The article provides information on the Polish theatre in Lviv, which owes its home to Count Stanislaw Skarbek. According to the article, he was to devote his entire fortune to the upkeep of the home for orphans and the poor, and these assets were closely linked to the Lviv theatre. The text also indicates the financial settlement between the theatre and the orphans' home, the differences between the upkeep of the Polish and German theatres, as well as artistic issues and the actors' conflicts with Skarbek himself. (Source: Tygodnik Illustrowany, Warsaw 1861, T:3, pp. 128-129., after: Digital Library of the University of Łódź).

A modernised reading of the text

Stanislaw Skarbek Theatre in Lviv.

The Polish theatre in Lviv was a wanderer for many years. The brave leadership of two people who combined the noblest civic dispositions with rare artistic and literary talent: Boguslawski and J.N. Kaminski, ensured not only the theatre's existence, but also its unparalleled success, in spite of unfriendly circumstances. On the one hand, it is a fact, and the Polish theatre in Lwow is proof of this, that the intellectual needs of the nation give rise to the existence of certain institutions; on the other hand, maintaining these institutions strenuously and valiantly arouses and enlivens these needs, especially if the institution maintains itself on such a footing that it is always a step or two ahead of the need.

Bogusławski's theatre, and later Kamiński's, catered to the audience's education by presenting light and amusing plays; however, they did not fail to interweave them with serious, classical dramas and tragedies, not in the least bit discouraged by the fact that a large part of the audience at first listened to them with little interest and did not reach the heights of the work. It wasn't long before a passion and even enthusiasm for the dramatic art was awakened, so much so that the company of actors began to be supplemented by amateurs and, in time, was strengthened by a fine host of enthusiasts who, having felt their uncommon talents, moved from the ranks of the audience to the stage.

More importantly, the spirit of love for a profession which, in our relations, was unquestionably a kind of public service, and almost the only one besides our literature, which was not very well established at the time, spread to such an extent among the young minds that a host of artists was recruited from the more enlightened classes: clerks and young academics, full of hope. And when the government authorities, reluctant to distribute such an important institution in the relations of the time, the management was entrusted to Prince Karol Jabłonowski, as the curator appointed by the foundation act and the will. The Duke did not submit his accounts, and his administration was so neglected that it served as a pretext for an unlawful step, i.e. for the removal not only of Duke Karol Jablonowski from the administration, but also of his successors, designated by the foundation and testament, the closest of whom was Count Fryderyk Skarbek.

Although the government authorities, reluctant to develop such an important institution in the relations of the day, offered young volunteers for the artistic profession an alternative: to choose between an office or other profession and the stage, many of them sacrificed the prospects of a secure, and perhaps even a brilliant career, for the actor's unstable and unreliable turn. From among the former competitors on the amateur stage, we have seen some holding high office, while others have become the leading lights of the Polish stage today. From among these enthusiasts came today's theatre directors: Nowakowski and Smochowski. The theatre, with such beautiful hopes and having won such an important position in the country, was for a long time a wanderer.

At last it was permanently housed in a municipal building, rebuilt from an old monastery. The Society of Dramatic Artists supported itself; it was a kind of commonwealth, a joint enterprise of the actors themselves, which, although it was not generously profitable, did not live at the expense of any other institution, nor did it seek or receive support anywhere but from the public. Almost at the height of the Polish theatre's glory, Count Stanislaw Skarbek began to build a theatre of great proportions on the site of the "low castle", one of the largest buildings in Lwow.

The theatre building itself is surrounded by a huge three-storey house, with accommodation for artists, a number of storerooms, shops and a café. The existence of the theatre was secured by a privilege granted by Count Skarbek in the 1950s, which was granted only on the condition that the German theatre and opera house be inseparable from the Polish stage. The Polish theatre was even handicapped in relation to the German theatre in terms of the number of performances. He bequeathed all his estates to this foundation and connected the Lwow theatre with it so closely that all the pure income from it should be turned to the benefit of this foundation, called Drohovka, after Drohovvsha, where a home for orphans and the poor is to be erected.

