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93-469: Abel Seyler was a Hamburg merchant and banker originally from Switzerland who became "the leading patron of German theatre" in his lifetime. The Seyler Theatre Company was largely a continuation of the Hamburgische Entreprise , whose dramaturge was Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and whose main owner was Seyler. The Seyler theatrical company became one of the most famous theatrical companies of Europe in

186-460: A Basel Reformed priest, Seyler moved to London and then to Hamburg as 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

279-436: 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

372-431: A broken home; her parents divorced when she was eleven years old, and her mother joined a convent . At the age of twelve she was sent to live with an abusive maternal uncle, who treated her so badly that she ran away to another relative, who died already in 1753. In order to escape an arranged marriage that her uncle had set up, she ran away from him to join the theatre at the age of sixteen in 1754. In 1754 she joined

465-488: A collection of commentary on the plays; her prominent role within the national theatre is documented by Lessing in the Hamburg Dramaturgy , where Lessing lauded her as one of Germany's finest actresses. The Hamburg National Theatre had to close in 1769 when Abel Seyler's money had run out after two years of lavish spending. In 1769 Abel Seyler established the travelling Seyler Theatre Company , an effective successor of

558-662: A group of Hamburg merchants led by Abel Seyler took over the Comödienhaus theatre building from the Ackermann troupe, and founded the Hamburg National Theatre , the first attempt to establish a national theatre in Germany on the basis of Ludvig Holberg 's ideas. A fervent admirer of Friederike Sophie Hensel, Abel Seyler was a former banker and "a handsome bon vivant " who had suffered a sensational bankruptcy for an enormous sum in

651-447: A happy ending follows a tragic narrative. As a playwright Friederike Sophie Seyler is best remembered for the influential romantic Singspiel Huon and Amanda ( German : Hüon und Amande ), better known as Oberon . Inspired by Wieland 's poem Oberon and one of the earliest plays based on a fairy tale , it was published in 1789, the year she died, and was dedicated to her and her husband's long-time friend and collaborator,

744-502: A lasting legacy, while Friederike Sophie portrayed key Shakespeare roles such as Lady Macbeth . In 1781 her jealousy provoked an unfortunate incident; in response to repeated insolent remarks during theatre rehearsals by her student Elisabeth Toscani , her husband gave Toscani a slap in the face, which led to his retirement from the directorship. The Seyler couple then left Mannheim and stayed in Schleswig from 1781 to 1783, where her husband

837-471: 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

930-475: 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

1023-571: 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

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1116-533: 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

1209-581: A one-year contract with Ackermann. From that point she lived apart from her husband, and they later formally divorced. Until 1765 she performed in Vienna, Frankfurt and Hildburghausen . For a time she contemplated giving up acting due to an illness, but she finally returned to the Ackermann company in Hamburg in 1765. The year 1767 marked the start of her lifelong professional and personal association with Abel Seyler , who later became her second husband. In that year

1302-513: 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;

1395-412: A playwright. Anne Fleig notes that her prominence as an actress was important for the contemporary influence of her plays. She also translated two plays from French. Her first play was titled Die Familie auf dem Lande and was published in 1770. A revised version of the play was published in 1772 under the title Die Entführung oder die zärtliche Mutter (The Abduction, or The Tender Mother). The play

1488-487: 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

1581-444: 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

1674-451: 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

1767-431: A theatre for her, where she could reign undisputed without fearing any rivalry." Friederike Sophie Hensel was the leading actress of the Hamburg National Theatre, which also employed Konrad Ekhof as its male lead actor and de facto artistic director and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing as a dramaturg . Lessing wrote his influential work on drama and which gave its name to the field of dramaturgy , Hamburg Dramaturgy , as

1860-529: 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

1953-426: A word falls from her mouth to the earth. What she says she did not learn, it comes from her own head, from her own heart. She likes to talk, or she does not like to talk, her play continues uninterruptedly. I only knew one mistake; but it is a very rare mistake; a very enviable mistake. The actress is too great for the role." The actor August Wilhelm Iffland described her as one of his greatest role models. While she

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2046-625: A year at the ducal court in Gotha . His company's arrival in Weimar 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

2139-522: Is credited with pioneering a new more realist style of acting, introducing Shakespeare to a German language audience, and with promoting 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

2232-491: The Singspiel Hüon und Amande , that was plagiarized by the troupe of Emanuel Schikaneder and also greatly influenced The Magic Flute . Threatened by bankruptcy in 1770, the company was saved by Seyler's brother-in-law, Johann Gerhard Reinhard Andreae . Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen ) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker , who

2325-406: 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

2418-610: 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 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

