József Katona
József Katona (11 November 1791,
.Biography
József Katona was born and died in
University of Pest as a lawyer, and at the same time, he took part in theatrical life of the capital: he was an actor, he wrote several plays, and he also translated and adapted German melodramatic works for the Hungarian stage. He hopelessly loved the leading Hungarian actress, Mme Déry
, but she never recognized this love.
József Katona wrote Bánk bán, his most important drama for a literary competition organized by a
Kolozsvár
periodical in 1815. The competition required a historical drama with a Hungarian background. The result of the competition was disappointment for Katona: his Bánk Bán was not mentioned at all. He rewrote the play and published it privately in 1820, but it remained unnoticed until the mid-1830s. He returned to his native town Kecskemet. In the last ten years of his life, he wrote no more for the stage. Katona died on April 16, 1830, of a heart attack in front of his office.
Works
- Aubigny Clementina, 1813
- Ziska, 1813
- Jeruzsálem pusztulása, 1814
- A rózsa, vagy a tapasztalatlan légy a pókok között, 1814
- Bánk bán (Hungarian text), 1815; final version, 1819
Bánk bán
The story was about Bánk, the viceroy appointed by King
Hungarian National Theater
scheduled a performance of Bánk Bán. It was a symbolic event, part of the Hungarian revolution.
Bibliography
- József Katona: Bánk bán (The viceroy), translated by Bernard Adams and Kálmán Ruttkay; foreword written by László Orosz – Budapest : Akad. K., cop. 2003.
See also
- Bánk bán, opera by Ferenc Erkel
- Bánk Bán (film), a 1914 film by Michael Curtiz
External links
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