The Viennese Baiting-Amphiteatre (1755-1796)

From the early modern period until the 19th century, blood sports were a common and popular theatrical phenomenon throughout central Europe. In Vienna, such spectacles were staged at the k.-k. privilegirtes Hetzamphitheater unter den Weißgerbern (the imperial- royal privileged baiting amphitheatre next to the Weißgerbern), which existed from 1755 until it burned down on 1 September 1796. To date, the discursive dominance of a theatre historiography focussed on notions of the national banned such cultural practices from its canon. This book, which bases on the so-called Hetzzettel printed announcements of the performances , travel reports, memoirs, newspaper advertisements as well as contemporary scholarly papers, traces the history of this peculiar and previously neglected theatrical form. In order to explore the Hetzamphitheaters performance practices in a differentiated manner, the study provides a thorough analysis of the institutions cultural environment such as the discursive context, i.e. manifold perspectives on theatre in the 18th century, and its relation to then contemporaneous and historical theatrical forms. Besides blood sports, the venues genealogical structure as well as the diversity of theatre practices comprised by the Hetzamphitheater possess significant links to courtly and popular culture. The analysis of the animal fight Ein herrlicher Thierkampf (A magnificent animal fight), which took place on 14 April 1793 and represents the core of the study, not only demonstrates this cultural plurality, but also delivers insight into a stage complex determined by economic, aesthetic and dramaturgical aspects. The detailed examination of the Hetzzettel, 104 of which are available as transcriptions in the appendix, opened up new perspectives on this form of communication. Based on their dramaturgy of numbers and unique metaphorical language combining both humanisation and imbrutement of the advertised animals, the Hetzzettel should be considered a discrete literary genre, which proved constitutive for understanding the animal fights due their significant influence on audience perception. Using the example of these advertisements, the Hetzamphitheaters spectacles will be contextualised from the perspective of theatre and cultural studies: The play bills feature carnivalesque narratives, the construction of multiple female genders, exoticism and proto-nationalist ideas as animals were assigned different nationalities. With such ascriptions oscillating between gentleness and cruelty, human, social and political notions were projected onto the theatres principal performers in multifaceted ways. The study concludes with prospects on the 19th century that illustrate, due to the rise of the middle class and industrialisation, the relation of a decisive change in the attitude towards animals and the way they were used in theatre performances.

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