Emanuel Schikaneder
Encyclopedia
Emanuel Schikaneder born Johann Joseph Schickeneder, was a German impresario
, dramatist, actor, singer and composer. He was the librettist
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
's opera The Magic Flute
and the builder of the Theater an der Wien
. Schikaneder is remembered today as Mozart's librettist for The Magic Flute, however, in his day he had an important and successful theatrical career. Branscombe called him "one of the most talented theatre men of his era".
in Bavaria to Joseph Schikheneder and Juliana Schiessl. Both of his parents worked as domestic servants and were extremely poor. They had a total of four children: Urban (born 1746), Johann Joseph (died at age two), Emanuel (born 1751 and also originally named Johann Joseph), and Maria (born 1753). Schikaneder's father died shortly after Maria's birth, at which time his mother returned to Regensburg
, making a living selling religious articles from a wooden shed adjacent to the local cathedral.
Schikaneder's wife, Eleonore, was born Maria Magdalena Arth in 1751. While the leading actress in the Schopf company, Schikaneder and Arth were married on 9 February 1777. He was frequently unfaithful to her; the 1779 baptismal records for Augsburg (where the company was performing) record two children born to him out of wedlock—each to different mothers. His wife played an important role in Schickaneder's career, particularly in inviting him in 1788 to join her at the Theater auf der Wieden
. She died in 1821.
Two of Schikaneder's blood relatives were also his professional associates:
Schikaneder's illegitimate son Franz Schikaneder (1802–1877) was a blacksmith in the service of emperor Ferdinand I of Austria
.
, and Singspiel
. Schikaneder danced at a court ballet in Innsbruck
in 1774, and the following year his Singspiel Die Lyranten was debuted there.
This was a great success, and was performed frequently in the following years. Schikaneder was the librettist, composer, and principal singer, a versatility he would continue to exhibit throughout his career.
In 1777 he performed the role of Hamlet
in Munich to general acclaim. In the same year, he and Eleonore joined the theatrical troupe of Joseph Moser
in Nuremberg Following the death of his wife, Moser handed over the management of his troupe to Schikaneder in 1778.
, and at that time Schikaneder became a family friend of the Mozarts. The Mozart family at the time consisted of father Leopold
, Nannerl
, and Wolfgang
. The Mozarts "rarely missed his shows" (Heartz), and invited Schikaneder to Sunday sessions of Bölzlschiessen
(dart shooting), their favorite family sport.
As Mozart was about to depart Salzburg for the premiere in Munich of his opera Idomeneo
, he promised before leaving to write "Wie grausam ist, o Liebe...Die neugeborne Ros' entzückt", a recitative and aria for Schikaneder. The composition was intended for Schikaneder's production of Die zwey schlaflosen Nächte by August Werthes.
. The Vienna run was admired by critics and attracted large audiences, often including the Emperor and his court. Schikaneder and Kumpf opened their season with a revival of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail
. Joseph Haydn
's La fedeltà premiata
was also performed by the troupe.
Works of spoken drama were of interest for their political content. The Austrian Empire at the time was governed (like most of Europe) by the system of hereditary aristocracy, which was falling under increasing criticism as the values of the Enlightenment
spread. Schikaneder put on a successful comedy entitled Der Fremde which included a character named Baron Seltenreich ("seldom-rich") who was "a caricature of a scheming windbag of the Viennese aristocracy". Schikaneder and his colleague then stepped over the line, initiating a production of Beaumarchais
' then-scandalous send-up of the aristocracy, The Marriage of Figaro
. This production was canceled by the Emperor at the last minute.
In spite of the content and cancellation of the production, Joseph II brought Schikaneder entered Imperial service from April 1785 through February 1786. During his service, he performed in the Austrian Nationaltheater at Burgtheater
. During his debut he sang the role of Schwindel in Gluck
's Singspiel
Die Pilgrime von Mekka
.
In 1785, Schikaneder's wife, Eleonore, left him as a result of his infidelities. She moved in with Schikaneder's former colleague, Johann Friedel, and formed a traveling theater troupe with him. Schikaneder's brother, Urban, was also a part of this group.
