Die schönsten Märchen (Fischer Klassik Plus 466) (German Edition)

---

Thus the Schiller centenary on November 10, , is marked by announcements and advertisements in the Staatszeitung of no less than twenty SSchillerfeste. There were, of course, attempts to organize politically, but, for the most part, the results were highly unsatisfactory and fell wofully short of what might have been expected of a body of citizens numerically so strong. In this respect the Germans were completely outdone by the Irish.

Internal strife, born of petty jealousy and rivalry, together with that spirit of particularism and that idealistic vein which shrinks from the worldly contact and intimacy of practical politics-traits that are inseparably bound up with the character of the average German-all these combined to defeat the German-American in his desire to obtain political influence and ascendency. Only rarely did he gain a momentary triumph, as when a "Landsmann," John T.

Hoffmann, was elected to serve as mayor of the city In domestic politics the leading questions for "Kleindeutschland" were the so-called temperance and "bluelaw" movements and the nativistic or "Know-Nothing" agitations. The latter were felt to be especially obnoxious in the fifties,27 and the Staatszeitung bitterly attacks the New York Express as the leading journalistic organ of the Know-Nothing Party. Frequent, too, are the accounts of many a promising German picnic hopelessly spoilt by the 26 Cf. Politically the Staatszeitung, the mouthpiece of the majority of German-Americans in the city, was strongly anti-Whig and Democratic in its sympathies.

It bitterly opposed Harrison, Polk and Taylor and supported Buchanan with equal energy. Lincoln was denounced with a feeling of animosity seldom paralleled in a newspaper north of Washington, although the Staatszeitung and the Germans in New York supported the cause of the Union in the Civil War in a most patriotic manner.

In its foreign policy the Staatszeitung espoused enthusiastically the doctrines of the champions of German democracy. Hecker, Kossuth, Kinkel and other leaders who came to New York and to other parts of the United States were publicly welcomed, demonstrations of the most elaborate sort were prepared and funds collected to support the movement. Further to illumine the sphere in which Little Germany moved about would too greatly distort the scale upon which this study has been planned. From what has been noted in this chapter it is evident that the German population of New York, with a vigorous and rapidly expanding cultural life, was well fitted to form a rich soil from which theatrical undertakings might grow.

During the generation after its numbers were swelled to hundreds of thousands and the bonds which bound the sons and daughters of the Fatherland to the art interests of their old home were constantly renewed by fresh streams of immigration. Year by year the economic situation of the earlier comers grew more favorable; the social life, especially as fostered by club and Verein, flourished in the new environment in highly varied and colorful forms.

With such a background the theatre was born and grew, reflecting, as we. In general its history is that of a sincere attempt to transplant an ancient national culture on a new and not altogether hospitable soil. The following dramas dealing with German subjects are mentioned by Baker, the historian of the German drama in 1 For an excellent history of German plays in English on the New York stage, cf.

The data used in the opening paragraphs of the present chapter are borrowed largely from Baker 's work. But Rudolf Cronau, op.

Reynold's Werther and Charlotte a dramatization of Goethe's novel. William Dunlap, at this time manager of the John Street Theatre, now became interested in the German drama, specifically in Kotzebue, and on December 10, , offered to the patrons of his hall his own version of Kotzebue's Stranger Menschenhass und Reue. With the well-known actor Cooper in the title r81e, the play proved immediately successful. Indeed it was intensely popular during the next few years and remained, with interruptions, a drawing card until as late as the year Dunlap now turned to the translation and presentation of other Kotzebue plays, and set himself to the task with such vigor that in the season of , in addition to The Stranger, which was given twelve times, there were eight performances of Lovers' Vows, four of Count Benyow'sky and one of The Indians in England.

Thus a total of twenty-five Kotzebue performances was the result-more than one-fourth of the ninety-three given in the John Street playhouse in the course of the entire season. Two other German plays were likewise presented, namely The Minister Kabale und Liebe , of which there were two performances, and Don Carlos, given once only. During the following theatrical year, that of , no less than fourteen Kotzebue creations together with four additional German dramas were seen by New York audiences.

These eighteen German works enjoyed fifty representations, well over half of the ninety-four performances that the season yielded in all!

A Study of the Life and Works of Athanasius Kircher, ‘Germanus Incredibilis’

Thereafter, however, we note a steady decline in the popu. Between the date of the first recorded performance of a play in German, in , and the founding of what may first be called a "permanent" stage almost fifteen years elapsed. In that interval attempts, numerous to the point of monotony, were again and again made to give to the German muse a lasting abode. A close study of the era of experimentation reveals the fact that hundreds of scattered and sporadic performances were essayed at dozens of small halls, for the most part with highly indifferent if not, in many cases, negligible results.

In the first eight years for which we have reports-that is, between the years and eighty-two "Theater4 The following statistics, recorded by Baker, substantiate this assertion: Inasmuch as two or even three plays often were crowded into a single evening we find, by addition, a total number of one hundred forty-nine performances of eighty-eight different works during this period.

In those remote days the plays were acted in general by loosely formed, often leaderless companies or "Vereine" of men and women, usually amateurs, who possessed at best a certain amount of talent and good will, but who had, as a rule, little experience, little money, and little tact. Lack of the necessary financial backing and of adequate theatrical quarters; the absence of proper organization and, above all, of a strong guiding hand; all too frequent outbursts of jealousy among highly nervous, sensitive rival actors; an apathetic public and an unreliable press, which vacillated between warm recognition on one day and hypercritical censure, if not complete scorn and neglect, on the next; finally, the trying economic conditions of those hard pre-Civil War times-all of these factors contributed both singly and collectively to doom to a more or less speedy but equally certain failure each' of the many early dramatic enterprises.

A perfect, microscopic picture of the period is out of the question. When it is remembered that there was, at first, no daily German newspaper; that, in many instances, copies of journals that did appear have not been preserved; furthermore that, as has been sug5 Cf. That, however, is no great loss. Even though we are not in possession of a hundred percent of the facts, we do have at our disposal a great bulk of them-a sufficiently large proportion to leave no doubt as to what was happening.

And when we consider how very little was actually accomplished in that first decade covered by our study, our material, fragmentary as it may appear, seems at times to impress us as being painfully plenteous in comparison with its meagreness of quality. With all good will the records we have can be welded into but a dull and dry narrative, which would grow only the more tedious by the addition of further facts.

An examination of the eighty-two theatrical programs noted between and discloses few plays of literary merit. The repertoire was dominated by comedies, chiefly those of Kotzebue, and farces and vaudeville sketches of the day. The fate tragedy was represented by Grillparzer's Ahnfrau and by Miillner's extreme example, Die Schuld, and the romantic drama by Kleist's K1ithchen von Heilbronn.

The only other noteworthy works were Zschokke's Abellino, cited because of its earlier popularity on the English stage in this country, and Nestroy's Lumpaci Vagabundus, here mentioned in view of the unceasing attention which that Vienna farce subsequently attracted. With the single exception of Friedrich Schwan, the actors who appeared were not heard of in the later history of the stage and belong, therefore, to the passing generation of pre-forty-eighters.

The performances were, as a rule, of a decidedly mediocre quality, the scenery and the stage. Since, however, the facts embodied exist only in perishable form-so far as is known, they are found in newspaper files of which there are but few copies and which may, several decades hence, no longer be available-it has been thought advisable to narrate them here.

The exact date on which the first play in the German language was staged in New York City cannot be positively established. The first notice referring to such a performance that has been discovered appeared in the Staatszeitung of November 8, The following five numbers of the Staatszeitung-the last five of Volume III-make no further mention of the matter, and the next two volumes are missing. Thus no records are on hand for and , but on January 1, , the Staatszeitung reports that a number of Germans in New York, after overcoming many obstacles, have succeeded in establishing a "Deutscher dramatischer Verein.

It was announced that the "Musikalischer Titigkeitsverein" would assist. Admission was limited to members of the club, by tickets costing fifty cents each, and to such other persons as were willing to join the Verein as honorary members. The next issue of the newspaper 6 contains a short report 6 S. Judging by the latter statement,7 and in the absence of earlier data, we may perhaps assume that this was the first dramatic representation in the German language in New York City. The part of Rudolph in Hedwig was very acceptably played by a certain Dessoir or Dessau?

The music was also favorably criticized. In conclusion the German Dramatic Club is advised to confine itself to short comedies and farces. Encouraged by this successful debut, the Verein followed it up with three further performances, on January 16 and 27 and on an unrecorded date early in February. For the first named date an advertisement announces Kotzebue's Der Zitherschldger und das Gaugericht and Lebriin's two-act comedy Humoristische Studien," also at 83 Anthony Street. He showed considerable skill in dramatic adaptations from French sources, taking Kotzebue as his model.

A Study of the Life and Works of Athanasius Kircher, ‘Germanus Incredibilis’

Allgemeine deutsche Biographie hereafter to be referred to as A. Ni1ke, Direktor," announcing a first performance in the Gasthaus zu den 22 Cantonen at 83 Washington Street. A five-act tragedy, Vampyr, by an unmentioned author, is to be presented on Jan. Rang, one shilling II. However, no report to show that the performance actually took place could be found in subsequent issues. A short critical note 1o on the 29th found the former piece very tiresome, the latter quite pleasing.

The acting of one Schwagerle in Die eifersilchtige Frau, is especially lauded. A complaint is registered, however, that the curtain was very late in rising-perhaps a constitutional failing at German functions. The same issue of the Staatszeitung, that of the 29th, includes also a lengthy advertisement of the Verein, promising Die Entfilhfrung oder der alte Biirgerkapitin,"1 a Frankfurt comedy in two acts, and the one-act comedy Die Zerstreuten. That the pieces were actually given is shown by a note on the 12th of February containing a favorable criticism of the former play.

Two actors apparently distinguished themselves, for Schnepf's command of the Frankfurt dialect is praised and the efforts of Kreutzer were also generously applauded. The newspaper further states that several talented actors had joined the Verein. In fact practically none of the many hundreds of " Theaternachrichten'" examined by the author bear signatures. Witkowski, German Drama of the Nineteenth Century, p. The prologue, which invariably accompanied the opening of a German theatrical venture, was spoken by Dr. Fdrsch, prominent in German-American circles of the day. A rather long contributed article in the Staatszeitung of February 19 contains a highly sympathetic and favorable review of the first night at the Franklin.

In the same issue may be read an account of a shameful trick on the part of an unknown gentleman, who, on that opening evening, falsely directed fifty unwitting German theatregoers to the neighboring Chatham Street Theatre, in which an English play was scheduled! Initial difficulties having been successfully overcome, German performances now continued more or less regularly at the Franklin at the rate of approximately one per week. For February 19 Kotzebue's two-act comedy Incognito and, "by request," a repetition of Die Entfiihrung 16 were billed.

The program for the 26th called for Humoristische Studien and Kotzebue's one-act comedy Die Brandschattung; 17 that 13 Brown op. It had been originally opened on Sept. Little Germany's young and enterprising dramatic club was now, however, no longer satisfied with light comedies and farces alone, for in the Staatszeituzng of March 4 we are informed that the theatre will remain closed for a week owing to preparations for the production of Pius Alexander Wolff's romantic play Preciosa.

