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70-588: During the time Lessing wrote the Hamburg Dramaturgy, there was a new movement of German theatre, based on self-reflection. Actors were beginning to perform the inner and outer lives of their characters at the same time. One of Lessing's most famous and renowned quotes from the compilation considers the responsibilities of the actor and the playwright: “The great discernment of the drama critic lies in his ability to distinguish, whenever he feels pleasure or displeasure, to what extent that feeling should be credited to

140-436: A "man of perception and insight." After his death his daughter Sophie Leisewitz, the wife of the poet Johann Anton Leisewitz , wrote: "It was my happy fortune, out of childish duty, to worship the man whom thousands can only admire." Seyler mostly focused on the artistic, economic and administrative management of his theatrical company; his own lack of a background as an actor, his patrician family and his former profession as

210-469: A background as an actor and his former profession as a merchant banker, made him stand out among the theatre principals of his era in a profession that was just starting to gain respectability. His wife's 1789 Singspiel Huon and Amanda (or Oberon ), set to new music by Paul Wranitzky , was performed by Emanuel Schikaneder 's theater troupe and by the Weimar court theater under the direction of Goethe , and

280-471: A lifelong friend and collaborator of Seyler. The Hamburg National Theatre was immortalized by Lessing's influential book Hamburg Dramaturgy , a collection of essays that reflected on the Hamburg National Theatre's efforts, and which defined the field of dramaturgy and gave it its name. The idea of a journal with Lessing as a dramatic critic was conceived by Löwen, and Seyler, "the power behind

350-647: A member of a cadet branch of the Danish royal family, to produce debased coins in the final years of the Seven Years' War. Seyler and Tillemann also owned a large silver refinery in Hamburg. The downfall of Seyler & Tillemann led to several years of litigation that reached the Imperial Cameral Tribunal in 1765. Much criticism was directed at Seyler and Tillemann's business ethics and extravagant lifestyle, and

420-475: A merchant banker, made him stand out among the theatre principals of his era, in a profession that was just starting to gain respectability. John Warrack noted that: The Danish critic Knud Lyne Rahbek highlighted the fact that while he had never been an actor himself, he demonstrated a great enthusiasm for and refined knowledge of the arts. The actor August Wilhelm Iffland who worked under Seyler's direction said: His theatrical legacy eventually overshadowed

490-571: A national theatre in the tradition of Ludvig Holberg , the Sturm und Drang playwrights, and the development of a serious German opera tradition. Already in his lifetime, he was described as "one of German art's most meritorious men." Ludwig Wollrabe called him "a man who made an immortal contribution to Germany's theater and its improvement." He was lauded by contemporaries such as Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Christoph Martin Wieland , who described him as

560-599: A new form of capitalism. After the bankruptcy of his bank, Seyler devoted himself to theatre and became the main shareholder, benefactor and effective leader of the Hamburg National Theatre , an idealistic attempt to establish a national theatre based on the ideas of Ludvig Holberg . The theatre was owned by "a consortium of twelve businessmen of the city, with a triumvirate of Seyler, Bubbers and Johann Martin Tillemann, Seyler's business partner. But in practice, it

630-403: A new, complete, and fully annotated translation of the text; the essays are being published online at MediaCommons Press and will be published in print form by Routledge . Lessing's collection of essays are still being used as references today for the topic of dramaturgy, especially as a reference for art of theatre as an outlet for self-reflection, and how circumstances of the era during which

700-464: A play was written affects how the audience perceives the work. Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen ) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker , who was regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. He played a pivotal role in the development of German theatre and opera, and was considered "the leading patron of German theatre" in his lifetime. He supported

770-513: A playwright and secretary, and he remained with the company for two years. Klinger had followed Goethe to Weimar earlier in the same year, and at the time he joined the Seyler Company he had just broken with Goethe under unclear circumstances. He brought with him the manuscript of his recently finished play Sturm und Drang , which was first performed by the Seyler Company on 1 April 1777 in Leipzig;

