Botho von Hülsen (10 December 1815 – 30 September 1886) was a theater manager of Royal Prussian plays and president of the

Deutscher Bühnenverein The Deutscher Bühnenverein is an organization representing 430 theatres, opera houses, drama, ballet and opera companies and orchestras in Germany. It is involved in artistic, legal, organisational and political questions relevant to its members a ...

Life

Born in Berlin, Hülsen received his education from 1825 in the Cadet Corps in Potsdam. From there he was transferred to the

1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers The 1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers (german: Kaiser Alexander Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 1, briefly ''Alexander-Regiment'' or ''Alexandriner'') were an infantry regiment of the Guard Corps within the Royal Prussian Army and a Guards G ...

of the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

on 5 August 1833 as fähnrich holder and advanced to

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in February 1834. Between 1841 and 1843 he was stationed in Königsberg and there got to know the actress Sophie Schröder-Devrient, among others, via the theater. From 1844 he was entrusted with the performance of smaller plays for troop support in Berlin. In March 1848, Hülsen took part in the barricade fights in Berlin and became an

oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

and regimental adjutant at the beginning of April. In this position he was deployed during the First Schleswig War and in 1849 during the suppression of the May Uprising in Dresden. In this politically difficult time ( German revolutions of 1848-49), King

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

appointed him ''Generalintendant of the court music''. On 12 April 1851 Hülsen was granted his farewell with the title of Hauptmann and permission to wear the regiment uniform. With his farewell in May 1851 he was appointed

Kammerherr A chamberlain (Medieval Latin: ''cambellanus'' or ''cambrerius'', with charge of treasury ''camerarius'') is a senior royal official in charge of managing a royal household. Historically, the chamberlain superintends the arrangement of domestic ...

and, as the successor of , at King Friedrich Wilhelm IV's request ''Generalintendanten der Königlichen Schauspiele zu Berlin'' ( Konzerthaus Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden) and took up this office on 1 June. In 1866 Hülsen was appointed a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and aide-de-camp for the duration of the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

to the Berlin governorate. In the same year, by royal decree, the court theatres in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, Hannover and Wiesbaden were also ordered under his direction. In 1883, Hülsen founded the "Hülsen Foundation" to support members of the ensemble in need or dire straits. During this time he also served as president of the

. As such he enforced the theatre holidays common today and was decisively involved in the abolition of interlude music. Six weeks before his 71st birthday, Hülsen died on 30 September 1886 in Berlin and is buried there.

Sources

* Karl Frenzel: ''Berliner Dramaturgie.'' 2 volumes. Rümpler, Hannover 1877. *

Friedrich Haase Friedrich Haase (1 November 1827 – 17 March 1911) was a prominent German actor and theatre director. He was born in Berlin, the son of a valet to King Frederick William IV, who was his godfather. __NOTOC__ Career Haase trained under Ludwi ...

: ''Was ich erlebte.'' Bong, Berlin 1899. * Helene von Hülsen: ''Unter zwei Königen. Erinnerungen an Botho von Hülsen, General-Intendant der königlichen Schauspiele; 1851-1886.'' Eckstein, Berlin 1889. * Charlotte Klinger: ''Das königliche Schauspielhaus in Berlin unter Botho von Hülsen. 1869-1886.'' Thesis. Freie Universität Berlin 1954. * Claus von Lettow-Vorbeck: ''Gedenkblätter zur Rang-Liste des Kaiser Alexander Garde-Grenadier-Regiments No. 1.'' W. Moeser, Berlin 1899, . * Max Martersteig: ''Das deutsche Theater im 19. Jahrhundert. Eine kulturgeschichtliche Darstellung.'' 2nd edition. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1924. * : ''Botho von Hülsen und seine Leute. Eine Jubiläumskritik über das Berliner Hofschauspiel.'' Gerstmann, Berlin 1883. * ''Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der adeligen Häuser.''''Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der adeligen Häuser''
on ZVAB 1901, First volume

References

Cited sources

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hulsen, Botho von 1815 births 1886 deaths People from Berlin German theatre directors