Schikaneder was discontented at the Nationaltheater; in his previous career he had normally played leading roles such as (in translated Shakespeare), Hamlet, Macbeth, Iago, and Othello. His main successes at the Nationaltheater were as a singer. Seeking new options, Schikaneder proposed to the Emperor that he be allowed to build a new theater in the suburbs, a request that quickly received the Emperor's official approval. However, the plan remained unfulfilled at that time.
Eventually, Schikaneder formed a new troupe and left Vienna to tour the provinces. They played in Salzburg (May 1786; Schikaneder renewed his friendship with Leopold Mozart), then Augsburg
(June 1786). During the years 1787 to 1789, the troupe performed in Schikaneder's home town of Regensburg, where they functioned as the resident company in the theater of the reigning Prince, Carl Anselm Thurn und Taxis
.
, located in a suburb of Vienna. Leaving his entire estate to Schikaneder's estranged wife Eleonore, Friedel died March 31, 1789 and the theater was closed. Following this, Eleonore offered reconciliation to Schikaneder, who moved to Vienna in May to start a new company in the same theater in partnership with her. The new company was financed by Joseph von Bauernfeld, a Masonic brother of Mozart With plans of an emphasis on opera, Schikaneder brought two singers with him from his old troupe, tenor
Benedikt Schack
and bass Franz Xaver Gerl
. From his wife's company he retained soprano
Josepha Hofer, Johann Joseph Nouseul
, and Karl Ludwig Giesecke
as librettist. New additions to the troupe included Anna Gottlieb
and Jakob Haibel
.
The new company was successful, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail
again became part of the repertory. Several aspects of the company's work emerged that later came to be immortalized in The Magic Flute. A series of musical comedies starting with Der Dumme Gärtner aus dem Gebirge, oder Die zween Antons ("The Foolish Gardener from the Mountains, or The Two Antons"), premiered in July 1789. The comedy provided a vehicle for Schikaneder's comic stage persona. Another line of performances by the company involved fairy tale operas, starting with the 1789 premiere of Oberon, with music by Paul Wranitzky
and words adapted from Sophie Seyler by Giesecke. This was followed by Der Stein der Weisen in September 1790, a collaborative opera marked by the musical collaboration of Gerl, Schack, Schikaneder and Mozart.
The theater emphasized stage effects and spectacle including "flying machines, trapdoors, thunder, elaborate lighting and other visual effects including fires and waterfalls."
, with music by Mozart. The libretto was Schikaneder's and incorporated a loose mixture of Masonic
elements and traditional fairy-tale themes. Schikaneder took the role of Papageno—a character reflecting the Hanswurst tradition, and thus suited to his skills—at the premiere.
According to the dramatist Ignaz Franz Castelli
, Schikaneder also may have given advice to Mozart concerning the musical setting of his libretto:
Castelli adds that the March of the Priests which opens the second act was also a suggestion of Schikaneder's, added to the opera at the last minute by Mozart. These stories are not accepted as necessarily true by all musicologists.
The Magic Flute was a great success at its premiere, frequently selling out and receiving over a hundred performances at the Theater auf der Wieden during it first few months of performance. Schikaneder continued to produce the opera at intervals for the rest of his career in Vienna.
Mozart died only a few weeks after the premiere, on 5 December 1791. Schikaneder was distraught at the news and felt the loss sharply. He evidently put on a benefit performance of The Magic Flute for Mozart's widow Constanze
, who at the time faced a difficult financial situation. When his troupe mounted a concert performance of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito
in 1798, he wrote in the program:
, Der Tyroler Wastel with Mozart's posthumous brother-in-law Jakob Haibel
, and a Magic Flute sequel called Das Labyrinth
, with Peter von Winter. A big box office draw during this time was a rymed-verse comedy, Der travestierte Aeneas (The Travesty of Aeneas), a contribution of Giesecke.