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840-542: A poem by their friend and collaborator Christoph Martin Wieland . The play, with original music by Carl Hanke , became a success in Hamburg; Hanke had been recruited by Abel Seyler as music director at the Comödienhaus in Hamburg in 1783. A lightly adapted version of Seyler's opera with new music by Paul Wranitzky became the first opera performed by Emanuel Schikaneder 's troupe at the Theater auf der Wieden , and established

910-598: A result of the Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763 with 3–4 million Mark Banco in debts, an enormous sum. Its downfall also contributed to the downfall of other banking houses e.g. in Scandinavia. In 1761 Seyler & Tillemann, acting as agents of their close business associate Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann , leased the mint factory in Rethwisch from the impoverished Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön ,

980-444: A slap in the face in response to repeated insolent remarks during theatre rehearsals. A report commissioned by Dalberg noted that Toscani belonged to "the weaker sex" and that Seyler was the director of a theatre company and should be held to a higher standard. In order to "restore the peace" of the theatre Dalberg decided to retire Seyler with a pension. The first performance of Friedrich Schiller 's The Robbers —itself inspired by

1050-451: A theatre for her, where she could reign undisputed without fearing any rivalry." Karl Mantzius noted: Nominally Johann Friedrich Löwen served as theatre director, but he had little influence, as Seyler as main shareholder and head of a three-member "administrative committee" ( Verwaltungsausschuß ) took all managerial decisions while Ekhof in practice assumed the artistic leadership. The new Seyler regime suited Ekhof well, and he became

1120-529: A tradition within Schikaneder's company of fairy-tale operas that was to culminate two years later in Mozart 's and Schikaneder's opera The Magic Flute ; Sophie Seyler's Oberon is regarded as one of the primary influences on the plot and characters of The Magic Flute . Musicologist Thomas Bauman describes Oberon as "an important impulse for the creation of a generation of popular spectacles trading in magic and

1190-572: A young adult, and established himself as a merchant banker in the 1750s. During the Seven Years' War and its immediate aftermath his bank Seyler & Tillemann engaged in an ever-increasing and complex, "malicious" speculation with financial instruments and went spectacularly bankrupt with enormous debts in the wake of the Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763 , resulting in a decade of expansive litigation. Although they were wealthy bankers, Seyler and his business partner were "in no way representatives of

1260-555: Is regarded as the earliest starting point of Weimar Classicism . From 1779 to 1781 he was the founding artistic director of the Mannheim National Theatre . He commissioned works such as Sturm und Drang by Klinger (which gave its name to the era), Ariadne auf Naxos by Benda and Alceste by Schweitzer , considered "the first serious German opera." Seyler mostly focused on the artistic, economic and administrative management of his theatrical company; his own lack of

1330-406: The Sturm und Drang dramas. For most of its existence, the Seyler Company comprised around 60 members, and included an orchestra, a ballet, house dramatists and set designers. The company was one of the first theatre companies to maintain a permanent orchestra. Over the next ten years the company travelled extensively, and stayed for longer periods at several courts of Europe. Theatre companies of

1400-502: The Duchy of Holstein , where he died on 25 April 1800 at the age of 69. He was interred in Rellingen on 1 May 1800. Seyler is widely regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe and has been described as "the leading patron of German theatre" in his lifetime. He is credited with introducing Shakespeare to a German language audience, and with promoting the concept of

1470-581: The Illuminati , and the Duke later offered that society's founder Adam Weishaupt asylum in Gotha. Abel Seyler was married in his first marriage from 1754 to Sophie Elisabeth Andreae (1730–1764), the daughter of the wealthy Hanoverian court pharmacist Leopold Andreae (1686–1730) and Katharina Elisabeth Rosenhagen (died 1752). Her parents were already deceased and her only close relative was her older brother and only sibling,

