Stage Character and Musical Production as an Aspect of the Jewish Identity in Bulgaria in the Wake of 1989 Cover Image

Сценичност и музикална продукция като аспект на еврейската идентичност в България след 1989 г.
Stage Character and Musical Production as an Aspect of the Jewish Identity in Bulgaria in the Wake of 1989

Author(s): Yulina Dadova
Subject(s): Anthropology
Published by: Институт за етнология и фолклористика с Етнографски музей при БАН

Summary/Abstract: The subject of the article has been the evolution of stage performances and musical production as a mechanism of showing Jewish identity in Bulgaria in the wake of 1989. The text points out how the working out and presentation of cultural products through stage performance and amateur artistic activities turn into a way of shaping new models of Jewish identity in the wake of 1989 (construed as an element of a newly established “fabricated” tradition in the view of Eric Hobsbawm, in a period when classical folklore is losing its positions in everyday culture). The article focuses on the shows of several Jewish vocal and dancing formations, choir ensembles and soloists, who through their repertories enforce new folklore models as part of the creation of the new collective image of Bulgarian Jewry during the past 15-20 years. Two major components have been taken into consideration exerting the strongest impact on the artistic models: on the one hand, the historical relationship of the Bulgarian Jews with the Sephardic cultural tradition and, on the other, the Israeli culture penetrating along most diverse formal and informal channels. The paper raises the question about the relationship between the presentation of this culture and its consumption; between its creation and recreation in response to the changing post-modern society. Commentaries have also been offered as to how this situation contributes to the formation of the collective Jewish identity, giving precedence to the ethnic.

  • Issue Year: 2009
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 91-107
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Bulgarian