Theatre and cultural memory: The Siege of Belgrade on stage

Abstract

This contribution considers the historical image of Belgrade created by European playwrights and librettists of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Istanbul has been for a long time the symbol of an oriental city and lifestyle in the Western European mind an image that was transmitted especially in poetry and dramatic texts. Belgrade seems to be present in a different way in the European cultural memory. Analysis of the representation of history related to Belgrade in the medium of theatre is based on the four selected historical theatre texts: Hannah Brands Huniades, or The Siege of Belgrade (Norwich, 1791/98); Carl Kisfaludys Ilka oder die Einnahme von Griechisch-Weissenburg (Pest, 1814); James Cobbs The Siege of Belgrade (London 1791/1828); und Friedrich Kaisers General Laudon (Vienna, 1875).