AUGUSTA DANILOVA
(24. 8. 1869 - 3. 1. 1958)
"I was born under the castle, in one of the most modest houses in Rebra... I was born for the theater... I only know that we were very poor in Rebra. My father was a modest city employee, but with a meager pension, he ensured that all three of us daughters and two brothers found the right path in life. Today, only my sister is alive, and she could confirm that even as a child, before I went to school, I always wanted to perform some kind of fairy-tale play. Oh, how I loved playing the queen - and how many times I really had to play her on stage..."
Interview for the magazine Prijatelj 1939
Avgusta Danilova, born Gostič, was one of the first Slovenian professional theater actresses and, along with Zofija Borštnik Zvonarjeva, embodied the zenith of female theater at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
She first appeared on the stage of the Dramatic Society in 1884 as a fifteen-year-old in Tyl's play The Arsonist's Daughter and met with a good response. The main role was played by Anton Cerar Danilo, her future husband. Her acting career took off sharply and already in 1888 a critic in the Slovenski narod wrote: "Miss Gostičeva, who received a beautiful bouquet, has made great progress in the short time she has dedicated herself to theater. It was interesting to watch how she developed, how she, previously a stranger to the stage, became a winner thanks to her extraordinary talent..." (Slovenski narod 1888) It is difficult to say whether it was because of her appearance as a real and uncompromising, firmly grounded woman or perhaps for other theatrical reasons that she had to give up creating youthful stage characters and mostly play characters much older than herself. The first staging of Ibsen's plays was characteristic, almost absurd. Fears on the Slovenian stage (1899), in which she portrayed Alving, the mother of Oswald, played by Danilo, who was more than ten years older. Already at this performance, the critic of the Slovenski narodow wrote that "Ms. Danilova is our best actress".
Although she was truly considered the best "domestic" actress in the Slovenian theatre during the so-called "Czech period" (1895-1910), she did not feel at ease in the company of Czech and later Russian comedians, and this is probably what lured her to the Slovenian theatre in Trieste and later to America. However, external reasons contributed greatly to her theatrical moves, such as her restless spirit, boiling temperament and thirst for new experiences and horizons. After having previously flirted with the Zagreb theatre, Danilova accepted an engagement in Trieste in March 1908. When she arrived, the Trieste theatre was directed by Anton Verovšek and she played there for a season and a half under his direction. After his return to Ljubljana, she also took over the direction and artistic direction of the theatre, organised a school for dilettantes and played numerous leading roles.
After returning to Ljubljana (1910), she experienced the peak of her career for three years - until the upheaval of the theater's closure in 1913, which she described as follows: "There was a cultural scandal. They put us on the street, nothing to me, nothing to you. Our soufflé Malovrhova told me: 'It's best if you go to America. I'll lend you money.' - my son Rafael came from Poland at the time, where he was a cinema operator. And so I left Danilo with three daughters and two sons in charge, while I went with Rafko across the big puddle with the intention of sending them the money I earned." (Archive SLOGI)
During her first American period (1913-1920), as a resourceful woman, she quickly found herself in various professions, and theatrical activities were relegated to the margins. According to her own testimony, she and her son starred in a film and occasionally played in a German theater, and she was also active in the Slovenian society Slavec and occasionally participated in theatrical performances.
When she returned to the National Theatre in Ljubljana in 1920, she was warmly received and immediately engaged. Her range of roles during her new period (1920-1922) was also remarkable: she played a number of leading and title roles: Roza Bernd, Elga, Elisabeth in Mary Stuart, Gertrude in Hamlet ... The criticisms were respectful and moderately favorable, but there were many hints in them that her style of acting was already a bit outdated, given the development that the theater had undergone during her seven-year absence. Danilova, somewhat disappointed, devoted herself to teaching work at the beginning of the 1921/22 season. According to her, the fundamental reason for her disappointment was primarily the newly engaged Russian forces in the Slovenian theater, which allegedly acted in an elitist and exclusive manner for the domestic forces.
She returned to America in 1922 and then successfully worked in theater (as a director, actress, and organizer) among Slovenians in Cleveland and New York.
After four years, she returned to Ljubljana in 1926 and took to the stage again. But now she rarely acted and directed more. It became even more obvious that the stylistic differences between her acting and contemporary trends in theatre were even greater. After her retirement (1929), which she accepted with bitterness, she occasionally acted in or outside the National Theatre, and mainly directed radio plays. She concluded her career on the stage of the SNG Drama Ljubljana in 1950 with the role of Marija Jozefina in the drama Bernarda Alba's home García Lorca and received surprising critical acclaim. At the same time, she starred in two films, in the film Trieste and film On your own land France Štiglic. Especially with Obrekarica in the latter, she created a striking, legendary role that was deeply imprinted in the memory of all types of viewers, for which she received the High Award of the Republic of Slovenia and also the Federal Award of the FNRJ for the year 1949. In 1948, the Slovenian reporter wrote the following about her role, among other things: "Ocean Daddy is played by a Slovenian actor from Sarajevo, Miro Kopač. He and especially his wife Obrekarica (Avgusta Danilova) are large-scale acting images in this film. These two Slovenian people do not act, but live. No one who has seen or will see the film "On my own land", will never forget the scene when Obrekarica says to Daddy Orel: 'We had seven children... and now you're sending this one to the army...' and Daddy Orel replies: 'Ana, this is our army!' ..." Similarly, the same year, Human Rights wrote: "The two grandmothers of "Obrekarica" Avgusta Danilova and "Angelca" Mileva Zakrajškova are also poignant, warm and determined figures. Despite her advanced age, our honored actress Avgusta Danilova has coped surprisingly well in front of the film camera and can serve as an example to many younger comrades. She reached her peak in the scene when she dies, shot by a fascist murderer's bullet."
Avgusta Danilova died in January 1958 at the age of 89.
Dr. Štefan Vevar, museum advisor, Slovenian Theatre Institute – Theatre Museum
The Slovenian Theatre Institute will pay tribute to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Avgusta Danilova with a special event in the fall of 2019.