During this period, Schikaneder would several times a year devote the theater to an Academie, or in modern terms, a classical music concert. Symphonies of Mozart and Haydn were performed, and a young Beethoven
appeared as a piano soloist.
Schikaneder maintained in the repertory six Mozart operas: Die Entführung aus dem Serail
, Le nozze di Figaro, Der Schauspieldirektor
, Don Giovanni
, Così fan tutte
, La clemenza di Tito
, and The Magic Flute. The Italian operas were performed in German translation. As noted above, Schikaneder also produced La clemenza di Tito as a concert work.
Although many of the works performed were popular successes, the expenses of Schikaneder's elaborate productions were high, and the company gradually fell into debt. In 1798, Schikaneder's landlord learned that the debt had risen to 130,000 florins and canceled Schikaneder's lease. Schikaneder persuaded wealthy merchant Bartholomäus Zitterbarth to become his partner and take on the debt. As a result, the company was saved.
Schikaneder and new partner Zitterbarth planned together to construct a grand new theater for the company. Zitterbarth purchased the land for the new theater on the other side of the Wien River
, in another suburb only a few hundred meters away from the Theater auf der Wieden. Schikaneder still had in his possession a document from the late Emperor Joseph II permitting him to construct a new theater. In 1800, he had an audience with the now-reigning Franz
, which resulted in a renewal of the license—over the protests of Peter von Braun, who directed the Burgtheater
. In retaliation, Braun mounted a new production of The Magic Flute at the Burgtheater. In so doing, Braun did not mention Schikaneder as the author.
Construction of the new theater, which was named the Theater an der Wien
, began in April 1800. It opened 13 June 1801 with a performance of the opera Alexander, to Schikaneder's own libretto with music by Franz Teyber
. According to the New Grove, the Theater an der Wien was "the most lavishly equipped and one of the largest theatres of its age". There, Schikaneder continued his tradition of expensive and financially risky theatrical spectacle.
had moved to Vienna in 1792 and gradually established a strong reputation as a composer and pianist. He performed in an Academie at the Theater auf der Wieden during its last years. In the spring of 1803, the first Academie at the new Theater an der Wien was devoted entirely to Beethoven's works: the First
and Second
Symphonies, the Third Piano Concerto
(with Beethoven as soloist), and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives.
Schikaneder wanted Beethoven to compose an opera for him. After offering Beethoven an apartment to live in inside the theater building, he also offered his libretto, Vestas Feuer. Beethoven, however, found Vestas Feuer unsuited to his needs. Regardless, he did set two numbers: One of which ultimately becoming the duet "O namenlose Freude" that concludes Act II, Scene 1 of his 1804 opera Fidelio
. Beethoven continued to live in the Theater an der Wien for a while as he switched his efforts to Fidelio.
and Steyr
. Following economic problems caused by war and an 1811 currency devaluation, Schikaneder lost most of his fortune. During a journey to Budapest
in 1812 to take a new post, he was stricken with insanity. Emmanuel Schikaneder died impoverished in Vienna on September 21, 1812 at age 61.
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
, dramatist, actor, singer and composer. He was the librettist
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's opera The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
and the builder of the Theater an der Wien
Theater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
. Schikaneder is remembered today as Mozart's librettist for The Magic Flute, however, in his day he had an important and successful theatrical career. Branscombe called him "one of the most talented theatre men of his era".
Early life and family
Schikaneder was born in StraubingStraubing
Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held....
in Bavaria to Joseph Schikheneder and Juliana Schiessl. Both of his parents worked as domestic servants and were extremely poor. They had a total of four children: Urban (born 1746), Johann Joseph (died at age two), Emanuel (born 1751 and also originally named Johann Joseph), and Maria (born 1753). Schikaneder's father died shortly after Maria's birth, at which time his mother returned to Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, making a living selling religious articles from a wooden shed adjacent to the local cathedral.