2511-502: 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

2604-581: 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,

2697-630: The 1774 Schloss Weimar fire, the Seyler company moved to the ducal court of Gotha , and was based in Leipzig and Dresden from 1775 to 1777. From 1777 to 1779 the Seyler company was primarily based in Frankfurt and Mainz and travelled extensively to Cologne , Hanau , Mannheim , Heidelberg and Bonn . In 1779 the Seyler company formed the core of the new Mannheim National Theatre , which her husband led as its founding artistic director. At Mannheim her husband directed several Shakespeare productions, and left

2790-555: 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

2883-454: The 18th century, attracting some of Germany's leading actors, playwrights and composers. It originally comprised around 60 members, including an orchestra, a ballet, house dramatists and set designers. Between 1777 and 1778 Seyler employed some 230 actors, singers and musicians. The company was originally (from 1769) contracted by the Hanoverian court with performing at Hanover and other cities of

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2976-462: 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

3069-454: 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

3162-576: 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

3255-618: 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 ;

3348-414: 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

3441-550: 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;

3534-639: 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

3627-656: 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

3720-631: The Weimar court theater under the direction of Goethe , and 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

3813-435: The actor Friedrich Ludwig Schröder . It was published in a new edition after her death in 1792 under the title Oberon, or The Elf King ( German : Oberon oder König der Elfen ). The play, with original music by Carl Hanke , became a great success in Hamburg; Hanke had been recruited by her husband as music director at the Comödienhaus in Hamburg in 1783. Her libretto was shortly after re-adapted by Karl Ludwig Giesecke for

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3906-462: 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

3999-454: The artistic, economic and administrative management of his theatrical company; his own lack of 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

4092-491: 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

4185-622: 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

4278-714: 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

4371-419: The best actresses that German theatre has ever seen." The granddaughter of the architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann , she ran away from an abusive uncle under the threat of a forced marriage to join the theatre at the age of sixteen in 1754. She established herself as one of Germany's leading actresses in the 1760s and was acclaimed for her portrayal of passionate, majestic, tragic heroines . From 1767 she

4464-489: The best actresses that German theatre has ever seen." He praised the ease and precision of her declamations, and her subtle acting. He was particularly impressed by how she mastered the death scene as the heroine in his own play Miss Sara Sampson , writing that "one cannot ask more of art than what Madame Hensel does in the role of Sara." Writing about her performance in Françoise de Graffigny 's Cénie , Lessing noted that "not

4557-498: 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

4650-535: 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,

4743-623: The company stayed for three years at the court of the arts patron Duchess Anna Amalia in Weimar from 1771 to 1774, coinciding with the infancy of the cultural era known as the Weimar Classicism . Friederike Sophie Hensel performed with the Seyler company from 1769, but stayed at the Vienna Burgtheater from 1771 to 1772. In 1772 she reunited with Seyler, her longtime love interest, and married him in November 1772 in Oßmannstedt just outside Weimar. From 1772 she accompanied Abel Seyler professionally, performing mostly at theatres led by him. After

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4836-581: 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 ,

4929-471: The creation of a generation of popular spectacles trading in magic and the exotic. Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute] in particular shares many features with Oberon, musical as well as textual." She was born as Friederike Sophie Sparmann in Dresden as the only child of the doctor Johann Wilhelm Sparmann and Luise Catharina Pöppelmann; her grandfather was the architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann . She came from

5022-553: 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

5115-488: 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

5208-753: 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

5301-480: 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

5394-411: 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

5487-499: The kingdom. The company would eventually perform all across Germany, and performed for three years at the Weimar Schlosstheater, invited by Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel . When Anna Amalia succeeded in engaging the Seyler Company, this was "an extremely fortunate coup. The Seyler Company was the best theatre company in Germany at that time." The company had an important role in the development of German opera in

5580-442: The late 18th century. A number of plays were written for the Seyler theatrical company. For example, the play Sturm und Drang (which gave its name to the Sturm und Drang period) was written originally for the company by Friedrich Maximilian Klinger ( Goethe 's childhood friend), then employed as its playwright, and first performed in 1777. In 1789, Abel Seyler's wife, the celebrated actress Friederike Sophie Seyler , published

5673-466: The latter converted to Christianity in 1796. Friederike Sophie Seyler Friederike Sophie Seyler (1738, Dresden – 22 November 1789, Schleswig ; née Sparmann , formerly married Hensel) was a German actress , playwright and librettist . Alongside Friederike Caroline Neuber , she was widely considered Germany's greatest actress of the 18th century; Gotthold Ephraim Lessing described her in his Hamburg Dramaturgy as "incontestably one of

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5766-449: The main shareholder, benefactor and effective leader of 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

5859-585: 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

5952-476: 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

6045-519: The national theatre, retaining Konrad Ekhof and Friederike Sophie Hensel as its leading actors. The company established itself as the leading theatre company in German-speaking Europe in the 1770s, and is credited with popularising Shakespeare 's plays in German-speaking Europe and with promoting the Sturm und Drang playwrights and a serious German opera tradition . Initially based in Hanover ,

