Johann Joseph Nouseul (1742 – 9Michael Lorenz
"Das Forschungsprojekt 'W. A. Mozart und sein Wiener Umfeld': Mozartforschung in Wien am Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts"
Vienna 2013 December 1821) was an actor, singer, and theater manager of the 18th and early 19th centuries.Clive (1993, 114–115) He is remembered for having premiered the role of Monostatos in

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's opera ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

''.

Career

Nothing is known of his youth or his early efforts in the field of acting. In 1770, he married Maria Rosalia Lefèvre, an actress who went on to a distinguished career. During the 1770s he acted with his wife in companies in Munich, Rastatt, and briefly ran his own company in Hanover. He came to Vienna in 1779 and made his debut 17 January 1780 in the resident company of the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...

. He left the company in 1781 (his wife remained), and during 1782 was co-director with Friedrich Gensicke of the Kärntnertortheater. At the time he also played roles in French with the visiting French troupe performing at the Kärntnertortheater.''Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon'' The following year he left Vienna to serve as the director of the 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 ...

. By 1789 he had returned to Vienna, where he was part of the company run by Johann Friedel in the

Theater auf der Wieden The Theater auf der Wieden, also called the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden or the Wiednertheater, was a theater located in the then-suburban Wieden district of Vienna in the late 18th century. It existed for only 14 years (1787–1801), but duri ...

. That year, Friedel died and a new company was formed at the theater by

Emanuel Schikaneder Emanuel Schikaneder (born Johann Joseph Schickeneder; 1 September 1751 – 21 September 1812) was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and composer. He wrote the libretto of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera ''The Magic Flute'' and was t ...

. Nouseul was among the performers from Friedel's company that Schikaneder retained. The illustration shows Nouseul in performance as part of the Wiedner ensemble in ''Die zween Anton'', a popular work that introduced the new company to Vienna. ''The Magic Flute'' premiered 30 September 1791, with Nouseul in role of Monostatos, the villainous assistant of Sarastro who ultimately defects to the side of the Queen of the Night. Nouseul continued to perform in Schikaneder's troupe until 1800, at which point he joined the Burgtheater again, continuing there to 1814. He died in 1821 in Vienna.

Notes and references

Sources

*Clive, H. Peter (1993) ''Mozart and his Circle: A Biographical Dictionary''. New Haven: Yale University Press. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nouseul, Johann Joseph Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's singers Operatic tenors The Magic Flute 1742 births 1821 deaths