Schikaneder's wife, Eleonore, was born Maria Magdalena Arth in 1751. While the leading actress in the Schopf company, Schikaneder and Arth were married on 9 February 1777. He was frequently unfaithful to her; the 1779 baptismal records for Augsburg (where the company was performing) record two children born to him out of wedlock—each to different mothers. His wife played an important role in Schickaneder's career, particularly in inviting him in 1788 to join her at the Theater auf der Wieden
Theater auf der Wieden
The Theater auf der Wieden, also called the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden or the Wiednertheater, was a theater located in the then-suburban Wieden district of Vienna in the late 18th century...
. She died in 1821.
Two of Schikaneder's blood relatives were also his professional associates:
- Urban Schikaneder (1746–1818), a bassBass (voice type)A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
, was Emanuel's older brother. He was born in Regensburg on 2 November 1746, and worked for a number of years in his brother's troupe, both as a singer and in helping to administer the group. At the premiere of The Magic Flute, he sang the role of the First Priest. - Anna Schikaneder, (1767–1862) also called "Nanny" or "Nanette", was brother Urban's daughter. At age 24 she sang the role of the First Boy in The Magic Flute.
Schikaneder's illegitimate son Franz Schikaneder (1802–1877) was a blacksmith in the service of emperor Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary and Bohemia , as well as associated dominions from the death of his father, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848.He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child...
.
Career to 1780
Schikaneder received his education at a Jesuit school in Regensburg as well as training in the local cathedral as a singer. As a young adult he began to pursue his career in the theater, appearing with Andreas Schopf's theatrical troupe around 1773 and performing opera, farceFarce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
, and Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
. Schikaneder danced at a court ballet in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
in 1774, and the following year his Singspiel Die Lyranten was debuted there.
In 1777 he performed the role of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in Munich to general acclaim. In the same year, he and Eleonore joined the theatrical troupe of Joseph Moser
Joseph Moser
Joseph Moser was an English artist, author, and magistrate. He was a nephew of George Michael Moser, enamel painter and drawing-master to George III. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1774 to 1782...
in Nuremberg Following the death of his wife, Moser handed over the management of his troupe to Schikaneder in 1778.
Befriending the Mozarts
In the fall of 1780, the Schikaneder troupe made an extended stay in SalzburgSalzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, and at that time Schikaneder became a family friend of the Mozarts. The Mozart family at the time consisted of father Leopold
Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
, Nannerl
Maria Anna Mozart
Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart , nicknamed "Nannerl", was a musician, the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and daughter of Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart.-Childhood:...
, and Wolfgang
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
. The Mozarts "rarely missed his shows" (Heartz), and invited Schikaneder to Sunday sessions of Bölzlschiessen
Bölzlschiessen
Bölzlschiessen was a form of domestic recreation that involved shooting darts at decorated targets with an air gun. It is remembered as an activity of Leopold Mozart, his family, and their friends. The most famous participant was Leopold's son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who began playing at the age...
(dart shooting), their favorite family sport.
As Mozart was about to depart Salzburg for the premiere in Munich of his opera Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
, he promised before leaving to write "Wie grausam ist, o Liebe...Die neugeborne Ros' entzückt", a recitative and aria for Schikaneder. The composition was intended for Schikaneder's production of Die zwey schlaflosen Nächte by August Werthes.
The first stay in Vienna
From November 1784 to February 1785, Schikaneder collaborated with theater director Hubert Kumpf for a series of performances at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. He had been invited to do so by the Emperor Joseph II, who had seen him perform the previous year in PressburgBratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
. The Vienna run was admired by critics and attracted large audiences, often including the Emperor and his court. Schikaneder and Kumpf opened their season with a revival of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
. Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
's La fedeltà premiata
La fedeltà premiata
La fedeltà premiata is an opera in three acts by Joseph Haydn first performed at Eszterháza on 25 February 1781 to celebrate the reopening of the court theatre after a fire...
was also performed by the troupe.
