Tag: Stage Costume

My grandparents used to be famous Hungarian artistes in the 60s, 70s and 80s with their acrobatic show – called Duo Ernesto and later Susy & Ernesto. They performed in the best vaudevilles, cabarets, shows and revues.

This blog post is written based on my grandma’s storytelling: costumes and stage dresses were extremely important in stage performances at that times as well. She explained how the stage costumes influenced her whole professional life…

During my entire professional life my stage costumes had important roles and had a huge effect on our success as artistes in Europe during the 60s, 70s and 80s – says Zsuzsanna Kövesi Farkas.

My costumes were designed and prepared by myself. At the designing I always took into account my figure and my movements on the stage and the impression it gives in terms of being attractive and sexy.

I had so many stage costumes that the colleagues came to see each time what I wear…

Except Romania and Albania we performed in all European countries with my husband in different well-known and famous vaudevilles, caffés, cabarets, casinos etc. throughout 25 years with an acrobatic show. This show was special, because I was wearing high heel shoes for the acrobatic elements.

We performed in places like Friedrichstadt Palast, Urania Palast (East Berlin), Red Rose (West Berlin), Mocambo Cabaret (Bern), Kursal Casino (Baden), Eden Cabaret (Leipzig), Café Drag (Dresden), Steintor Variete Halle (East Germany), Intermezzo (München), El Amra Variete (Rotterdam), Splendid Cabaret (Luxembourg), Rozmaryn (Czechoslovakia), Aeros Variete (Leipzig), Tabaris Variete Rosand (Switzerland) etc.

Working together – Duo Ernesto

In the 1950s the performing artistes’ dresses in Hungary did not have any decorations – or just a few – because at that time it was impossible to buy rhinestones and flitters in Hungary. In 1957 my husband was performing in Spain in an acrobatic trio act. For the first time in his life he has seen glimmering and shining costumes and so called net tights on dancers – and he was impressed. He discontinued the Spanish contract, returned to Hungary and told me that he had missed me a lot and he wanted me to be with him always… I was a dancer and a gymnast and he was a very good comic character – so we took all the possibilities in consideration and had the idea of a funny dance and acrobatic act together.

The very first costume

 

We started to work hard on our common showpiece. After several months of hard practicing we could start performing. But before starting to contract with our act, we needed a so called artistes’ licence, and to get the licence we had to take an exam with our showpiece in front of the artiste committee. The exam was at the Kamara Variete in Budapest, for what we had to invent a costume very quickly.

At that time there was not a huge supply of costume fabrics in Hungary – so I bought blue and white striped fabrics and prepared my costume in sailorman-style. So we performed our show as sailors on the exam.

It was so successful that the director of the Kamara Variete offered a several months’ contract for us. We accepted it happily.

When we started our performances at Kamara Variete, the director called for the theather company and said that we would have foreign guests on the next week’s performance: directors of varietes and different agents seaching for new show elements. I don’t have to say how suspenful we were…

And the day arrived when the agents and other important people were sitting in the first row. We were very exited, but the debut was successful. After the performance a piece of paper was hanged behind the stage with the names of the artistes who were interesting for the agents or directors. We were surprised to read: “We call Duo Ernesto to the Manager Office; Aeros Variete wants to discuss with.”

We were extremely happy to get a one year contract for 1958 to Leipzig, to the Aeros Variete. This was our first common debut with my husband in abroad.

The first step to abroad

We started our performances at Leipzig Variete. One day after the performance a gentleman came to us, an agent, and said that he was searching for show elements to Friedrichstadt Palast, East Berlin for 1959 and our show fit perfectly to the concept.

He asked us whether we were interested in this opportunity. During the iron curtain era, after the 1956 Hungarian revolution it was very difficult for Hungarians to get visa – we mentioned this to the agent. His answer was: “we take care of it with MACIVA”. (MACIVA – Hungarian Circus and Variete, an association of artistes in Hungary)

Of course we were interested, so we discussed the details and two weeks later he brought to contract with him to Leipzig. We did not know too much about Friedrichstadt Palast, but the colleagues in Leipzig explained us that this was a high quality, well-known revu show, and it still is, even nowadays: one of the highest quality, biggest stage revu show worldwide. Our colleagues explained that this was a famous place with fantastic costumes, huge scenery and ballet. Hearing that we came to the conclusion: we couldn’t perform in our sailor costume in such an elite place!

