Heinrich Christian Beck (19 February 1760, in Gotha – 7 May 1803, in Mannheim) was a German actor and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. Beck began his theatrical career with August Iffland and Johann David Beil at the ''Hoftheater'' (Court Theater) in Gotha and, like most of the ensemble, went to the Mannheim National Theater after the ''Hoftheater'' was disbanded in 1779. The National Theater was then blossoming artistically under the leadership of Wolfgang Heribert von

Dalberg Dalberg is the name of an ancient and distinguished German noble family, derived from the hamlet and castle (now in ruins) of Dalberg or Dalburg, near Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate. History In the 14th century, the original house of Dalber ...

. While there, Beck took part in the premieres of Schiller's first plays ''

Die Räuber ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim, Germany, and was inspired by Leisewitz' earlier play ''Julius of Taranto''. It was ...

'' (as Kosinsky) and ''Fiesco'' (as Bourgognino). In 1799 Prince-Elector Maximilian IV. Joseph von Bayern called him to Munich as a director. He returned to Mannheim in 1803 as theater director, dying there in 1803. Beck was known for his acting skill and his good voice and acted with the same finesse in tragedies and comedies as in musicals. Among his own plays, the comedies ''Die Schachmaschine'' (Berlin 1798), ''Die Quälgeister'' (Frankfurt 1802) and ''Das Kamäleon'' (Frankfurt 1803) found the most acclaIm. His dramatic work appeared under the title ''"Theater"'' in three volumes in Frankfurt, beginning in 1802. Beck's first wife Karoline, née Ziegler (born 3 January 1766 in Mannheim), also a talented, promising actress, debuted in Mannheim in 1781 but died on 24 July 1784. Friedrich Schiller, who had envisioned her to portray his Luise in ''

Kabale und Liebe ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'' or ''Luise Miller'' (german: Kabale und Liebe, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, ...

'', displayed a particular fondness for her.

Literature

Hans Knudsen Hans Knudsen may refer to: * Hans Knudsen (canoeist) *Hans Knudsen (painter) * Hans Christian Knudsen (missionary) *Hans Christian Knudsen Hans Christian Knudsen (March 4, 1763 – March 4, 1816) was a Danish stage actor and opera singer. He was ...

: ''Heinrich Beck, ein Schauspieler aus der Blütezeit des Mannheimer Theaters im 18. Jahrhundert''. Leipzig, Hamburg: Voss 1912

External links

(ADB) Heinrich Beck
on ''ADB'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Heinrich 1760 births 1803 deaths German male stage actors People from Gotha (town) 18th-century German male actors German male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers 18th-century German male writers 18th-century theatre managers 19th-century theatre managers