Works of spoken drama were of interest for their political content. The Austrian Empire at the time was governed (like most of Europe) by the system of hereditary aristocracy, which was falling under increasing criticism as the values of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
spread. Schikaneder put on a successful comedy entitled Der Fremde which included a character named Baron Seltenreich ("seldom-rich") who was "a caricature of a scheming windbag of the Viennese aristocracy". Schikaneder and his colleague then stepped over the line, initiating a production of Beaumarchais
Pierre Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary ....
' then-scandalous send-up of the aristocracy, The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
The Marriage of Figaro ) is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second installment in the Figaro Trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother. The Barber begins the story with a simple love triangle in which the Count has...
. This production was canceled by the Emperor at the last minute.
In spite of the content and cancellation of the production, Joseph II brought Schikaneder entered Imperial service from April 1785 through February 1786. During his service, he performed in the Austrian Nationaltheater at Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...
. During his debut he sang the role of Schwindel in Gluck
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
's Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
Die Pilgrime von Mekka
La rencontre imprévue
Les pèlerins de la Mecque ou La rencontre imprévue Wq. 32 is a comédie mêlée d'ariettes, a form of opéra comique, composed in 1763 by Christoph Willibald Gluck to a libretto by Louis Hurtaut Dancourt after the 1726 play by Alain René Lesage and d'Orneval....
.
In 1785, Schikaneder's wife, Eleonore, left him as a result of his infidelities. She moved in with Schikaneder's former colleague, Johann Friedel, and formed a traveling theater troupe with him. Schikaneder's brother, Urban, was also a part of this group.
Schikaneder was discontented at the Nationaltheater; in his previous career he had normally played leading roles such as (in translated Shakespeare), Hamlet, Macbeth, Iago, and Othello. His main successes at the Nationaltheater were as a singer. Seeking new options, Schikaneder proposed to the Emperor that he be allowed to build a new theater in the suburbs, a request that quickly received the Emperor's official approval. However, the plan remained unfulfilled at that time.
Eventually, Schikaneder formed a new troupe and left Vienna to tour the provinces. They played in Salzburg (May 1786; Schikaneder renewed his friendship with Leopold Mozart), then Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
(June 1786). During the years 1787 to 1789, the troupe performed in Schikaneder's home town of Regensburg, where they functioned as the resident company in the theater of the reigning Prince, Carl Anselm Thurn und Taxis
Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis
-Titles and styles:*2 June 1733 – 8 November 1739: His Serene Highness Prince Karl Anselm of Thurn and Taxis*8 November 1739 – 17 March 1773: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis...
.
Years at the Theater auf der Wieden
During Easter 1788, the troupe run by Johann Friedel and Eleonore Schikaneder had settled as the resident troupe at the Theater auf der WiedenTheater auf der Wieden
The Theater auf der Wieden, also called the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden or the Wiednertheater, was a theater located in the then-suburban Wieden district of Vienna in the late 18th century...
, located in a suburb of Vienna. Leaving his entire estate to Schikaneder's estranged wife Eleonore, Friedel died March 31, 1789 and the theater was closed. Following this, Eleonore offered reconciliation to Schikaneder, who moved to Vienna in May to start a new company in the same theater in partnership with her. The new company was financed by Joseph von Bauernfeld, a Masonic brother of Mozart With plans of an emphasis on opera, Schikaneder brought two singers with him from his old troupe, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Benedikt Schack
Benedikt Schack
Benedikt Schack was a composer and tenor of the Classical era, a close friend of Mozart and the first performer of the role of Tamino in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute.- Early life :...
and bass Franz Xaver Gerl
Franz Xaver Gerl
Franz Xaver Gerl was a bass singer and composer of the classical era. He sang the role of Sarastro in the premiere of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute.-Life:...
. From his wife's company he retained soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Josepha Hofer, Johann Joseph Nouseul
Johann Joseph Nouseul
Johann Joseph Nouseul was an actor, singer, and theater manager of the 18th and early 19th centuries. He is remembered for having premiered the role of Monostatos in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Magic Flute.-Career:...