This implies the condition, which is explicitly stipulated, that the theatre should be closed down if it does not bring any benefit to the Drohovvyska foundation. Since this attitude of the theatre to the Drozhov plant strongly influences its fate, I must briefly touch upon the financial side of the theatre, before I proceed to the artistic one. In terms of finances, there is a great difference between the Polish and German theatres. As long as Skarbek was alive, the entire management remained in his hands, so we do not know until the year of his death, 1848, how much the Polish theatre made in profit or loss; it is certain, however, that it lost out on the German theatre.

After his death, the management was taken over by Duke Karol Jabłonowski, as superintendent, appointed by the foundation act and the will; the Duke did not keep accounts and his administration was neglected to such an extent that it served as a pretext for an unlawful step, i.e. for removing not only Duke Karol Jabłonowski from the management, but also his successors, designated by the foundation and the will, the closest of whom was Count Fryderyk Skarbek. Although Count Fryderyk Skarbek is designated by the will in the event of the death of Duke Karol Jablonowski, his removal from administration is also the civil death of the guardian of the institution. The administration of the Drohov theatre and establishment was carried out by the government.

From now on, the state of its finances is known in detail, as the administration has been filling its accounts annually. From the times of Rev. Karol Jablonowski's administration, it is only known that in 1849 he proposed the dissolution of the German theatre, as it was draining the funds of this institution, only bringing losses, and the obligation of upkeep could only be fulfilled at the expense of the Polish theatre and the Drohhov plant. Whether for this or another reason, we do not know, Prince Karol Jablonowski was dismissed: it is enough that the government administration took over many debts, the cancellation of which was, of course, its first effort.

The income of the German Pol.
1850 - 141,000 zl. - 122,000 zl.
1851 - 140,000 zlp. - 121,000 zloty.
1852 - 139,000 zlp. - 96,000 zlp.
1853 - 75,000 zlp. - 40,000 zlp.
1854 - 125,000 zlp. - 127,000 zlotys.

Expenditure on the German Pol. theatre.
180,000 zlp. - 116,000 zlp.
172,000 zlp. - 108,000 zlp.
156,000 złp. - PLN 88,000 złp.
95,976 złp. - 48,898 złp.
PLN 175,953. - 51,168 zlp.

Thus, there was 32,000 zlotys per year on the German string, and 19,000 zlotys per year on the Polish string. The German theatre made the greatest loss to the company funds in 1854 (50,953 zlotys), while the Polish theatre made the greatest profit that year (75,832 zlotys). In that year (1854), the administration petitioned the higher authorities to close down the Polish theatre, as it was being maintained at the expense of the Drohov plant.

This request represents one of the epochs in the history of theatre administration; the first was the request of Prince Karol Jablonowski to close the German theatre, after which it was removed from guardianship; the second was the request of the new administration to close the Polish theatre, after which it was decided to lease the theatre. Entrepreneurs were found for the Polish, none for the German. Henceforth, the Polish theatre fell out of the list of theatre income and expenses.

In 1855, only the German theatre appeared in these lists, with an income of 66,000 zlotys, and an expenditure of 104,000 zlotys, and so on every year, with increasingly unfavourable changes, to the extent that in 1859, although the income was 120,000 zlotys, the expenditure on the German stage rose to 283,500 zlotys, so that the shortfall was 163,000 zlotys, which was covered from the Drohov funds. The income of the German theatre thus accounts for less than a seventh of the total income of the Skarbek foundation (amounting in 1859 to 884,000 zlp.); the expenditure of all expenses (amounting in 1859 to 636,000 zlp.).

Turning to the artistic side of the Skarbek theatre, I must remind you that, upon its opening to the public in 1842, Skarbek found the Polish stage in the hands of a company of Polish artists, which under the direction of J. N. Karaibski constituted something of a commonwealth, and comprised his favourite members, many of whom were truly outstanding, as follows: Pensa, Nowakowski, Smochowski, Starzewski both, Budkiewicz both, Słoński, Rejmers, Kamińska (wife of Jan Nepomucen), Rutkowska.

