The grand opening of the
Green Balloon cabaret took place on 7 October 1905 in a located in the heart of
Kraków Old Town, not far from the
medieval St. Florian's Gate. It was an
art cabaret, meant only for the cultural elite. The organizers made sure that the guests show enthusiasm; those who didn't, were no longer invited. As a result the audience consisted of a closed group of regulars, whose composition didn't change. Soon, rumors began to spread among the local
bourgeoisie that the
Green Balloon stage was a place of
orgies, nude dancing and all manner of dissipation.
Boy-Żeleński responded on behalf of
Zielony Balonik by writing a bawdy, humorous poem "Pieśń dziadkowa" (Grandpas Song) confirming that indeed, it is a
Sodom and Gomorrah, synonymous with impenitent sin. The main contributors included two
Masters of Ceremonies:
Jan August Kisielewski, and Stanisław Sierosławski; the slew of writers such as: Witold Noskowski, Tadeusz Zakrzewski,
Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński (from 1906), Adolf Nowaczyński, Edward Leszczyński,
Leon Schiller, and Juliusz Osterwa; as well as a group of visual artists in charge of set-design and exhibits, including:
Witold Wojtkiewicz, Kazimierz Sichulski, Karol Frycz, Henryk Szczygliński,
Alfons Karpiński, Stanisław Kamocki,
Stanisław Kuczborski,
Stefan Filipkiewicz, Henryk Uziembło,
Fryderyk Pautsch, married couple
Tadeusz Rychter and his wife
Bronisława Janowska who designed political
puppets (1868–1953), Ludwik Puget, Ignacy Blaschke ==See also==