Joseph Lux (January 1757 – 9 May 1818) was a German actor and operatic bass), who appeared especially in comic roles.

Life

Born in Glatz, Lux was first engaged from 1783/84 in Johann Heinrich Böhm's travelling troupe. In 1786 he changed to Gustav Friedrich Wilhelm Großmann, who at this time had joined the theatre entrepreneur Christian Wilhelm Klos and played in the cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bonn. The music director of the company was

Friedrich August Burgmüller Friedrich August Burgmüller (3 May 1760 – 21 August 1824) was a German pianist, Kapellmeister and Conducting, conductor as well as the first municipal music director in Düsseldorf and co-founder of the Lower Rhenish Music Festival. He is the fat ...

. The important ensemble, which last performed in Aachen, gave rise to the Bonner Nationaltheater, which was subsidized by Elector Maximilian Franz with 15,000 Reichstalers per year and opened on 3 January 1789. Lux soon assumed a central position there. On 2 October 1789 he was also employed as a court musician. Temporarily, until February 1790, the Bonner Theater also included

Heinrich Vohs Johann Heinrich Andreas Vohs (probably 16 March 1763 in Kleve – 16 July 1804 in Stuttgart) was a German actor and singer. Life From 1787 Vohs belonged to the touring troupe of Christian Wilhelm Klos, who played in the Rhineland, and from 1789 ...

. Through his activities Lux came into close contact with the young

Ludwig van 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 classic ...

and accompanied him and the other members of the court chapel on the memorable journey the court made to Mergentheim in September and October 1791. Beethovens Jugendfreund Franz Gerhard Wegeler berichtet: Beethoven probably composed for Lux the two comic arias for bass and orchestra ''Prüfung des Küssens'' WoO 89 and ''Mit Mädeln sich vertragen'' WoO 90, written in 1790. On 7 July 1792 Lux made his debut in Frankfurt am Main, where he was heard by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

. He characterized him as a "crowded, well-educated middle figure" and an actor who "knows how to motivate his clothes and gestures after the roles". Soon Lux belonged also in Frankfurt to the most popular actors, as an article from Frankfurt reports: Lux remained attached to the Frankfurter stage until his death. He died in Frankfurt at the age of 61.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lux, Joseph German male stage actors German operatic basses 1757 births 1818 deaths People from Silesia

Life

Further reading

References