, and Karl Ludwig Giesecke
Karl Ludwig Giesecke
Karl Ludwig Giesecke was a German actor, librettist, polar explorer and mineralogist. In his youth he was called Johann Georg Metzler, in his later career in Ireland he was Sir Charles Lewis Giesecke.-Early life:His father was Johann Georg Metzler, a Protestant who worked as a tailor in Augsburg...
as librettist. New additions to the troupe included Anna Gottlieb
Anna Gottlieb
Maria Anna Josepha Francisca Gottlieb was an Austrian soprano. She was the first Pamina in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute....
and Jakob Haibel
Jakob Haibel
Jakob Haibel was an Austrian composer, operatic tenor and choirmaster.-Biography:Around 1789, Haibel joined Emanuel Schikaneder’s company of performers at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden. While there, he acted in plays and sang in operas and other musical productions...
.
The new company was successful, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
again became part of the repertory. Several aspects of the company's work emerged that later came to be immortalized in The Magic Flute. A series of musical comedies starting with Der Dumme Gärtner aus dem Gebirge, oder Die zween Antons ("The Foolish Gardener from the Mountains, or The Two Antons"), premiered in July 1789. The comedy provided a vehicle for Schikaneder's comic stage persona. Another line of performances by the company involved fairy tale operas, starting with the 1789 premiere of Oberon, with music by Paul Wranitzky
Paul Wranitzky
Pavel Vranický was a Moravian classical composer. His brother, Antonín, was also a composer.-Life:...
and words adapted from Sophie Seyler by Giesecke. This was followed by Der Stein der Weisen in September 1790, a collaborative opera marked by the musical collaboration of Gerl, Schack, Schikaneder and Mozart.
The theater emphasized stage effects and spectacle including "flying machines, trapdoors, thunder, elaborate lighting and other visual effects including fires and waterfalls."
The Magic Flute
The series of fairy-tale operas at the Theater auf der Wieden culminated in the September 1791 premiere of The Magic FluteThe Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, with music by Mozart. The libretto was Schikaneder's and incorporated a loose mixture of Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
elements and traditional fairy-tale themes. Schikaneder took the role of Papageno—a character reflecting the Hanswurst tradition, and thus suited to his skills—at the premiere.
Ignaz Franz Castelli
Ignaz Franz Castelli was an Austrian dramatist born in Vienna. He studied law at the university, and then entered the government service....
, Schikaneder also may have given advice to Mozart concerning the musical setting of his libretto:
- The late bass singer Sebastian Meyer told me that Mozart had originally written the duet where Papageno and Papagena first see each other quite differently from the way in which we now hear it. Both originally cried out "Papageno!", "Papagena!" a few times in amazement. But when Schikaneder heard this, he called down in to the orchestra, "Hey, Mozart! That's no good, the music must express greater astonishment. They must both stare dumbly at each other, then Papageno must begin to stammer: 'Pa-papapa-pa-pa'; Papagena must repeat that until both of them finally get the whole name out". Mozart followed the advice, and in this form the duet always had to be repeated.
Castelli adds that the March of the Priests which opens the second act was also a suggestion of Schikaneder's, added to the opera at the last minute by Mozart. These stories are not accepted as necessarily true by all musicologists.
The Magic Flute was a great success at its premiere, frequently selling out and receiving over a hundred performances at the Theater auf der Wieden during it first few months of performance. Schikaneder continued to produce the opera at intervals for the rest of his career in Vienna.
Mozart died only a few weeks after the premiere, on 5 December 1791. Schikaneder was distraught at the news and felt the loss sharply. He evidently put on a benefit performance of The Magic Flute for Mozart's widow Constanze
Constanze Mozart
Constanze Mozart was the wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Early years:Constanze Weber was born in Zell im Wiesental. Her mother was Cäcilia Weber, née Stamm. Her father Fridolin Weber worked as a "double bass player, prompter and music copyist." Fridolin's half-brother was the father of composer...
, who at the time faced a difficult financial situation. When his troupe mounted a concert performance of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
in 1798, he wrote in the program:
- "Mozart's work is beyond all praise. One feels only too keenly, on hearing this or any other of his music, what the Art has lost in him."