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1540-542: The idealistic Hamburg National Theatre , that became a leading cultural institution in Germany. His theatre employed Lessing as the world's first dramaturg , culminating in the work Hamburg Dramaturgy that defined the field and gave it its name. In 1769, Seyler founded the travelling Seyler Theatre Company , which became one of the most famous theatre companies of Europe during the period 1769–79 and regarded as "the best theatre company in Germany at that time." The company

1610-555: The 17th and early 18th century. He was a paternal grandson of the theologian Friedrich Seyler and Elisabeth Socin , a member of an Italian-origined noble family, and he was named for his great-grandfather, the Basel judge and envoy to the French court Abel Socin (1632–1695). He was also descended from the Merian and Faesch families. He was a matrilineal descendant of Justina Froben, daughter of

1680-462: The Andreae pharmacy from their uncle on his death in 1793. In 1772 Abel Seyler married the actress Friederike Sophie Seyler (formerly married Hensel). They had no children. The principal founder of biochemistry and molecular biology, Felix Hoppe-Seyler , was an adopted son of his grandson. Seyler was a godfather of Jacob Herzfeld (born 1763), known as the first Jewish stage actor in Germany, when

1750-454: The Duchess invited Christoph Martin Wieland to Weimar to educate her two sons. Wieland had just published his modern and ironic mirror-for-princes work, Der goldne Spiegel oder die Könige von Scheschian . Wieland became an important friend and collaborator of both Seyler, and later Goethe. Adam Shoaff notes, In 1772 he reunited with his love interest Friederike Sophie Hensel, who had stayed at

1820-576: The Duke of Bavaria in 1777, he moved his court from the Palatine capital of Mannheim to Munich and brought the theatre company of Theobald Marchand with him. In 1778 he instructed the courtier Wolfgang Heribert von Dalberg —the brother of Prince-Elector and Grand Duke Karl Theodor von Dalberg —to establish a new theatre in Mannheim. At first Dalberg contracted Abel Seyler's theatre company with performing in Mannheim on an occasional basis from 1778 to 1779. In

1890-618: The Gasthof Zum Mohren, on the occasion of the Nativity of St John the Baptist , and Ekhof became the first Worshipful Master and Seyler the First Warden . The lodge was originally named Cosmopolit , but was renamed Zum Rautenkranz in honour of the ducal family shortly after. Its members included several members of the Seyler Company, such as Seyler, Ekhof and the composer Georg Anton Benda ;

1960-414: The Hamburg bourgeoisie, but were rather seen with suspicion for different reasons" by the local Hamburg elite. In strictly Lutheran Hamburg, Calvinists such as Seyler were viewed with as much suspicion as Catholics at the time. Seyler and his friends were also self-made men, immigrants to Hamburg and showed little regard for the values and conventions of the conservative Hamburg bourgeoisie; they symbolized

2030-425: The Hamburg bourgeoisie." A flamboyant bon vivant who was regarded with suspicion in Hamburg, Seyler symbolized a new and more aggressive form of capitalism. Seyler's admiration for the tragic actress Sophie Hensel (Seyler) , who later became his second wife, led him to devote himself entirely to theatre from 1767 onwards. He used his remaining funds to become the main shareholder, benefactor and effective leader of

2100-550: The Seyler Company by the assumption of all debts before the impending ruin; Andreae however demanded that Ekhof replaced his brother-in-law as head of the company. In 1771 the Seyler Company was invited to the ducal court in Weimar by Duchess Anna Amalia , the composer and noted patron of the arts, and Seyler again became the company's principal. They were warmly welcomed by Anna Amalia and her court in October 1771, and were generously paid;

2170-639: The Seyler Company’s final stop. Reinhard Frost writes that the Seyler Company, with its literarily ambitious program, did not reach the broad audience in Frankfurt, which was accustomed to more popular entertainment. Seyler is nevertheless regarded as the founder of a serious theater tradition in Frankfurt. When Charles Theodore , the Prince-Elector of the Electoral Palatinate , additionally became