Returning home after our Leipzig contract we spent all of our money on stage costumes, elegant and marvallous ones for our show, hoping that it would suit the Berlin revu…

Berlin – Friedrichstadt Palast

In the spring of 1959 we travelled to East Berlin,, to a new world, very excited. East Berlin was a “political shopwindow” of Eastern Germany: it was possible to buy everything and entertainment was top quality. They wanted to show that they could keep the pace with Western Germany.

At that time we heard in Hungary: “Be careful with western people, they are bad and provocative…” We went to East Berlin, not West, but we were very curious about the life of western people…

When the rehearsal period started at Friedrichstadt Palace, the director came to us and said that we would be in the Boat Scene, where the scenery was a huge boat, the dancer girls would wear sailor costume, so we had to perform with our acrobatic show in our own sailor costume! They asked us to dress up into our sailor costume and show ourselves.

We were looking at each other with my husband and said that the sailor costume is not there, because we have new costumes… The director and the others were astonished – what could we do? Due to the visa issues we arrived late to the rehearsal, and time was not enough to sew a new sailor costume. Therefore they asked us to show our new costumes. We stepped onto the huge stage excited.. As we were coming to the stage in our new elegant costumes, the director shouted: “that’s it! That would be perfect!”

After the debut the director of Friedrichstadt Palace came to us saying: “A great carreer is waiting for you in the west!”

During the performances we admired the stage costumes of the dancers, and we were impressed by the glamour, decorations, rhinestones, feathers and sexy lines of the stage costumes. That was the point when our attention was really drawn to elegant and nice costumes in stage appearance. We realized very quickly that we could step forward only if we put huge emphasis on costumes! We spent more of our monthly salaries on costumes, to reach the best appearance and impact.

After getting known that the shining decorations for the stage dresses were from West Berlin, we went there to do the shopping for ourselves. Before the building up of the wall it was not so difficult to get through, and we had a special diplomat visa, so we could go as many times as we wanted and could bring whatever we wanted from West to East!

Soviet tour – where a nice costumes was a sin…

After the Berlin contract period we returned to Hungary. MACIVA – the Hungarian Circus and Variete – sent a complete performance to the Soviet Union with a longer contract. The company was performing in the bigger towns of the Soviet Union, in circuses.

Just returned from Berlin and having seen the sexy costumes of the dancers, I thought I prepare a stage costume for myself in crochet! This crochet costume was covering only the most feminine parts of my body!

The company performed in Moscau when a delegation arrived from Moscau, from the so called Russian State Circus. After the show they called the director of our company asking him what this dress was on the lady in Duo Ernesto??? Seemed they did not like my costume. The director reported it to MACIVA in a telegram… We did not know about it, of course.

Getting a sack… the biggest luck!

As the Soviet contract was finished, we returned to Hungary. We were called to the office of MACIVA, and said that the Soviets were “hurted” by my costume, and we were cosmopolitans, West-loving people. They said that we couldn’t be MACIVA artistes in the future and gave us a sack!

They stated that 10% of all of our future contracts must be paid in. In return they took care of the visa and let our family members visit us. If we miss the 10% payment, our performing licence and passport would be withdrawn.

We accepted, and we came out of the office extremely happily! It would meant that our income would be multiplied (because the artists who worked for MACIVA got a very low daily payment) – and we were full of contract offers from East to West.

After this point our career was kicked off, as the director of Friedrichstadt Palast had predicted! We performed throughout Europe in the best places, and we were occupied for the next 2-3 years all the time.

Three generations’ costume design

At the end of the 70s we created one aditional act. It was a Magic act and I thought I design a very sexy costume for that, because during an magic act I didn’t have to make so many movements. I wanted to prepare a very sexy dress, made of beads solely. I ordered beads from the U.S., and I prepared the Costume of My Life during one of our tours in abroad. I even did not dare to think that this costume would look perfect even 30 years later, and my daughter and my granddaughter would wear it!

I wore this costume in Moulin Rouge, Vienna for our illusionist show. After the performance the director came to me, saying: “It is all the same what you do, but if your wear this costume, it is an attraction and total success by itself!”

That is the role of the costumes in a show – in my life it was such an important element. We could have been grateful to our simple sailor costume that our career has started. What if I had bought red fabrics…

I am over 80, but I still feel myself an actress in my heart. If I would be born again, I would be an artiste again…

The Three Generations!!!

…and I wear my granny’s costume proudly today…

Kristina Eötvös