The Poetic Voices of the Tragic Chorus in Baltic Theatre: Translation, Adaptation, and Stage Practice

Abstract

This article examines the translation, adaptation and staging of the Greek tragic chorus across Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian theatrical traditions. Treating the chorus as an intersection of poetic text, ritual performance and collective voice, the study analyses a spectrum of choral transfer strategies, ranging from maximum textual fidelity to mediated or minimal forms and, in some cases, complete absence. Drawing on selected productions and translations from the 20th and 21st centuries, the article demonstrates how different theatrical traditions negotiate the tension between philological ambition and contemporary performance practices. The comparative analysis reveals how the tragic chorus gives voice to changing ideas of collectivity, authority and civic meaning. Across theatrical practices in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, choral transfer appears as a dynamic process in which ancient drama is continually reinterpreted and reshaped in response to changing aesthetic, political and social conditions.