Karl Friedrich Hensler (1 February 1759 – 24 November 1825)Karl Friedrich Hensler
data.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 January 2018. was a dramatist and theatre manager in Vienna.

Life

Hensler was born in

Vaihingen an der Enz Vaihingen an der Enz is a town located between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, in southern Germany, on the western periphery of the Stuttgart Region. Vaihingen is situated on the river Enz, and has a population of around 30,000. The former district-cap ...

in 1759, son of a ducal physician of Württemberg, and studied at the University of Göttingen. From 1784 he lived in Vienna, where an uncle sought to obtain a diplomatic career for him.

Karl von Marinelli Karl Edler von Marinelli (baptized 12 September 1745, Vienna – 28 January 1803, Vienna) was an actor, theatre manager and playwright. From 1761 Marinelli was a travelling comedian in the "Schultz Company" ("Schultzsche Gesellschaft") in Ba ...

, manager of the

Theater in der Leopoldstadt The Theater in der Leopoldstadt (also: Leopoldstädter Theater) was an opera house in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, founded in 1781 by Karl von Marinelli, following the ''Schauspielfreiheit'' (ending of the court's monopoly on entertainment ...

in Vienna, staged his play ''Der Soldat von Cherson'', which opened on 1 May 1785. After its success, Hensler wrote many more plays for this theatre; his plays include ''Das Donauweibchen'', ''Die Nymphe der Donau'' and ''Die Teufelsmühle am Wienerberg''.Paul Nettl (1956). ''Beethoven Encyclopedia''. Philosophical Library, New York. Entries "Hensler, Karl Friedrich" and "Overtures". When Marinelli died in 1803, Hensler leased the Leopoldstadt Theatre and managed it until 1813. He took over the Theater an der Wien in Vienna in 1817, and the following year theatres in Pressburg (present-day

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

) and Baden. In Vienna he rebuilt the

Theater in der Josefstadt The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following ...

; it opened in 1822 with Beethoven's overture written for the occasion, ''

The Consecration of the House ''The Consecration of the House'' (german: Die Weihe des Hauses), Op. 124, is a work by Ludwig van Beethoven composed in September 1822. It was commissioned by Carl Friedrich Hensler, the Director of Vienna's new Theater in der Josefstadt, and ...

''. Hensler died in Vienna in 1825. His daughter Josepha von Scheidlin took over the management of the Josefstadt Theatre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hensler, Karl Friedrich 1759 births 1825 deaths People from Vaihingen an der Enz Austrian theatre managers and producers Austrian male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century Austrian writers 19th-century Austrian male writers 19th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights