Emanuel Schikaneder (Straubing, September 9, 1751 – September 21, 1812, Vienna), born Johann Joseph Schikaneder, was an Austrian impresario, dramatist, actor, and singer. He is famous as the librettist of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "Die Zauberflöte" (The Magic Flute). Straubing is an independent city in Niederbayern. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 25 - For the last time, New Years Day is legally on March 25 in England and Wales. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Slovenian: Dunaj, Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Croatian and Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... An impresario is a manager or producer in one of the entertainment industries, usually Music or Theatre. ... Libretto can also refer to a sub-notebook PC manufactured by Toshiba. ... W. A. Mozart, 1790, portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger, see also: face only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart) (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Die Zauberflöte (en: The Magic Flute) is an opera in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. ...

Schikaneder first appeared with the theatrical troupe of F. J. Moser around 1773. Aside from operas, the company also performed farces and Singspiele (operettas). Schikander married an actress in this company, Eleonore Arth, in 1777, the same year he performed the role of Hamlet in Munich to general acclaim. He became the director of his troupe in 1778. He met Mozart in Salzburg in 1780, during an extended stay there by his company. 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Singspiel is form of German-language musical drama, similar to opera, but with a lot of spoken dialog and simpler, folk-like, strophic songs. ... The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and one of his best-known and most oft-quoted plays. ... Munich and the Alps Munich (German: München (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German federal state of Bavaria. ... Flag of Salzburg Salzburg (population 135,000 in 2005) is a city in western Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg (population 520,000 in 2003). ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Schikaneder led the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna from 1785, while still working with the Salzburg group as time permitted. His plan to build a theatre in Vienna was vetoed by Emperor Joseph II, which prompted him to temporarily leave for Regensberg. He did return to Vienna after a time with plans for a new theater in a hotel outside the city, which was opened in July 1789 Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Slovenian: Dunaj, Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Croatian and Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (March 13, 1741 - February 20, 1790) was a Holy Roman Emperor (1765 - 1790). ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Die Zauberflöte

The new theater enjoyed immediate success, especially with the September 1791 premiere of the Singspiel "Die Zauberflöte", with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was Schikaneder's and incorporated Masonic elements and traditional fairy-tale themes. Schikaneder was one of the performers in the first production, taking the role of Papageno. 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Die Zauberflöte (en: The Magic Flute) is an opera in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. ... W. A. Mozart, 1790, portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger, see also: face only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart) (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music. ... A mason is a worker in brick or stone, now most commonly involved in building walls, but previously also arches and vaults. ...

Schikaneder also may have given advice to Mozart concerning the musical setting of his libretto. The dramatist Ignaz Franz Castelli tells the following tale: Ignaz Franz Castelli (1781-1862) was an Austrian dramatist born at Vienna on the 6th of March 1781. ...

"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. A caution concerning these tales is that, according to records, Sebastian Meyer was not employed by the Schikaneder troupe until 1793, two years after the premiere of Die Zauberflöte.

Later career

The success of Die Zauberflöte and other productions allowed Schikaneder to construct a new theatre in Vienna in 1801, make use of an Imperial license he had obtained 15 years earlier. This theater, the Theater an der Wien, was opened to 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". However, Schikaneder may have overextended himself in building it, as in less than a year he had to give up ownership, though he twice served the theater as artistic director, staging elaborate productions there. The Theater an der Wien is a historic theater in Vienna. ... The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is a dictionary of music and musicians, generally considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. ...

During this period, Schikaneder was an artistic associate of Ludwig van Beethoven, who for a time attempted to set Schikaneder's libretto Vestas Feuer ("Vesta's Fire") as an opera. Beethoven lived in rooms in the Theater an der Wien during this time at Schikaneder's invitation, and continued there for a while as he switched his efforts in operatic composition to his Fidelio. Ludwig van Beethoven by Carl Jäger (Date unknown). ... Fidelio is an opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. ...

In 1806, the Theater an der Wien was sold to new management, and Schikaneder left Vienna to work in Brno and Steyr. His life took a catastrophic turn starting in 1811. First, after economic problems caused by war and a 1811 currency devaluation, he lost most of his fortune. Then, in 1812, during a journey to Budapest to take up a new post, Schikaneder was stricken with insanity. He died in poverty on September 21, 1812, aged 61, in Vienna. 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Brno ▶(?) (-Czech, German: Brünn) is the second-largest city of the Czech Republic, located in the southeast of the country, at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers. ... Steyr is a town (population 39,495 as of 2001) in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria, located on the Enns river. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: Pearl of the Danubeor Queen of the Danube Motto: Official website: www. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Schikaneder wrote a total of about 55 theatre pieces and 44 libretti.

Sources

• Most of the information above is taken from the authoritative New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, available in many libraries and as a fee site online.
• The stories from Ignaz Franz Castelli, originally printed in his 1861 memoirs, are taken from Otto Erich Deutsch's Mozart: A Documentary Biography; English translations by Eric Blom, Peter Branscombe, and Jeremy Noble, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1965. This book contains many mentions of Schikaneder from first-hand sources.