Franz Thomé (21 November 1807 – 22 Mai 1872) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

theater director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and actor.

Life

Born in Vienna, Thomé was the son of an official of the Russian Ambassador in Vienna, Prince

Andrey Razumovsky Count (later Prince) Andrey Kirillovich Razumovskyrussian: Андре́й Кири́ллович Разумо́вский, , german: Andreas von Rasumofsky (2 November 1752 – 23 September 1836) was a Russian Imperial diplomat who spent man ...

. After his father's death his mother moved with him to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, where he completed high school. When his mother remarried, the family moved back to Vienna, where he began his theater career at the age of 17. He had his first engagements in Vienna,

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

and Paris, where the company he belonged to failed financially. From 1837 Thomé played first in

Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

and then in

Nürnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...

. Shortly thereafter he took over the direction of the theatre in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, which at that time was connected with that of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. In 1847 he was engaged by Count

Skarbek Skarbek (archaic feminine by marriage: Skarbkowa, archaic feminine by birth: Skarbkówna) is a Polish language surname, which originally meant a rich individual or miser, derived from the word ''skarb'', meaning "treasure" or "wealth". The name may ...

after

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

in his newly built theatre as

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

, but returned to Ljubljana, Trieste and

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

as early as 1848. In 1850 he took over the direction of the Landständisches Theater in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. A saying of this time - based on the excellent stage design he supported - was: One must hear ''the prophet'' in Vienna and see it in Gratz." From 22 March 1853 until 1858 he was director of the theatre in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. From 1859 he led - first together with Johann August Stöger - the Prague

Estates Theatre The Estates Theatre or Stavovské divadlo is a historic theater in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, which perform a ...

. When he threw himself with it in 1860 because of financial discrepancies, he continued to run the theater alone until 1864. Some well-known actors, like the later Viennese Burgschauspieler

Konrad Adolf Hallenstein Konrad Adolf Hallenstein, also Conrad Hallenstein (15 January 1835 – 28 September 1892) was a German actor. Life and career Born in Frankfurt, Hallenstein was the son of director and farce poet Ernst Hallenstein (d. 1881).Eisenberg: ''Großes ...

and the singers Franz Innozenz Nachbaur and

Eduard Bachmann Eduard Bachmann (22 September 1831 – 18 April 1880) was a German oboist, operatic tenor and theatre director. Life and career Born in Prague, Bachmann attended the Prague Conservatory, where he studied oboe playing under the direction of Pro ...

, he brought into his ensemble. After a short interruption he led this theatre again from 1865 to 1866, until it was closed by 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 ...

. A foundation of Thomé was the

New Town, Prague The New Town ( cs, Nové Město) is a quarter in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. New Town is the youngest and largest of the five independent (from the Middle Ages until 1784) towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prag ...

theatre he built at his own expense, from 1868 he also directed the stage of

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

. In 1870 Thomé suffered a stroke, terminated his contract in Linz and returned to Prague, where he died in 1872 at age 68 after a second stroke. He was married twice, from 1837 (in Pest) with the local singer and chorist Dlle.''Dlle.'' is the abbreviation for ''Demoiselle'', the then usual name of the unmarried ladies of an ensemble; the married actresses were called ''Mad.''. ''(Madame)'' Baumgärtner and after his move to Prague with the singer Dlle. Günther; from this second marriage he had a daughter. Thomé founded the Artists' and Society ''

Schlaraffia Schlaraffia is a worldwide German language, German-speaking society founded in Prague (then Austrian Empire) in 1859 with a pledge of friendship, art and humor. The Schlaraffen, an exclusively male organization (many men of a mellower age and in ...

'' together with some of his actors and singers on 10 October 1859 in Prague.

External links

* Short biography i

(Todesdatum 22.5.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thome, Franz Male actors from Austria-Hungary Austrian theatre directors 1807 births 1872 deaths Male actors from the Austrian Empire

Life

Further reading

External links

References