Remaining years
Schikaneder's career continued in the same theater during the years that followed The Magic Flute. He continued to write works in which he played the main role and which achieved popular success. These included collaborations with other composers of the time: Der Spiegel von Arkadien with Mozart's assistant Franz Xaver SüssmayrFranz Xaver Süssmayr
Franz Xaver Süssmayr was an Austrian composer, now famous for his completion of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem.-Early life:...
, Der Tyroler Wastel with Mozart's posthumous brother-in-law Jakob Haibel
Jakob Haibel
Jakob Haibel was an Austrian composer, operatic tenor and choirmaster.-Biography:Around 1789, Haibel joined Emanuel Schikaneder’s company of performers at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden. While there, he acted in plays and sang in operas and other musical productions...
, and a Magic Flute sequel called Das Labyrinth
The Magic Flute's Second Part
The Magic Flute's Second Part. The Labyrinth or The Struggle with the Elements , is a "heroic-comic" opera in two acts composed in 1798 by Peter von Winter to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken...
, with Peter von Winter. A big box office draw during this time was a rymed-verse comedy, Der travestierte Aeneas (The Travesty of Aeneas), a contribution of Giesecke.
During this period, Schikaneder would several times a year devote the theater to an Academie, or in modern terms, a classical music concert. Symphonies of Mozart and Haydn were performed, and a young Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
appeared as a piano soloist.
Schikaneder maintained in the repertory six Mozart operas: Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
, Le nozze di Figaro, Der Schauspieldirektor
Der Schauspieldirektor
Der Schauspieldirektor , K. 486, is a comic Singspiel written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, an Austrian Schauspieldirektor....
, Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
, and The Magic Flute. The Italian operas were performed in German translation. As noted above, Schikaneder also produced La clemenza di Tito as a concert work.
Although many of the works performed were popular successes, the expenses of Schikaneder's elaborate productions were high, and the company gradually fell into debt. In 1798, Schikaneder's landlord learned that the debt had risen to 130,000 florins and canceled Schikaneder's lease. Schikaneder persuaded wealthy merchant Bartholomäus Zitterbarth to become his partner and take on the debt. As a result, the company was saved.
The Theater an der Wien
Wien River
The Wien is a river that flows through the city of Vienna. It is 34 kilometres long , of which 15 km are within the city. Its drainage basin covers an area of 230 km² , both in the city and in the neighbouring Wienerwald....
, in another suburb only a few hundred meters away from the Theater auf der Wieden. Schikaneder still had in his possession a document from the late Emperor Joseph II permitting him to construct a new theater. In 1800, he had an audience with the now-reigning Franz
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
, which resulted in a renewal of the license—over the protests of Peter von Braun, who directed the Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...
. In retaliation, Braun mounted a new production of The Magic Flute at the Burgtheater. In so doing, Braun did not mention Schikaneder as the author.
Construction of the new theater, which was named the Theater an der Wien
Theater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
, began in April 1800. It opened 13 June 1801 with a performance of the opera Alexander, to Schikaneder's own libretto with music by Franz Teyber
Franz Teyber
Franz Teyber was an Austrian Kapellmeister, organist and composer of orchestral and chamber music. Studying at Wagenseil, from 1786 he was director of the Schikaneder theatre company and from 1801 a composer and musical director of the Theater an der Wien...
. According to the New Grove, the Theater an der Wien was "the most lavishly equipped and one of the largest theatres of its age". There, Schikaneder continued his tradition of expensive and financially risky theatrical spectacle.
Schikaneder and Beethoven
Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
had moved to Vienna in 1792 and gradually established a strong reputation as a composer and pianist. He performed in an Academie at the Theater auf der Wieden during its last years. In the spring of 1803, the first Academie at the new Theater an der Wien was devoted entirely to Beethoven's works: the First
Symphony No. 1 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, was dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. The piece was published in 1801 by Hoffmeister & Kühnel of Leipzig...
and Second
Symphony No. 2 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D major was written between 1801 and 1802 and is dedicated to Prince Lichnowsky.-Background:...