Indeed, in view of the good attendance at the Franklin, the critic boldly calls for the establishment in New York of a permanent German "Musenheim. A fairly long article on the 18th states that Wolff's romantic play has now been given three times in rapid succession 20 and has certainly become all the rage, with a fourth performance planned for the 20th in connection with Kotzebue's Zerstreuten, as a benefit to Fraulein Wiese.

This "Kulissenliebling" is lauded as a rare artist of quite unusual and manifold talents, melodic speech, pure, sweet tone the parts she assumed often involved singing , graceful action, eloquent gesture, etc. A second actress, Madame Holm, is mentioned for the first time. Weber composed music for the play. In the Staatszeitung of March 18 an advertisement is printed stating that the "Franklin Theater" the first occurrence of this caption has been leased until May 1. Six new pieces are promised, a very ambitious program, for among them were Kleist's Kdthchen von Heilbronn and two operas: Der Freischiltz and Die Schweizerfamilie.

Friulein Wiese, Herr Creutzer probably the Kreutzer mentioned above and Madame Holm are especially praised for their clever acting. For Thursday, March 28 the 26th must have been meant , Kdithchen von Heilbronn is now definitely advertised at prices ranging from eighteen to seventy-five cents. That this performance as well as a repetition occurred is attested by the reference, on April 1, to the "two presentations" of Kleist's play of knighthood "during the past week. Der grade Weg, der 21 The text was written by Ignatz Franz Castelli , a dramatic poet and collector of plays of Vienna.

He is said to have amassed some twelve thousand dramatic works. The opera Schweizerfamilie, based on Castelli's text, was composed by Weigl. The newspaper issues of April 8 and 17 24 include no articles on the theatre, but in the latter edition a brief advertisement states that certain difficulties of what nature is riot mentioned prevented the giving of Lumpaci Vagabundus, which had been scheduled "for Wednesday" either the 8th or the 15th.

On April 22 Preciosa is repeated as a benefit 25 to Schnepf, and now we hear for the first time of a "guest-actor. The presence of the visitor makes possible a new venture, the staging of the Verein's first classical play. On that date 27 the Staatszeitung published a long unsigned contribution reviewing thisthe first-season of the German stage in New York. The work of the Verein is duly appreciated, while regrets are expressed that the performances have not drawn good-sized audiences.

The actors and actresses thus far named, together with two newcomers Herr und Frau Becker , are praised for their efforts. This review, together with the absence of further notices in the succeeding numbers of the Staatszeitung, makes it probable that the Riuber, on April if the Schiller drama was actually performed marked the close of New 24 The Staatszeitung regularly appeared on Wednesday; by exception, however, on Friday, Apr.

To summarize it, we may state that it was a season of comedies, and, in accordance with the taste of the time, almost exclusively of Kotzebue plays. Nevertheless at least two significant dramas were attempted. With the Rduber assuming it to have been given and Kdthchen von Heilbronn the classic and the romantic drama made their appearance on the local German-speaking stage. And a second romantic play, Preciosa, had scored a decided hit. Considering the poor economic conditions of those early times and the newness of the attempt, a highly satisfactory start had been made.

Unfortunately, however, this modest beginning could not be followed up immediately, for, as we shall' see, external circumstances, quite beyond the control of the Deutscher dramatischer Verein, militated against its continued activity. More than fifteen months, indeed, were to elapse before New York's "Kleindeutschland" was again to be entertained by a play in German. In a most hopeful spirit the Staatszeitung, as early as May 20, published a "Bekanntmachung," 29 inviting those interested in the German theatre to attend a meeting on the 22d, called for the purpose of discussing the possibilities of continuing "Das deutsche Theater" and of establishing it on a firmer basis.

But there the matter rested. As the summer came the Germans soon found themselves deeply involved in bitter racial conflicts, aroused, no doubt, by their rapid growth in numbers and by their increasing economic and social importance. The storm broke with great fury on 29 Among the seventeen signatures of this notice was that of G. Neumann, at that time owner of the Staatszeitung. A second invitation appeared on the 27th calling for a meeting on the 30th, but we do not know whether this was a second meeting or whether the first had been postponed.

The issues of the Staatszeitung of the 19th and the 26th are filled with accounts of the riot, and with intense feeling retaliatory measures are planned. The Dramatischer Verein, evidently bent upon waging the fight with weapons of culture-so rumor had it on September 9-made preparations to bring out, during the following week, Zedlitz' Herr und. Skiave 30 and Kettel's Richards Wanderleben. Naturally all Germans in New York are urgently requested to support the theatrical undertaking.

However no further items on "Das Theater" appear in New York's German newspaper during the rest of ;33 in fact no theatrical notice is 30 Freiherr von Zedlitz-Nimmersatt , "ein echter, reclhter Altisterreicher. Herr und Sklave is a two-act play in trochees. It is Spanish in form and in conception and treats problems of honor.

Kettel was a Vienna actor. He joined the "Liebhaber" theatre in that city and made his debut in in Kotzebue's Die beiden Klingsberg. In he joined the Hofburgtheater under Schreyvogel and prepared a series of dramas for the stage: Again the Franklin, newly decorated, is to be used, and subscriptions are solicited "to cover expenses.

