Joseph August Röckel (28 August 1783 – September 1870) was a German operatic tenor and opera producer. He played Florestan in the 1806 revival of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's opera ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

'' in Vienna, and later produced the opera for the first time in London.

Life

Röckel was born in 1783 at Neunburg vorm Wald, in the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

. He was originally intended for the church, but in 1803 entered the diplomatic service of the Elector of Bavaria as Private Secretary to the Bavarian Chargé d'Affaires at

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. On the recall of the Salzburg Legation in 1804, he accepted an engagement to sing at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

in Vienna, where, on 29 March 1806, he appeared as Florestan in the revival of Beethoven's ''

''. In 1823 Röckel was appointed Professor of Singing at the Imperial Opera; in 1828 he undertook the direction of Aachen Opera, and in the following year made the bold experiment of producing German operas in Paris with a complete German company. Encouraged by the success of this venture, he remained in Paris until 1832, when he brought his company to London, and produced ''Fidelio'', ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

'', and other operas of the German school, at the King's Theatre; the principal artists being

Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, born Wilhelmine Schröder (6 December 180426 January 1860), was a German operatic soprano. As a singer, she combined a rare quality of tone with dramatic intensity of expression, which was as remarkable on the conce ...

and

Anton Haizinger Anton Haizinger (also spelled Haitzinger; 14 March 1796 – 31 December 1869) was an Austrian operatic tenor, performing in Vienna and later in Karlsruhe. He was a soloist in the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Early life Haizinger was ...

, with

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the Transition from Classical to Romantic music, transition from the Classical period (music), Classical to the Romantic ...

(Röckel's brother-in-law) as conductor. In 1835 he retired from operatic life, and in 1853 finally returned to Germany, where he died, at Köthen, in September 1870. The opera singer

Elisabeth Röckel Elisabeth Röckel (15 March 1793 – 3 March 1883) was a German soprano opera singer and the wife of the composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Life Röckel was born in Neunburg vorm Wald, Bavaria, and baptised Maria Eva. She was a sister of the o ...

was his sister; the composer and conductor

August Röckel Carl August Röckel (1 December 1814 – 18 June 1876) was a German composer and conductor. He was a friend of Richard Wagner and active in the Revolutions of 1848. Biography Röckel was born in Graz. His father, Joseph August Röckel, was a teno ...

was his son.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockel, Joseph 1783 births 1870 deaths German operatic tenors 19th-century German male opera singers German opera directors