THE LIEUTENANT NIDRIGEN’S WALTZ

The Lieutenant Nidrigen's Waltz was first performed on the stage of the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka in 1985, directed by Ljubisa Georgijevski, with the young Bozidar Alic in the title role. Afterwards the play was staged at the Joakim Vujic Princely-Serbian Theatre in Kragujevac (1986), directed by Dragan Jakovljevic, while the character of Nidrigen was played by the young actor Mirko Babic. After Rijeka artists’ guest performance on Zagreb stage at the Croatian National Theatre, the text was included in the anthology selection of Slobodan Snajder (Prologue No. 2, Centre for Cultural Activities, Zagreb, 1985)

"After almost four decades, thanks to the Opera & Theatre Madlenianum Management assessment, this is the first time the work has been performed in front of Belgrade audience, with even greater reason, we would say, than when it was first illuminated by the spotlights of the stage! The position of a man in the world surrounding us has, in the meanwhile, become even more difficult and uncertain, the policy of violence and dehumanization has narrowed the space of individual freedoms to a minimum, the cry for the right to one's "I" is almost inaudible today. A young man entering life feels a heavy compulsion to submit to those who decide on his present and future, powerless to choose, to decide for himself, to reject what does not suit him. In the past decades, the system of oligarchy has strengthened, embodied in powerful people who cynically impose their interests as general principles. So-called human freedoms and rights, democracy in which the majority stifles the minority, and hence the individual himself, the deception called the representative system, these are all platitudes, more precisely mechanisms of collective and individual enslavement of a man and his consciousness", said the writer of the play, Miodrag Ilic.

"This is the play of identity, the play of the defence of the individuality of a man always threatened by the rules he has to live by, by the coercion of the authorities and what is even more difficult and sinister - by the uncompromising imposition of established patterns of living. Being yourself, sticking to your choice, your beliefs, your principles, has a high price: it often leads to ruin, loss of support, suffering and sacrifice," the writer continues. The director adds: "A little thing in our life is often the cause of great traumas. Making a small mistake or deviation from conventions, a person can lead themselves into an absurd state, into a conflict with the surrounding and political and state factors, and to slip emotionally into paroxysm." According to him, the key issue in this work is the question of freedom.

 

PREMIERE PERFORMANCE

Monday, 5 December 2022 at 19:30
Large Stage of MADLENIANUM

Miodrag Ilic

THE LIEUTENANT NIDRIGEN’S WALTZ

Directed by: Vladimir Lazic
Set Design: Milica Bajic Djurov
Costume Design: Tijana Sicevic
Composer: Aleksandar Srebric
Proofreading: Ljiljana Mrkic Popovic
Choreography: Jelena Arsic
Lighting Design: Srdjan Jovanovic
Assistant Director: Jelena Paligoric Sinkevic
Assistant Set Designer: Anja Matkovic
Assistant Costume Designer: Nevena Reljic

 

CHARACTERS:

Tomas Nidrigen: Milos Djurovic

Adela Bonen: Isidora Gradjanin

Joahim Bonen: Srdjan Karanovic

Henrich XV insane: Irfan Mensur

Gustav Maynard, a doctor at mental asylum: Milan Mihailovic

Sebastian Gros: Vladimir Vuckovic / Lazar Djukic

Bertold fon Rot, Jan Kniper: Janko Cekic

Konrad Lipke, the Tzar’s Secretary: Sinisa Ubovic

Hauska: Petar Mihailovic

Adolf Sulc: Branko Janković

Rupert: Stefan Bundalo

Johan Withhold, prison guard: Srdjan Sekulic

The Soul’s Destiny: Jelena Arsic/Anka Gacesa Kostic

 

Stage Manager: Dusko Askovic

Organizer: Vlastimir Repic

Prompter: Jelica Maksimovic

Stage Master: Milan Ciric

Sound Realization: Dusan Arsikin

Lightning Realization: Vladimir Krunic

Make-up and Hairstyle: Mirjana Rakic

Wardrobe: Tanja Vuksanovic and Miladin Pavicevic

 

Photos from the premiere >>>