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2240-703: The Vienna Burgtheater for the past year, and they finally married in November 1772 in Oßmannstedt just outside Weimar. After the palace fire in Weimar in May 1774, Anna Amalia was forced to dismiss the Seyler Company, and they left with a quarter year's wages and a letter of recommendation to Duke Ernest II in Gotha . Seyler thus missed Goethe 's arrival at the Weimar court a year later. The Seyler Company remained for one year at

2310-453: The actor must all be taken into account. When Lessing published his essays, numerous actors from Hamburg plays were upset with Lessing's carelessness and disregard of their talents in his essay. In 1890, Helen Zimmern published an English translation of the text, which was re-published by Dover in 1962. Zimmern's translation omits nearly 30% of the original text. Translators Wendy Arons and Sara Figal, with editor Natalya Baldyga, are producing

2380-462: The actors who worked under Seyler's direction at Mannheim were August Wilhelm Iffland , Johann David Beil and Heinrich Beck . At Mannheim Seyler directed several Shakespeare productions, and left a lasting legacy. His "repertoire in the early Mannheim years still shows the influence of his Hamburg period as well as the legacy of the Weimar/Gotha years." In cooperation with Dalberg he developed

2450-408: The audience often felt confused or left out; Lessing’s development of the Hamburg Dramaturgy was in part a reaction to this. Topics covered by Lessing in the series of essays include Aristotle's theory of tragedy, acting theory, the role of theater in society, the means by which theater achieves its emotional effects, criticism of the actor and the play, issues of translation, and a nascent theory of

2520-491: The author of Julius of Taranto . After the death of his first wife in 1764, their children were raised in Hanover by their maternal uncle. By several accounts J.G.R. Andreae was a highly erudite, generous and kind man who became a loving father figure to his sister's children; he had no children of his own. The children since had limited or no contact with their father, and all lived more conventional lives than him. They inherited

2590-622: The autumn of 1779 Seyler moved permanently to Mannheim with the remaining members of his theatre company. Several actors who had been affiliated with the Gotha Court Theatre under Konrad Ekhof's direction in the past few years—essentially an offshoot of the Seyler Theatre Company—also joined him; Ekhof himself had died the previous year. The Mannheim National Theatre opened in October 1779 with Seyler as its first artistic director and Dalberg as its general administrator. Some of

2660-647: The bankruptcy was initiated in 1763 and went on until 1773, and the case reached the Imperial Cameral Tribunal . Much criticism was directed at Seyler and Tillemann's business ethics and extravagant lifestyle. Mary Lindemann notes, quoting from the 1765–1773 Imperial Cameral Tribunal proceedings and the memoirs of John Parish: Seyler was described as "a handsome bon vivant ." Despite suffering "a sensational bankruptcy for an enormous sum [...] neither of them [Seyler and Tillemann] had lost his good humour or his taste for light living." Although they were wealthy bankers, Seyler and Tillemann were "in no way representatives of

2730-498: The city's pro-French faction. Although his parents belonged to families that were highly respected in Basel, Abel Seyler grew up in rather modest material circumstances. His father's congregation was small, and the parish church and rectory were in poor condition. His father also failed in his attempt to have the church restored. As a parish priest, his father did not have a fixed income but presumably lived off payments for church services, gifts and occasional government contributions. It

2800-404: The company has been considered as one of the most speculative and immoral banks of the era. However, despite suffering "a sensational bankruptcy for an enormous sum [...] neither of them had lost his good humour or his taste for light living." Mary Lindemann notes that the court documents relating to the subsequent litigation offer "an excellent perspective on 'deceitful schemes' and especially on

