Alexandrine von Schönerer (15 June 1850 – 28 November 1919) née ''Lucia'' was an Austrian theater owner, managing director and actress.

Life and career

Schönerer was born in Vienna. Her father, Matthias von Schönerer (1807–1881), was the wealthy railroad pioneer in the employ of the Rothschilds. He was knighted by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1860. She had an older brother,

Georg Ritter von Schönerer Georg Ritter von Schönerer (17 July 1842 – 14 August 1921) was an Austrian landowner and politician of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A major exponent of pan-Germanism and German nationalism in ...

, who she repudiated his attitudes. Schönerer had acting training with (1828–1889) In 1875 at the Stadttheater Baden, she played the part of Countess Orsina in Lessing's "

Emilia Galotti ''Emilia Galotti'' () is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Brunswick ("Braunschweig" in German). The work is a classic example of German '' bürgerliches Trauerspiel'' (bourgeois ...

". Schönerer became managing director of the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

from 1889 to 1905 after the lease ended in 1884 between her and the librettist

Camillo Walzel Camillo Walzel (11 February 1829 –17 March 1895) was a German librettist and theatre director, who wrote under the pseudonym F Zell. Life and work Walzel was born in Magdeburg. In his early years, he worked in his father's lithographic factory, ...

. Under her direction, several operas were premiered including ''

The Bartered Bride ''The Bartered Bride'' ( cz, Prodaná nevěsta, links=no, ''The Sold Bride'') is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the ...

'' (1893), ''

Königskinder ' (German for ''King's Children'' or “Royal Children”) is a stage work by Engelbert Humperdinck that exists in two versions: as a melodrama and as an opera or more precisely a '' Märchenoper''. The libretto was written by Ernst Rosmer (pen n ...

(1897)'' and

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

. According to an old agreement between Schönerer, the publisher Emil Berté and the librettists

Bernhard Buchbinder Bernhard Ludwig Buchbinder (7 July or 20 September 1849 – 24 June 1922), pseudonym ''Gustav Klinger'', was an Austro-Hungarian actor, journalist and writer. His best-known operetta libretto remains '' Die Försterchristl''. Career Buchbinder ...

and

Alfred Maria Willner Alfred Maria Willner (11 July 1859 – 27 October 1929) was an Austrian writer, philosopher, musicologist, composer and librettist. Biography Alfred Maria Willner was born and died in Vienna. He began composing mostly music for the piano and even ...

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

composed his operetta ''

Die Göttin der Vernunft ''Die Göttin der Vernunft'' (''The Goddess of Reason'') was the last completed operetta of Johann Strauss II. It was written to a libretto by A. M. Willner and Bernhard Buchbinder and was first performed at the Theater an der Wien on 13 March 18 ...

'', a French revolutionary comedy. The operetta premiered on March 13, 1897 and was presented 36 times. On 17 March 1900, Schönerer sold the theater to Leon Dorer, Baron Emil Kubinsky and Josef Edler von Simon. In 1898, Schönerer was caricatured, among others, with Johann Strauss on a picture by (1862-1922) in ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

''. Schönerer always distanced herself from the

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

of her brother Georg von Schonerer.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonerer, Alexandrine von 1919 deaths 1850 births Artists from Vienna Austrian theatre directors