This was no false alarm, for on the 11th the event is reported with the remark that a large audience was delighted with the histrionic skill of Fraulein Wiese as the Page, Madame Holm as Deborah, and also with the efforts of Herren Buek, Schlee, Schnepf and Becker. Three adverse comments are voiced: Since all the actors mentioned, with the single exception of Schlee, had been members of earlier casts, it is perfectly safe to assume that the "Deutsche Schauspieler Gesellschaft" was but a reorganization of the Verein which had inaugurated the German stage. The season which now opened was to prove not only missing, but the absence of four numbers in a period covering nine months is surely not significant.

Between the 9th of August and January 28 of the following year there were no less than thirtyfive theatrical evenings, fairly evenly distributed, with a slight acceleration noted during the last two months. Light comedy and vaudeville naturally continued to predominate and the high points were restricted to renditions of Schiller's Rduber, Act V, Zschokke's Abellino and Miillner's Schuld. However, Korner and Raupach were beginning to infringe slightly upon the monopoly heretofore enjoyed by Kotzebue.

Access Check

Considered all in all, a history of this season, too, must of necessity result in a rather monotonous and tiresome narrative but for the sake of completeness we must follow it. Kotzebue's Pagenstreiche was followed, on August 18,36 by that author's Der Gimpel auf der Messe together with the Raupach comedy Der versiegelte Biirgermeister.

A shortage of actresses at this time evidently prompted the management to insert an advertisement inviting the immediate services of "zwei deutsche Schauspielerinnen. Bree was quite humorous but Buek was sharply 35 Cf. A violinist appeared in the intermission between the two plays. These performances, indeed, were appraised by the Staatszeitung as unquestionably the best yet given, and were well attended despite most unfavorable weather.

Herr Icks as the Captain acted well enough but wore a most unsatisfactory costume, while Madame Holm as the Kommerzienritin was considered much too old for the part. The evening's entertainment certainly turned out to be a long one, for Kotzebue's Zerstreuten was also given. Strangely enough neither of these two September bills was reported by the Staatszeitung. Since, therefore, the German newspaper seemed at this time not to be according our young Theater a sufficient degree of publicity, it must not surprise us to find a long letter of complaint, signed "Petermnnnchen," addressed to the editor.

From this letter 45 we learn not only that the "Theaterabend" of the 10th had materialized, but that K6rner's Toni and a repetition of Die sieben Mddchen had occurred on the 13th. Both performances were rated high, although the critic ventured to hope that the company would confine itself to light diet and renounce its dreams of Tell, Faust and Fiesco dreams of which the correspondent must have had private information. A second letter,46 on September 22, under the caption "Deutsches Theater," likewise made propaganda for the 42 The author's name is not divulged, nor has it been possible to establish the identity of the play.

The identification of obscure and insignificant dramatic works, of which not a few are encountered, forms one of the difficult, often unsolved, problems of the present investigation. In certain instances, such plays, especially if they were local products, were probably never published and the stage versions have, no doubt, long since been lost. He was a writer of vaudevilles and farces at Berlin, which he borrowed mainly from French sources and adapted not without skill to Berlin conditions. Among his most popular creations which we shall presently meet are: Das Fest der Handwerker, Paris in Pommern, etc.

Icks, who took the leading part in the Kettel play, was criticized for slips in grammar and pronunciation, and for the first time the popular Wiese received an unsatisfactory rating. Two new actors, Schmidt and Bendix, were mentioned as very promising. The critic furthermore gave vent freely to his disapproval of the excessively long intermissions between acts and plays and found the music "herzlich schlecht. The fresh impulse given to the German theatre by the increased publicity continued, and, under the heading "Deutsches Theater-Erster Artikel," we find on September 29 the longest theatrical article that had yet been printed in the Staatszeitung.

The writer, who styles himself "Ein Freund deutscher Kunst," is delighted with the prospect of a permanent German stage. Actors are urged to improve their standards of enunciation and language. In the meantime dramatic performances continued at varying rates of once or twice a week. For October repetitions of Richards Wanderleben and Die sieben Midchen in Uniform were advertised and presumably given. The article above mentioned was followed on October 13 by a "Zweiter Artikel," which took the form of an earnest plea for the elevation of aesthetic taste, asserting that the Theater should be not merely a source of enjoyment and distraction, but a "Bildungsanstalt" as well.

But this well-meant exhortation found little direct response, for on October 15 Lumpaci and Hiiuslicher Zwist 50 wererepeated, and on the 18th came Biuerle's two-act songplay Die falsche Catalini,51 as a benefit to Schnepf and Becker, who had apparently been promoted to the rank of directors. In the issue of October 20 the new management thanked the public for its generous support and announced the opening of a second subscription on the 31st. Kotzebue's Die Einladungskarte oder U. Adolf Bfuerle was a Vienna theatrical critic, journalist and writer, the author of eighty plays, most of them " Volksstiicke, " which, for many years, delighted audiences at Vienna's ''Vorstadtbiihnen" Leopoldstrasse, etc.

In his Bilrger in Wien he created the so-called "Staberl" or latest incarnation of the Vienna "Hanswurst," which displaced the older figures of "Kasperl" and ' ThaiddMd1. Friedrich Beckmann was. Interest in the theatre was now reflected by the increasing space allotted to it in the Staatszeitung -for instance, an entire column in the newspaper of the 27th, discussing the Bree benefit and commending the actor's feat of essaying four different roles in one evening.

But, with the greater attention bestowed upon the stage by the press, the danger of clashes between the two became more and more imminent. Consequently we find, in the issue of the 27th, the earliest evidence of friction between an actor and a journalist. Not satisfied, it seems, with the mere discharge of his assigned part during the Bree benefit, Icks very dramatically stepped before the curtain and complained bitterly to the astonished audience of gross injustice on the part of a certain "ignorant" writer.