2870-535: The company performed three times a week for select guests at the Weimar ducal court. In 1771 Anna Amalia was a 32-year old widow who reigned as regent on behalf of her young son. The Seyler Company's arrival in Weimar marked the infancy of the cultural era known as the Weimar Classicism , when the Duchess invited many of the most eminent men in Germany to her court in Weimar, including Herder , Goethe and Schiller . The year after Seyler's company arrived in Weimar,

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2940-460: The concept of a national theatre in the tradition of Ludvig Holberg , the Sturm und Drang playwrights, and serious German opera , becoming the "primary agent for change in the German opera scene" in the late 18th century. Already in his lifetime, he was described as "one of German art's most meritorious men." The son of a Basel Reformed priest, Seyler moved to London and then to Hamburg as

3010-581: The court pharmacist J.G.R. Andreae , who became a noted Enlightenment natural scientist. The wedding took place in Hanover and Abel and Sophie Elisabeth had two sons and a daughter: Abel Seyler (the Younger) , who became court pharmacist in Celle and who was a member of the Illuminati ; L.E. Seyler , a prominent Hamburg banker and politician; and Sophie Seyler, who married the Sturm und Drang poet Johann Anton Leisewitz ,

3080-407: The development of new works and experimental productions, helping to establish Hamburg as a center of theatrical innovation and to establish a publicly funded theater system in Germany. Working with some of Germany's foremost actors and playwrights of his era, he is credited with pioneering a new more realist style of acting, introducing Shakespeare to a German language audience, and with promoting

3150-553: The dubious reputation he had earned as a banker in his younger years. Like many of his collaborators, Seyler was a freemason . He joined freemasonry in London in 1753, became a member of the Absalom lodge in Hamburg in May 1755, and was involved with freemasonry until his death. Abel Seyler and Konrad Ekhof , along with other members of the Seyler Company, founded the first masonic lodge in Gotha . The founding took place on 25 June 1774 in

3220-488: The ducal court in Gotha, where Seyler and other of the troupe's members also involved themselves in the broader cultural and social life, and in freemasonry. In Gotha Seyler met the Bohemian composer Georg Anton Benda and commissioned him to write several successful operas, including Ariadne auf Naxos , Medea and Pygmalion . At its debut in 1775, Ariadne auf Naxos received enthusiastic reviews in Germany and afterwards, in

3290-753: The era, especially travelling ones, thought of themselves as extended "families." George III of Hanover and the United Kingdom contracted Seyler in 1769 with performing at Hanover and other cities of the Electorate of Hanover , appointing him as "Director of the Royal and Electoral German Court Actors," a privilege he held until relinquishing it in 1772. During the Hanover years the company performed in Hanover itself and in Lüneburg , Celle , Osnabrück , Hildesheim und Wetzlar between September 1769 and October 1771. Initially

3360-480: The exotic. Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute] in particular shares many features with Oberon, musical as well as textual." In 1792 Abel Seyler retired with a pension from Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel , the royal governor of the twin duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. From 1798 he lived as a guest on the estate of the actor, his long-time friend and fellow prominent freemason Friedrich Ludwig Schröder in Rellingen in

3430-411: The humanist Johann Froben ; he thus belonged to the same matriline as Anna Catharina Bischoff . He had a sister, Elisabeth Seiler (1715–1798), married to parish priest Daniel Merian. He was distantly related to Cardinal Joseph Fesch , Napoleon 's uncle; they were both descended from the Basel silk merchant, politician and diplomat Johann Rudolf Faesch (died 1659), who was Burgomaster of Basel and led

3500-503: The latter converted to Christianity in 1796. Seyler %26 Tillemann Seyler & Tillemann was a Hamburg merchant bank in the 1750s and 1760s, that was owned by Abel Seyler and Johann Martin Tillemann . It involved itself in the currency market and "malicious" speculation with financial instruments during the Seven Years' War . It had ties to the brothers De Neufville in Amsterdam. Seyler & Tillemann went bankrupt as

