Bogumił Dawison's Vienna debut
Edmund Misiołek
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland)
Abstract
This article discusses Bogumił Dawison's (1818–1872) engagement at the Vienna Burgtheater in 1849, toward the end of Franz Ignaz Holbein's tenure as director. Dawison had previously enjoyed success in Hamburg (1847–1848), and Holbein pinned his hopes on him to rejuvenate the company and raise the level of the repertoire. The article presents reviewers' critiques of Dawison's performances in six productions during October 1849, including plays by Melesville, Shakespeare, Gutzkow, Laube, Birch-Pfeiffer, and Premaray. It also discusses the obstacles that obstructed the signing of the contract: on the one hand, Dawison's high financial expectations, and on the other, Welden's police report portraying the actor as inciting the public to engage in dangerous political activity. Correspondence preserved in the archives that pertained to this report is cited and analyzed. In addition, certain previous findings regarding Dawison's first Viennese contract, signed in early November 1849, are revised.
Keywords:
Bogumił Dawison, Burgtheater, Polish actors 1800-1900, cultural mobility, theater historyReferences
[Czartoryski, Konstanty]. Recensionen und allgemeine Bemerkungen über Theater und Musik. Bd. 1–7. Wien, 1853–1855.
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Laube, Henrik. Das Burgtheater von 1848 bis 1867. Wien, 1867.
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Laube, Henrik. Schriften über Theater. Berlin: Henschelverlag, 1959.
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Archiwalia: Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv, Wien, „Hoftheater Intendanz 1849”; Nationalbibliothek, Wien, Theater-Sammlung 1849.
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Authors
Edmund MisiołekAdam Mickiewicz University in Poznań Poland
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Copyright (c) 1968 Edmund Misiołek
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