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By Frano Baras The Split Municipal Theatre was ceremonially opened on 6th of June 1893 with Demeter’s "Teuta" performed by guest drama artists from Zagreb, accompanied by a special festive programme suited to the occasion. The enthusiasm of the audience in Split was aroused by the opening of a theatre where the Croatian language would be spoken and the joy at being able to see guest performers from Zagreb was enormous and lasted throughout the stay of the theatrical artists from North Croatia. During the following month plays were performed daily and twenty-seven performances were seen by an audience of 13,444. Considering the fact that the population of Split was slightly less than 16,000 at the time, it is clear that a great amount of interest was aroused by the guest theatrical company. Following up on the response to this event, significant both culturally and politically, the author quotes the newspaper articles and other writings of that time, all of which clearly show the genuine national ardour and enthusiasm for the guest actors from Zagreb. All the newspapers specifically described the touching departure of the artists whose performance marked the opening of the Croatian National Theatre in Split a hundred years ago. |