6138-439: 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

6231-531: The opera The Magic Flute ; a lightly adapted version of Seyler's opera was the first opera performed by Schikaneder's troupe at their new theatre, the Theater auf der Wieden , and established a tradition within the Schikaneder company of fairy-tale operas that was to culminate two years later in The Magic Flute , which shared several plots, characters, and singers with Seyler's Oberon . Musicologist Thomas Bauman describes Oberon as "an important impulse for

6324-431: The period 1769–79 and regarded as "the best theatre company in Germany at that time." The company 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

6417-458: 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

6510-575: 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

6603-642: 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

6696-435: 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

6789-574: 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

6882-403: The theatre company of Emanuel Schikaneder , with new music by Paul Wranitzky . The play was also performed by the Weimar court theater under the direction of Goethe . Seyler's play with Wranitzky's music became the first opera performed by Schikaneder's troupe at the Theater auf der Wieden , and established a tradition within the company of fairy tale operas within the Schikaneder company that

6975-469: 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

7068-504: 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

7161-566: The troupe of Harlekin Kirsch . In 1755, aged seventeen, she married a fellow actor, 27-year old Johann Gottlieb Hensel (1728–1787), and at the end of 1755 they both joined the troupe of Franz Schuch in Breslau , where she earned acclaim as an actress. In 1757 they joined Konrad Ernst Ackermann 's company in Hamburg. Later in 1757 she went to Vienna to perform at the Burgtheater , despite having signed

7254-428: The wake of the Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763 , and who would later become one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. It was largely his admiration for Friederike Sophie Hensel, by then 29, that led him to devote himself to theatre from 1767; as a result of her rivalry with 22-year old Karoline Schulze , Friederike Sophie Hensel was at the centre of the intrigue that led her admirer Seyler to "establish

7347-553: 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

7440-482: Was a dramatic adaptation of the 1767 novel Conclusion of the Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph (1767) by Frances Sheridan , a largely forgotten female novelist, that was a sequel to her earlier novel Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph . The latter novel was itself inspired by Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson . The play is written in the style of a comédie larmoyante , popular with female playwrights, where

7533-410: Was a fine actress. In private life she was malicious and intriguing, her character contributing to the downfall of the Hamburg enterprise." Friederike Sophie Seyler only wrote two plays; nevertheless she is regarded as one of the most important female playwrights of the 18th century, and she was one of very few female playwrights of her era. In her own lifetime she was better known as an actress than as

7626-534: 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,

7719-466: 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

7812-428: Was artistic director of the Schleswig Court Theatre. From 1785 to 1787 she again performed at the Comödienhaus in Hamburg under the direction of Friedrich Ludwig Schröder , while her husband sometimes worked as a prompter at the theatre. In 1787 she moved with her husband to Schleswig, where he again became director of the Schleswig Court Theatre and where she performed until her death in 1789. Friederike Sophie Seyler

7905-405: Was associated with all the leading theatres of her era: Hamburg, Vienna, Weimar, Gotha and Mannheim. She is regarded as one of the most important female playwrights of the 18th century, and her renown as an actress contributed to the popularity of her plays. Her libretto for the opera Oberon (originally titled Huon and Amanda ) was a major inspiration for Emanuel Schikaneder 's libretto for

7998-518: 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

8091-469: 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

8184-529: Was professionally and personally associated with the theatre director Abel Seyler , whom she married in 1772, as the leading actress of the Hamburg National Theatre and later of the Seyler Theatre Company . With Seyler she led an itinerant life until her death, performing widely across the German-speaking realm. She also stayed for several periods at the Vienna Burgtheater between 1757 and 1772. She

8277-586: Was regarded as Germany's most prominent living actress, she also had a reputation for being unusually conceited and difficult to work with. She felt gravely insulted by the slightest criticism of her acting, even by generally very positive reviews by Lessing; her vanity, career ambition, demand for the most prominent roles and rivalry with other actresses caused tensions throughout her career. Richard E. Schade describes her as "a beautiful, if rather solidly built and domineering leading lady." According to Phyllis Hartnoll , "even Lessing, who detested her, had to admit she

8370-504: 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 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

8463-437: 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

8556-437: Was to culminate in Mozart 's and Schikaneder's opera The Magic Flute two years later. Oberon as written by Sophie Seyler and built upon by Giesecke is similar to The Magic Flute in its plot and characters, and a number of the singers who participated in the Schikaneder production of Seyler/Wranitzky's Oberon took similar roles in the later opera. According to Peter Branscombe , "it has long been recognized that Giesecke,

8649-475: Was widely regarded as the greatest German actress of her time, and the greatest German actress of the 18th century alongside Friederike Caroline Neuber . She mastered diverse roles, but won particular acclaim for her portrayal of passionate, majestic tragic heroines such as Clytemnestra , Medea and Gertrude in Hamlet . Gotthold Ephraim Lessing described her in his Hamburg Dramaturgy as "incontestably one of

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