Others have begun their existence among them, and are a decoration of our stage, such as Ashpergerowa, or from strangers, such as Dawison. The theatre, so complex, came under Skarbek's monarchical rule. This led to many misunderstandings and disagreements between the artists and Skarbek, which affected the audience, but always in favour of the artists and not Skarbek. For the first two years, the audience was satisfied and there was harmony on stage.

The company of Polish actors had moved almost entirely to the Skarbek theatre; the building itself was fresher and more beautifully decorated than the people of Lwow were accustomed to seeing in a theatre; and finally, the opening of performances with excellent plays, all of which put the public in a very good frame of mind for the theatre and made it successful. "The Polish performances in the new theatre began with Fredro's Maiden Vows. Unparalleled in the role of Gustav - Bensa, in the role of Albin - Smochowski The less aiming ones were as if created for this play, or the play for them.

Bensa was soon missing, and not even the courage to erect a tombstone for him, only "Si ubić panieńskie", which will always remain a jewel in the Polish repertoire, is for those who saw Bensa in them, always a precious memory of his artistic qualities and merits. The same can be said of other actors and plays, and before them Nowakowski and Smochowski, as Raptusiewicz and Milczek, in this unique embellishment of Polish drama.

"Revenge" will remain "Revenge" as long as the Polish stage stands, but you won't find another Nowakowski for Raptusiewicz and Smochowski for Milczek. If ever there was an excuse for this Gallicism, that the actor creates the role, then this is it. It is no stranger to the history of drama that the author and the actor complement each other most perfectly when the work of one is combined with the work of the other. Such is the relationship between Fredro and several actors on the local stage. Some of the roles in his plays seem to have been deliberately written for them, as if he had them in mind when writing them, and they seem to have been created for these roles.

Such is Latka in The Annuity (the role of Nowakowski). This high quality has been attributed to our actors by the first-class actors of foreign stages, including the Viennese Burgtheater, which recently belonged to the target audience of all Europe. Bensa, Nowakowski, Smochowski, Kaminska, Starzewska, were the mainstays of the theatre at that time; Kaminski, their master, was no longer performing. They had other single roles in which they were unsurpassed, e.g. Budkiewicz in the role of the organist in "Krakowiaki i Górale", or Starzewski in Papkin. Butkowska has so far excelled in the roles of old pretentious ladies, ladies and folk roles of housewives.

Starzewski was replaced and surpassed today by Ashpergerowa; next to Butkowska stands, and in many roles excels above her, Hubertowa. Korzeniowski was the second author who, later than Fredro, enriched the repertoire of our theatre. "The Fifth Act", "The Living and the Dead", "The Jews", "The Old Man" and his other plays had their stage baptism here, and the Lviv theatre deserves the honour of introducing these two of our first playwrights to the audience. After two years of splendour, the theatre went into decline. In 1841, Skarbek removed a number of audience favourites from the ranks of artists for financial reasons; even Nowakowski met this fate.

Fredro closed down his portfolio as a result of biased critics accosting him for his political colour, rather than assessing his literary merit. This was as much to the detriment of the stage as to literature. Korzeniowski only enlivened the repertoire with new plays. "The Fabricant", "Carpathian Highlanders", "Miss Married", "Window on the First Floor", were the only original plays presented in this period. The audience began to loudly sarcastic at Skarbek, and the main reason for this was the removal of several actors. He was accused of being stingy and people stopped attending the theatre, making his success even more vulnerable.

At this point, Skarbek obtained support for the Polish stage from the Galician states, amounting to 16,000 zloty a year, and submitted a project to the government for the provision of a pension for artists, which was not approved until 1854. Skarbek tried to replace the departed artists with new ones, but none of them lasted on stage for more than two years. After the loss of Bensa, Nowakowski, Kamińska, Starzewska and others, Smochowski and Aszpergerowa shone in the theatre. Dawison went to seek recognition of his talent on foreign stages, which was denied him here by the criticism, servile to jealous competitors.