On November 3 55 a roster of the company was published for the first time: Icks, Wiese, an excellent comedian and immensely popular with the mid-century audiences of Vienna's Hofburgtheater.

Additional Information

Laube thought highly of him cf. Laube's Das Burgtheater, especially pp. His most applauded roles were in Eckcesteher Nante and in Der Fater der Debutantin, which we shall also meet with in the present study. Nothing could be found, however, which sheds any light on Beckmann as a writer. The Staatszeitung of November 3 reprints a prologue, written by Dr. PFrsch and spoken in the Franklin on the 29th by Icks, but no mention is made of what plays were given on that occasion. Thus we note the presence of several unfamiliar members in addition to the members whose acquaintance we have already made.

In this way, needless to state, new artists keep springing up in the course of our narrative. At first they appear singly and sparingly, then more frequently and in groups, until they finally overwhelm the investigator by their sheer numerical mass. Some of the actors vanish almost as soon as they have been introduced; others abide.

Naturally the great body of these Thespians have long been forgotten. Whence they came and whither they went are questions we can never hope to answer. The provenience of even the more important actors and actresses is one of the most difficult and unsatisfactory problems of the present study-a problem with which the author has had little success. In the relatively few instances in which the origin of an actor has been established it will be mentioned.

But, to return to our story, the new subscription opened on November 5 with Clauren's four-act comedy Der Wollmarkt,56 preceded by KEirner's one-act tragedy Die Sihnme. Unfortunately the audience on that evening was a small one, and for almost two weeks we hear little of the activities of the Schauspieler Gesellschaft. On the 19th57 Lumpaci Vagabunzdus, as a non-subscription bill, was repeated.

In fact it was acted a third time on the 26th, while in the interval, on the 22d,58 a new production, Carl 56 Heinrich Clauren, pseudonym for Carl G. Heun , enjoyed a considerable vogue, which was, however, short-lived. In his sentimental comedies as in his novels he catered to the lower taste of the people and was thoroughly satirized by W.

To supplement Nestroy's satirical comedy on the 26th the first act of Preciosa was given, "mit falscher Besetzung," 60 while the evening of the 29th was rounded out with Act V, Scene 1 of Die Riduber, as was claimed, for the first time in New York. The frequency with which the directors of the Franklin brought out plays continued unabated in December.

On the 1st came a series of short sketches and miscellaneous numbers as a benefit to Herr and Frau Icks consisting of the following: Robert Macaire adapted from an English melodrama by one Weidemeyer; Ein Kinderballet; Marsano's comedy Die Helden; 62 Kotzebue's Die Beichte, and finally thermore, are announced as taking place regularly on Monday and Friday of each week.

Obviously, then, the newspaper fails to mention some of the theatrical evenings at the Franklin, and it is only fair to assume that the second, third and fourth subscription performances were given on the 8th, 12th and 15th respectively. Together with a captain of the artillery, W. Forster, Schneider edited "Biihnenrepertoire des Auslandes,'" under the pseudonym L.

Briimmer, Lexikon deutscher Dichter, VI, This scene must have been omitted in the earlier performance; cf. He was called the "Prager Alcibiades. The 3d saw repetitions of Eckensteher Nante and Die eifersilchtige Frau. Kotzebue's Kreuzfahrer, a five-act drama of chivalry, was presented on the 7th; and on the 10th Lebriin's three-act comedy Der Quartierzettel and the one-act farces Unser Verkehr and Je toller, je besser were given. Quality, however, did not go hand in hand with quantity, and sometimes the former left much to be desired.

Adverse criticism stressed the annoying habit of hesitation on the part of the actors, due to their unfamiliarity with roles and with the stage setting. On the 15th the performance of Hedwig die Banditenbraut was stamped as "wretched"; it was asserted that the actors made a real burlesque out of this tragedy by their flippant attitude, so that many a friend of the theatre felt ashamed.

These instances of unsatisfactory acting and of weak discipline in the company may have been due in part to a spirit of internal discord, of which the first symptoms came to light at this time. In connection with the performance of the 20th we learn of an altercation between two actors. Herr Schmidt, the beneficiary of the evening, inserted a notice in the newspaper, protesting against the conduct of his colleague Bree, whom he accused of having withdrawn from the performance at the last moment, of having incited the actors against him, and furthermore of having torn up the program sheets of the occasion!

Yet the month of December was not without its redeeming features.

On the 25th Kotzebue's Pagenstreiche, designated as the eleventh subscription, was excellently given,66 and the year closed on the 30th with a thoroughly mixed variety and dance bill, consisting of Fanny Ellsler's Cracovienne, Schneider Fipps, Die schlaue Witwe, Die Helden, and a children's ballet called Der Carneval von Venedig oder die Grenadiere Friedrichs des Grossen in Italien. The year 67 opened with a special performance on New Year's Day of three plays the titles of all of which are familiar to us: On January 6, after many months of preparation and various postponements, came Zschokke's Abellino,68 one of the very first German plays given in translation on the American stage, forty years before this time.

Kotzebue's five-act farce Pachter Feldkilmmnel followed on the 11th. The same formalistic imitator of Schiller again furnished the bill for the 14th with Die 64 Cf. This drama must have been cut considerably, for the reporter speaks of "fragments" of Abellino as having been given.

However, a subsequent notice 71 informed the reader that this did not materialize, owing to insufficient attendance. The notice-it bore the signature, "Wahrheit, Achte Avenue" --deplored this lack of support of the theatre on the part of the thirty thousand Germans living in the city. On the other hand a German performance, on the 22d, of Weber's Freischiitz, in the Franklin Theatre, announced as the first complete rendition of that opera in America, was highly successful72 and surpassed all expectations.