Symphonies, the Third Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800 and was first performed on 5 April 1803, with the composer as soloist. During that same performance, the Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives were also debuted. The composition...
(with Beethoven as soloist), and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives.
Schikaneder wanted Beethoven to compose an opera for him. After offering Beethoven an apartment to live in inside the theater building, he also offered his libretto, Vestas Feuer. Beethoven, however, found Vestas Feuer unsuited to his needs. Regardless, he did set two numbers: One of which ultimately becoming the duet "O namenlose Freude" that concludes Act II, Scene 1 of his 1804 opera Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
. Beethoven continued to live in the Theater an der Wien for a while as he switched his efforts to Fidelio.
Decline and demise
Fidelio premiered in the Theater an der Wien, but not under Schikaneder's direction. By 1804, Schikaneder's career had taken a downward turn; his productions could not bring in enough customers to cover their cost. He sold the Theater an der Wien to a consortium of nobles and left Vienna for the provinces, working in BrnoBrno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
and Steyr
Steyr
Steyr is a town, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Steyr and Enns. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and simultaneously the 3rd largest town in Upper Austria....
. Following economic problems caused by war and an 1811 currency devaluation, Schikaneder lost most of his fortune. During a journey to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in 1812 to take a new post, he was stricken with insanity. Emmanuel Schikaneder died impoverished in Vienna on September 21, 1812 at age 61.
Libretti
- Die Lyranten oder das lustige Elend ("The Minstrels, or Merry Misery"). Operetta, music by Schikaneder, Innsbruck, ca. 1775.
- Das Urianische Schloss ("The Urian Castle") Singspiel, music by Schikander, Salzburg, 1786.
- Der dumme Gärtner aus dem Gebirge oder die zween Anton ("The Silly Gardener from the Hills, or The Two Antons"). Comic opera, music by Benedikt Schack and Franz Xaver Gerl. Vienna, 1789.
- Five sequels to the latter work, including
- Was macht der Anton im Winter? ("What does Anton do in Winter?") Music by Benedikt Schack and Franz Xaver Gerl. Vienna, 1790.
- Anton bei Hofe, oder Das Namensfest ("Anton at court, or The Name-Day") (Vienna, 4 June 1791). Mozart heard the work on 6 June.
- Five sequels to the latter work, including
- Der Stein der Weisen oder die Zauberinsel ("The Philosopher's Stone or the Magic Isle"). Heroic-comic opera, Music by Benedikt Schack, Franz Xaver Gerl, Emanuel Schikaneder, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Vienna 11 September 1790.
- Der Fall ist noch weit seltner (opera libretto, Vienna 1790; music by Benedikt SchackBenedikt SchackBenedikt Schack was a composer and tenor of the Classical era, a close friend of Mozart and the first performer of the role of Tamino in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute.- Early life :...
) - Die Zauberflöte (opera libretto, Vienna 1791)
- Der Spiegel von Arkadien ("The Mirror of Arcadia"). Grand heroic-comic opera, music by Franz Xaver SüssmayrFranz Xaver SüssmayrFranz Xaver Süssmayr was an Austrian composer, now famous for his completion of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem.-Early life:...
. Vienna, 1794. - Babylons Pyramiden (opera libretto)
- Das Labyrinth oder Der Kampf mit den Elementen. Der Zauberflöte zweyter TheilThe Magic Flute's Second PartThe Magic Flute's Second Part. The Labyrinth or The Struggle with the Elements , is a "heroic-comic" opera in two acts composed in 1798 by Peter von Winter to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken...
, Heroic-comic opera, Music by Peter von Winter Vienna, 1798. - Der Tiroler Wastel (opera libretto)
External links
- Schikaneder's libretto for The Magic Flute
- Michael Lorenz: Neue Forschungsergebnisse zum Theater auf der Wieden und Emanuel Schikaneder, Wiener Geschichtsblätter 4/2008, (Verein für Geschichte der Stadt Wien, Wien 2008), pp. 15–36.