In memory of Ivo Vojnović
Ivo Vojnović is one of the most prominent playwrights of modernism who has often been called the last poet of Dubrovnik. He was born on 9 October 1857 in Dubrovnik. He went to primary and secondary school in Split and Zagreb, and in the latter he graduated from the school of law. He spent some time as a civil servant in Križevci (1884) and Bjelovar (1889). In Dubrovnik he became a senior civil servant (1892 – 1899) wherefrom he went to Zadar and Supetar na Braču (1903). In May 1907 due to his involvement in a financial scandal he was dismissed from civil service without the right to retirement income, after which he was appointed a literary manager in a Zagreb theatre, which he remained until June 1911. Austrian authorities took him into custody in July 1914 in Dubrovnik and later he was detained in the Zagreb hospital Sestre milosrdnice. From spring 1919 he lived in France, mostly in Nice, whence he returned to Dubrovnik in 1922. Although his sight was severely damaged, he frequently staged public performances of his works in Zagreb, Split, Sarajevo, Prague and Belgrade, trying to earn his livelihood. He dies blind on 30 August 1929 in Belgrade. He was buried in Dubrovnik.
He appeared in literature in 1880 when August Šenoa, then editor of the journal Vijenac, published his short story Geranium, with traces of Bovarism and proto-modernism, and the vistas and atmosphere of Dubrovnik. Geranium was followed by Perom i olovkom (1884), another short story, and a short novel Ksanta (1886). The prose comedy Psyche (1889) was Vojnović’s first play – it marks the turning point in both Croatian theatre and literature. The selection of Psyche for the premiere at the opening of the new building of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb heralded Vojnović as the founder of the modern Croatian drama. In the period between 1891 and 1901 Vojnović wrote poems from the collection Lapadski soneti. Two sonnets from this collection (Prelude and Na Mihajlu) set the framework for Vojnović’s trilogy Dubrovačka trilogija, the most famous collection of plays which includes Allons enfants, Suton and Na taraci – a chronicle of the demise of the Republic of Dubrovnik. Dubrovačka trilogija, which was directed by Kosta Spaić and staged between 1964 and 1971 on three attractive Dubrovnik locations – Knežev dvor i.e. the Rector’s Palace, Sponza Palace, and at the Gruž summer house, is an immortal production of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the premiere of Konte’s – the way Vojnović was called as a count – famous three-act drama in Dubrovnik. In his dramas Ekvinocijo and Maškarate ispod kuplja Vojnović continued delving into the themes of Dubrovnik’s life. Maškarate ispod kuplja was staged for the first time at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb in January 2012. Vojnović translated from Italian, French and German, and his own works have similarly been translated into numerous world languages. His plays brought him greatest success, especially those written in the Dubrovnik idiom, which leaves both readers and viewers with a strong impression of its vivid features. Most of his plays have also been staged abroad. Pisma Iva Vojnovića were published in 2009 and, marking the 80th anniversary of Vojnović’s death, the National and University Library in Zagreb together with the Dubrovnik branch of the Central Croatian Cultural and Publishing Society (Matica hrvatska) presented this significant three-volume publication. The exhibition Jedan po jedan dohodu vlastela, which was accompanied by a published catalogue, was also opened on this occasion. Pisma Iva Vojnovića show that Vojnović wrote most of his letters to his brother Lujo (418 letters), mother Marija (329) and sister Gjena (238). The reproductions of some of these letters (e.g. the letter by Vojnović to Julije Benešić from 1918), which are preserved at the NUL Manuscripts and Old Books Collection, have been included in the catalogue which also brings copies of other exhibits displayed at the exhibition – facsimiles of Vojnović’s manuscripts, copies of the covers of various magazines or books, photographs, posters for various productions of Vojnović’s plays as well as plans and maps originating in the time of Vojnović’s life in Dubrovnik.
Although Vojnović’s works have certainly earned him lasting fame, a street on Lapad bearing his name keeps him even farther away from falling into oblivion.