New York's finest artists took part and the music was reported excellent. The opera was repeated on the 29th. Db'ring was an uninspired playwright, whose productions yielded satisfaction only for the moment. His novel Sonnenberg furnished Birch-Pfeiffer material for her Pfefferrbsel. The Staatszeitung wishes the players the best of success and hopes they will avoid the errors they made in New York, but what these errors were the newspaper does not state. On this date a long advertisement appeared in the Staatszeitung, signed by F.

Wiese,77 announcing the opening of the Franklin on Wednesday, September 14, with a program of six numbers, including two dramas: Wer weiss, wozu das gut ist? Indeed, we may hardly speak of this as a season, inasmuch as only seven scattered performances are noted between the limiting dates of September 14 and December Aside from a single presentation of Kabale und Liebe, this last three months' session of the German dramatic muse at the Franklin offers no bright spot. On September 24 Kotzebue's three-act comedy Der Rehbock oder die schuldlosen Schuldbewussten and KSrner's Vetter aus Bremen make up the bill, yet the difficulty of once more setting the machinery of the theatre in motion is painfully apparent.

In an effort to stabilize his undertaking Director Wiese on October 1 announces that he has rented the Franklin until May 1, , and 77 F. Wiese was the father of Elise cf. He advertises no less than twenty-four performances at subscription prices ranging from six to ten dollars! In spite of all his heroic efforts Wiese seemed unable to arouse his little playhouse from its inertia and it continued to drift along. The first subscription evening was finally set for October 25 a one-act comedy, Der Freimaurer, and a musical medley " Quodlibet" , Der reisende Student oder das DonnerwetterY81 with La Cracovienne, danced by Agnes Wiese, in the intermission.

An advertisement on the 29th stated that the Franklin was to remain closed until November 5, owing to preparations for Kabale und Liebe, slated as the "third subscription. This time the excuse was that the building was being repaired and newly decorated! Finally, on the 12th, Schiller's middleclass tragedy was promised for both the 18th and the 19th, while on the latter date it is announced for that same evening, without mention of any performance on the 18th. Probably only one performance was given after all, and that on the 19th, since the Staatszeitung set the date of the "vierte Abonnement" as November The reason is not hard to find when we consider the economic depression that marked the winter of Indeed even the Park Theatre, one of the most prominent playhouses of the city at that period, was forced to reduce its prices of admission as a result of the hard times.

The director, again impelled by the desire to systematize his venture, stated that he would henceforth open his house regularly on Tuesday and Friday evenings each week, and promised Kabale und Liebe for December 6. Gaps in the newspaper file make it impossible to ascertain whether Wiese was really able to carry out his plans, but we are in a position to state that at best he had to put them off and probably could not even inaugurate them.

For December 16, the next recorded date, three more short comedies and farces were planned "8-Der junge Pathe, by Schneider, and Herr Blaubart oder das geheimmnisvolle Cabinet and Der Schmarotzer in der Klemme, both by Angely. However, the economic situation continued seriously to affect the theatre, so that the fulfilment of projects was often accompanied by the greatest delays, if, indeed, not entirely frustrated. Thus a local five-act comedy entitled Herr Hampelmann sucht ein Logis by an unknown au84 8.

To make matters worse, a brief exhortation on January 7 urged the readers of the Staatszeitung not to forget the "coming" Schnepf benefit, which would seem to prove that the actor was experiencing the same disappointment week after week. Further checking up on this benefit to Schnepf becomes impossible, for the issue of the Staatszeitung for January 14 is missing.

The last recorded performance, therefore, of this highly abbreviated and fragmentary season at the Franklin was probably that of December 16, and by way of summary we may note that the only work of literary merit given during the winter was Kabale und Liebe. While, to be sure, no permanent Deutsches Theater had as yet been established, this early period had witnessed the successful efforts of the Deutscher dramatischer Verein to introduce the German muse-efforts that had resulted in three seasons of drama at the Franklin.

The ensuing years, , represent, by contrast, a very barren period during which, in all, only twenty-one widely separated theatrical evenings are noted at no less than nine different S7 S. These figures alone will make it clear to the reader that it becomes utterly impossible to speak of any more "seasons" during the remainder of the decade. It appears, after all, that the novelty of the undertaking, coupled with the numerical weakness of Little Germany, and finally the severe economic conditions, all combined to defeat, for the present, the sincere attempts that had been made to create a real German stage.

Director Wiese, indeed, found successors who were willing to take up the task, and the hard times did not prevent private experiments in the theatrical field. One of the first problems of the new sponsors of the German theatre was to find a suitable hall, as is shown by the fact that the seven isolated play-nights recorded for the entire year occurred at three separate localities. However, we must not fail to mention one bright spot at this timenamely, that New York saw what was probably its first performance of Wilhelm Tell in German.

Let us examine this period somewhat more in detail. On January 28 a certain M. Dessau announces that he has rented the Bowery Amphitheatre at 37 Bowery for his own benefit on February 3, promising a performance of Die Ahnfrau, which he states has been played several times with success in Philadelphia. Unfortunately no positive evidence exists that Dessau accomplished his object. A gap of four months in the reports on the theatre affords another bit of mute testimony as to the precarious condition of German dramatics in the metropolis.

On May 15 a new director, Rudolph Riese,"8 appears on the scene and announces as his opening play Kotzebue's Graf Benyowsky oder die Verschw6rung auf Kamtschatka, to be staged at the Franklin. This event received a highly 89 The name of Riese had appeared in the Staatszeitung of May 11, , in connection with an attempt to establish a German theatre in New Orleans.