3570-430: The mint factory in Rethwisch from the impoverished Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön , a member of a cadet branch of the Danish royal family, to produce debased coins in the final years of the Seven Years' War. Seyler & Tillemann went bankrupt in the wake of the Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763 with 3–4 million Mark Banco in debts, an enormous sum. Expansive civil litigation relating to

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3640-476: The most. The Seyler company is here—I expect you already know them by reputation Abel Seyler was forced to leave his position as director of the Mannheim National Theatre in 1781, "after his wife's jealousy had provoked an unfortunate incident;" during a quarrel with his wife's "scheming" student, the 20-year old actress Elisabeth Toscani , the usually level-headed Seyler lost his temper and gave her

3710-439: The new company struggled and Seyler failed to replicate the old success of the Hamburg National Theatre. The lack of public interest in Hanover led to financial problems and when Ekhof in May 1770 also became seriously ill and unable to perform for some time, the situation worsened dramatically. Seyler's brother-in-law, the court pharmacist J.G.R. Andreae from Hanover, who also raised Seyler's children from his first marriage, saved

3780-458: The period 1769–79 and was regarded as "the best theatre company in Germany at that time." While the National Theatre had avoided musical theatre, Seyler appointed Anton Schweitzer as music director, charged with adding opera to the spoken repertory, and the Seyler Company came to play a major role both in the development of a German opera tradition and in the promotion and popularisation of

3850-575: The play Julius of Taranto by Seyler's son-in-law Johann Anton Leisewitz —took place at the Mannheim National Theatre the year after Seyler left as director. From 1781 to 1783 Seyler was artistic director of the Schleswig Court Theatre, which also performed in Flensburg , Husum and Kiel . In 1783 he established his own troupe based in Altona near Hamburg. From 1 September 1783 to Easter 1784 he

3920-693: The play gave its name to the artistic movement Sturm und Drang . In 1777 Seyler relinquished the Electoral Saxon privilege and his company took to the road again. Over the next two years the Seyler Company was primarily based in Frankfurt and Mainz and travelled extensively to Cologne , Hanau , Mannheim , Heidelberg and Bonn . On 17 June 1777 Seyler became director of the electoral Komödienhaus at Große Bleiche in Mainz; his ensemble then consisted of around 200 members, including his wife Sophie. Frankfurt became

3990-522: The psychology of emotions. Lessing's writings were influential for many German theater artists who came after, notably Bertolt Brecht . The analysis of the actor, according to Lessing, is grey area for a dramaturge. It is important to know that with an actor's performance, the circumstances are a large factor to the performance, whereas, for example, the text itself is easier to judge because it simply involves literary analysis. When analyzing an actor's performance, current events, environment, and mentality of

4060-435: The reigning Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and the Duke's brother, Prince August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg joined shortly after its establishment, as did many members of the nobility and local elite of Gotha. The lodge became a centre of the spiritual and cultural life of Gotha, and a stronghold of enlightenment and philanthropy . Many members of Seyler's lodge, notably the Duke and his brother, also became members of

4130-522: The related companies Seyler & Tillemann and Müller & Seyler, which engaged in an ever-increasing and complex speculation with financial instruments during the Seven Years' War in the 1750s and early 1760s. Seyler & Tillemann had close ties to the bank of the brothers De Neufville in Amsterdam, and has been considered one of the most speculative and immoral banks of the era. In 1761 Seyler & Tillemann, acting as agents for their close business associate Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann , leased

4200-518: The theatre's characteristic style, based on a belief in the need to achieve a balance between a more natural style of playing and a certain nobility and idealisation. In 1778 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited the Mannheim theatre, where Dalberg asked him to write a duodrama for the Seyler company. Mozart wrote enthusiastically to his father Leopold Mozart : I may be able to earn 40 louis d'or here, though I'd have to remain here for 6 weeks, or 2 months at