This state of decline in the Polish theatre lasted until 1848, that is, until Skarbek's death. Prince Karol Jabłonowski took over as hereditary curator and set about resuscitating the theatre. He contributed a great deal to the opera, perhaps too much; for this he wished to resolve the German drama. To the Polish theatre he sent, besides restoring the audience's favourites, several new talented artists: Radzyńska (today's Hubertowa), Sulkowska (today's Countess Czacka) and Szuszkiewiczówna. The shortage was greater for men. Rev. Jablonowski's reign did not last long.

His removal might have been beneficial for the introduction of better financial administration, but it was contrary to the law, the Foundation Act, and unfavourable for the Polish theatre. According to the law, the removal of Reverend Jablonowski should have been followed by the appointment of Count Fryderyk Skarbek as curator, as the removal was the civil death of the curator in relation to the theatre. A new period in the theatre's history began with the removal of Duke Jabłonowski, a period of ever worsening success, until Nowakowski and Smochowski took over the management, under whom it began to rise again.

At least under Pleiller's management, namely in 1850, new plays were seen on the stage, and among them some excellent ones. Translations appeared on stage for the first time: Z. Kaczkowski's Adriana Lecouvreur and M. B. Antoniewicz's Uriel Acosta. Mieczysław Kamiński and Lech Nowakowski began their stage career then. J. Korzeniowski's "Monk" was presented for the first and last time. This play was not allowed to be repeated, for the performance of monks on stage. This is why I believe that this one and only performance (about which there was a report in the then "Tygodnik Lwowski") should be kept in memory.

The stage lost a lot when this play was removed from the repertoire. Smochowski's performance as Bolesław corresponded to the lofty conception of the role. The scenes of the pronouncement of the curse, in the presence of Bolesław, hiding under a penitent's robe, and the scene in front of the church, from which the blind power of the curse repels Bolesław's desire to enter it, made such an impression that today, after ten years, one cannot recall them without emotion. In 1851, the Civic Casino conceived the idea of raising the Polish stage. At the request of M. B. Antoniewicz, it was decided to collect a contribution, and it was obliged to occupy all the boxes on the first and second floors.

A competition for comedy was also announced, to which the local repertoire owed "Moustache and Wigs". By 1854, the Polish stage was still on a mediocre footing, despite the excellent talents of several male and female artists. In 1854, just when the stage was at its highest, Pleiller was removed from directorship and the Polish theatre was leased to Chelchowski. The stage lost its best actors, the audience became discouraged: Chelchowski had many faults, and the intrigues, supported by biased journalistic polemics, only served to make the theatre worse. The governor set up a committee in 1857 to investigate and judge the state of the theatre.

We do not know what the committee's opinion was, but the aftermath suggests that it was unfavourable: Chelchowski soon relinquished the directorship, and Nowakowski and Smochowski took over. Since then, the theatre has improved considerably and its success is incomparably better. There is still much to be desired, but one cannot fail to give the new directors credit for the revival of the Polish theatre in Lwow under their leadership. However, these matters are already current and are therefore the responsibility of the correspondents, and we conclude this historical glance with the wish that a future historian of the local theatre will have something better to write about its present and future developments than we had about the past.

We enclose here portraits of J.N. Novakovsky and Smokhovsky, today's directors of the theatre in Lwow, who shared a common fate for fifty years, and who today firmly maintain their comradely unity. Both were born in the same month and year, both attended grammar school together, both appeared on stage in the same play, both married in the same year, both married their daughters to the Dobrzanski brothers (Smochowska is married to Jan Dobrzanski, the well-known editor of Nowiny and Dziennik Literacki), Both faithfully stuck to their hometown's stage, and today, at the end of their fifty years of distinguished work, they find themselves together at the helm of the Lviv stage, managing it and, at the same time, enthusiastically setting an example for their younger brother and teaching him how to understand and refine art, so that it does not fall into craft.