The critic points out that the prompter had very little to do during the evening-a most "unusual state of affairs. On May Riese plans to take his company to St. Again successful, and full of aspiration, Riese's wandering troupe now turns to the Bowery Amphitheatre, where it gives Die Riuber on July 14 92 and Wilhelm Tell on August 1.

A sympathetic review, signed "Theaterfreund," 93 commends the company highly for its pains and urges the public to support this latest venture, calling attention especially to the excellent work of Riese himself Gessler , Schmidt Tell and Wiese Bertha , the last mentioned being lauded as the "crown" of all actresses!

But it seems that this diet was somewhat heavy for "Kleindeutschland" in the midst of a hot summer. At any rate, Riese was only yielding to popular demands, as he claimed, when he announced for August 22 Kotzebue's four-act comedy Der verbannte Amor oder die argw6hnischen Eheleute, followed by Holtei's short romantic musical play Der alte Feldherr. Tageblatt , May 31, ; Wocherblatt , June 3, Tageblatt , July 10, ; Wochenblatt , July 8, Only one more German performance is on record for the year The two plays which this organization promises for that evening are the familiar Vetter aus Bremen and Die Zerstreuten.

The prices on this occasion ranged from thirty-seven and a half to twelve and a half cents. For the next six years only three volumes of the Staatszeitung--those for , and are available. From the files of the Deutsche Schnellpost, which also cover this period, and which are fairly continuous, a list of but fourteen thoroughly isolated and sporadic performances has been gleaned.

They were staged at no fewer than six scattered halls located in Pearl, Elizabeth and Chambers Streets and on the Bowery and Broadway, and took place at various dates between and Der Pariser Taugenichts; C. A single offering of Schiller's Kabale und Liebe also deserves mention. Thus the German dramatic muse in New York, after so hopeful a beginning in the early forties, steadily declined and all but perished as the years rolled by. During these years the Staatszeitung was issuing a daily newspaper as well as its original weekly.

But with the appearance of the daily edition the Wochenblatt, with singular consistency, avoids theatrical items, which find a place only in the Tageblatt. Unfortunately, however, only a single volume of the latter-that of has been preserved. For the years , , and we are therefore forced to turn to other sources, which are, for the most part, mere journalistic reviews and, as such, must be used with the proverbial grain of salt.

The two chief sources at our disposal are the contemporary articles of Meyers Monatshefte cf. Our study of the period is further complicated by the fact that these two authorities, as we shall see, do not agree-which is not so strange when we consider that they are separated by fifty years in time. Brown's History of the New York Stage cf. In view of these extraordinary conditions a thoroughly accurate and homogeneous study of these years becomes impossible.

A broad survey of these years shows clearly that the pains attending the birth of the new institution-to-be were rapidly growing more and more acute, the nearer we approach that hopeful day in the month of September, , when the Stadttheater welcomed its first audience. To obtain a general picture of conditions during this early post-forty-eight era one needs merely to multiply by three or four the theatrical ventures described in the last chapter, to imagine two or even three such undertakings as coexistent for brief periods, and, of course, to keep doubling, trebling and even further accelerating the rates at which performances had heretofore taken place.

Moreover we must now attach increased importance to the leaders, who were springing up with greater frequency than ever before and whose competence naturally grew as time advanced. For the first time we meet the names of directors who had gained experience in the playhouses of the Fatherland. As the tremendous tide of German immigration noted above 2 set in, it was only natural that the attempts to give plays in German should become more and more numerous.

But this flood tide was unfortunately accompanied by a treacherous backwash, for we know that the unnaturally hasty and convulsive growth of the city for a time resulted in an economic distress that threatened to shipwreck Little Germany's theatrical ambitions, until, one fine day, out of all the whirlpools and eddies of the flood a lasting theatre arose.

About the only stage of those mentioned above that lived to see the dawn of was the house at Mager's. In dissension at the latter had again caused a split, and this time the irreconcilables fled to Chambers Street to make a fresh start at Burton's Lyceum. Along came the terrible winter of and temporarily halted all three enterprises. Undaunted promoters, however, tided over the imperiled German stage by giving performances at the Astor Place Opera House.

In there was further rivalry between the Olympic and Burton's Lyceum, both of which had reopened their doors, but soon failed. The year saw two new, flourishing stagesprosperous, no doubt, since they were not, as had been their predecessors, simultaneous, but successive. They were the Deutsches National Theater and the St. Only the latter kept its head above water in and was still on the scene when the Stadttheater was founded.

This, in brief, is the picture which we must now proceed to examine somewhat more minutely under separate annual headings. THE YEAR One of the retrospects in Meyers Monatshefte pictures the theatre at Mager's as a very inferior institution, which attracted its audiences by the bait of a dance after each theatrical representation. Here "orgies and bacchanalia" were enacted which lowered the reputation of the hall to the point at which, as Meyer asserts, it was impossible to speak of the German theatre in respectable society.

The performances were of a simplicity bordering on the primitive, the orchestra consisting of a cellist and a violinist, whose constant companion was his pipe. But the repertoire, according to Meyer, was by no means limited, and classical plays were not infrequently staged, the author recalling a presentation of Don Carlos that struck him as "spanisch genug. Changes of management became more and more frequent as the theatre declined, and managers often turned out to be men of low character. When the theatre continued thus to deteriorate, a new stage was opened on Broadway4 in under the direction of one Fassert, whose undertaking, so we are informed by the critic, ruined Mager.