4270-504: The throne," at first reluctantly agreed, but was eventually won over by the journal's success. The theatre had to close after two years after Seyler had spent the rest of his fortune on it. In 1769 Seyler founded the National Theatre's effective successor, the Seyler Theatre Company , together with Konrad Ekhof, Sophie Hensel and some other actors. The Seyler Company became one of the most famous theatre companies of Europe during

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4340-603: The whole of Europe, with music critics calling attention to its originality, sweetness, and ingenious execution. It is widely considered Benda's best work, and inspired Mozart . In 1775 Seyler received the Electoral Saxon privilege as theatre director and performed in Leipzig and Dresden , and in 1776 he opened a newly built summer theatre in Dresden. In 1776 Seyler also employed Goethe's close friend Friedrich Maximilian Klinger as

4410-501: The writer or to the actor” The idea of a journal with Lessing as a dramatic critic to reflect on the Hamburg National Theater's efforts was conceived by the theatre's founder Johann Friedrich Löwen , and Abel Seyler , "the power behind the throne," who at first reluctantly agreed, but was eventually won over by the journal's success. Because the plays of the new German Bourgeoisie theatre became more detailed and complicated,

4480-569: Was a major influence on The Magic Flute , establishing the Schikaneder theatre's tradition of fairy tale operas. The principal founder of biochemistry and molecular biology, Felix Hoppe-Seyler , was an adopted son of his grandson. Abel Seyler was born in 1730 in Liestal outside Basel in Switzerland . He was the son of the Reformed clergyman, Dr.theol. Abel Seyler (Seiler) (the elder) (1684–1767), who

4550-534: Was a one man affair, as Seyler dominated all." It leased the Comödienhaus building and was largely a successor institution of Konrad Ernst Ackermann 's theatre company. The National Theatre employed Gotthold Ephraim Lessing as the world's first dramaturg , and attracted eminent actors such as Konrad Ekhof and Friedrich Ludwig Schröder ; Germany's most famous actress of the late 18th century Friederike Sophie Hensel (Seyler) , who later became Seyler's second wife,

4620-466: Was again director of the Comödienhaus theatre in Hamburg; he continued to live in Hamburg until 1787 and was at times a prompter at the theatre, where his wife performed under the direction of Friedrich Ludwig Schröder . From 1787 to 1792 he was again artistic director of the Schleswig Court Theatre. His wife Sophie Seyler died in 1789. Earlier in that year she had published the romantic Singspiel or opera Huon and Amanda (or Oberon ), inspired by

4690-518: Was only when he retired in 1763 that his father received a fixed income, a pension of 600 pounds. As a young man, Seyler left Basel first for London and then for Hamburg , where he was active as a merchant banker until 1766. At the time Hamburg was emerging as one of the world's foremost centres of trade and finance, a position it would retain until the end of the 18th century. With his business partners Johann Martin Tillemann and Edwin Müller, he founded

4760-469: Was parish priest of Frenkendorf-Munzach in Liestal from 1714 to 1763, and Anna Katharina Burckhardt (1694–1773). He grew up in a learned and pious Reformed family and was descended from or closely related to all of the most prominent patrician families of Basel on both his parents' sides. His mother belonged to the noted Burckhardt family , that was considered the most powerful family in the canton of Basel during

4830-437: Was the theatre's lead actress. She was regarded as "a very fine actress, as Lessing admitted, but she was a troublesome and tempestuous character," always at the centre of intrigue. It was largely Seyler's admiration for Friederike Sophie Hensel, by then 29, that led him to devote himself to theatre; as a result of Hensel's rivalry with Karoline Schulze, she was at the centre of an intrigue that led her admirer Seyler to "establish

4900-454: Was to a large degree centered around his would-be wife and his close collaborator Konrad Ekhof , Germany's most famous actress and actor at the time, respectively. He initially held the Hanoverian privilege as theatre director and his company later stayed for three years at the court of Duchess Anna Amalia in Weimar and for a year at the ducal court in Gotha . His company's arrival in Weimar

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