curtain of the same title based on the motifs from the ballet.
Our largest national theatre obtained its latest curtain a quarter of a century ago, in 1999. This curtain known as Harmica is the work of the painter Vasilij Jordan.
The exaltation of the audience that got a glimpse of the abundance of our ceremonial curtains upon attending the informative lecture by prof. Blažeković serves as proof that there is great interest in this important segment of the theatre design in Zagreb, as well as the desire to see ceremonial curtains on the stage of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb more often.