Fassert's attempt was said to have begun most auspiciously. Crowded houses found the performances quite to their taste, and the German public, after its many disappointments, now felt it a matter of duty to support what had all the earmarks of a decent institution. Yet in spite of the propitious beginning, intrigues soon arose and Fassert showed all too plainly that he was not the man to check them. Within a few brief months the manager found himself bankrupt, but the members of the company decided to continue, and by sharing their expenses they contrived to keep the house open for a few additional weeks.

In discussing these earliest years of the decade of Huch, by contrast with Meyer, paints a much more favorable picture of German theatrical conditions. The former declares that a certain W. The presence of these histrionic artists, even at this earlier period of their careers, must, indeed, have lent the Mager stage a finer atmosphere than Meyer would have us believe.

However, even Huch admits that the more exacting demands of the immigrants after the Revolution of were not satisfied with the quality of the offerings in the Elizabeth Street hall and that this dissatisfaction led to the Broadway undertaking of Fassert. The only theatre item in the Wochenblatt of the Staatszeitung for the year takes the form of a translation of an English letter, which had been published in the Washington Union of November The journalist asserts that there are in town no less than seventy thousand Germans, who live apart from the rest of the population and support two small theatres 9 at which semi-weekly performances are given in the German language.

In Elizabeth Street the correspondent finds the plays just as good as anywhere in the city with the possible 6 Friedrich Schwan cf. According to Abrecht he had been a member of the Court Theatres at Dresden and Darmstadt, had come to New York in and had soon won favor here because of his handsome appearance, his splendid voice and his unusual ability as an actor. The reviewer then describes how, at the conclusion of the dramatic program each evening, the benches are removed and the theatre is transformed into a dance hall, where the younger set may amuse themselves until one o'clock.

Neither drunkenness nor coarse behavior is to be noted, but clouds of tobacco smoke fill the air and claret and lager beer flow freely.

With this portrayal and with the other descriptions above given we must take leave of the German theatre during the year The Staatszeitung attributes to the New York Herald of July 4 the statement that "even the local German theatre is enjoying support. Plays are advertised between March 26 and May 10, a span of slightly more than six weeks, which probably represents but a fraction of a longer season.

The Figaro journalist quite frankly confesses his ignorance of German, which language he pretends to "brush up" for his visits to the Theater, and his mutilation of the titles of plays together with his wretched orthography certainly substantiate his contention to the fullest. He further admits that he "sees rather than hears" what takes place on the stage and attributes his ability to follow the performances largely to the merits of the players.

His tone throughout is clearly that of the flattering and ignorant newspaper writer, solely bent on securing the patronage of the theatre for his publication, and under these circumstances no great value can be at10 Cf. For our purposes the importance of the Figaro must be sought almost entirely in the data it gives us for a period not otherwise adequately covered, and in the fact that we find here one of the first instances of publicity given to the German muse by an Englishlanguage journal.

The Figaro advertises the titles of twenty-three plays, which titles of course appear in English translation. The only classical offering of the series was William Tell, while the most popular drama seems to have been one variously listed owing no doubt to inaccurate orthography as The Confession s and The Confusion s ,11 which was seen five times-a large number, as German performances run. Then followed "Lumpartzi and Vagabundres" [Lumpaci Vagabundus] and the Rogue of the Streets called on one occasion the Rogue of the Streets of Paris ,12 each of which was given three times. Bauernfeld was a very productive playwright, whose creations attained great popularity on the Vienna stage in the thirties.

He delineates Viennese society in a highly skillful, realistic and sympathetic manner. His comedies Biirgerlich und Bomantisch, Das Liebesprotokoll and Die Bekenntnisse were all produced on the New York stage during the period of the present study. T6pfer was born in Berlin in , became interested in the stage early in life and was attracted by Schreyvogel to Vienna, where he spent six years In he went to Hamburg, where he remained until his death in His comedies were immensely popular.

However he borrowed much from Scribe and never transports his audience into a higher poetic world. In all, thirty-five theatrical evenings were announced in the Figaro, occurring regularly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of each week, with special "benefit-evenings" on Tuesdays and "sacred concerts" on Sundays.

The wardrobe is described as not especially brilliant. The Figaro's reporter speaks of the lovers of "Der Faderland[! The newspaper critic expresses the hope, too, that the German theatre will soon be established on a permanent basis in New York. Blum-first performed in Dresden on July 1, Of Carl Blum, Witkowski p. Theodor Hell was the pseudonym of Karl G. Winkler , who from until his death was connected with the Hofbiihne at Dresden. Prilss' catalogue of plays given on that stage is filled with the creations of this author.

In he married Elise HehlDieffenbacher. A series of case studies on topics such as the role of the Patriot anti-missile system in the Gulf War, the Challenger space shuttle explosion, nuclear testing, economic modeling, the Chernobyl nuclear accident, treatments for AIDS, etc. Technology and American History: A Historical Anthology from Technology and Culture. Cutcliffe and Terry S. Wilkinson; "'Drive That Branch': Schallenberg and David A.

Gordon; "From Iron to Steel: The Recasting of the If you would like to authenticate using a different subscribed institution that supports Shibboleth authentication or have your own login and password to Project MUSE, click 'Authenticate'. View freely available titles: Book titles OR Journal titles. Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide.

Forged from a partnership between a university press and a library, Project MUSE is a trusted part of the academic and scholarly community it serves. Built on the Johns Hopkins University Campus. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: Project MUSE Mission Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide.

• The Teenage Jesus (-)
• Krik? Krak!
• Caesars Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus:Flavian Signature Edition
• Rosamund (Friarsgate Inheritance)
• India as an Emerging Power