Karl Lindau (also Carl Lindau, born Karl Gemperle; 26 November 1853 – 15 January 1934) was an Austrian actor and writer. He excelled in comic roles 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 ...

, and wrote several plays, librettos for operettas and songs.

Career

Karl Gemperle was born in Vienna, the son of Anton Gemperle, a

coffee substitute Coffee substitutes are non-coffee products, usually without caffeine, that are used to imitate coffee. Coffee substitutes can be used for medical, economic and religious reasons, or simply because coffee is not readily available. Roasted grain b ...

manufacturer. His grandfather, the Swiss Johann Baptist Gemperle, had founded the first Viennese surrogate coffee factory. After a technical school education Lindau turned to theatre and made his debut on 20 October 1870 in Graz in the title role of Schiller's ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

''. Engagements followed at the ''Deutsches Theater'' in Pest, in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and in

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 ...

, in 1879 again in Graz and in 1880 briefly in

Olmütz Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...

. During this time, Lindau slowly turned from classical roles to comic roles. In 1880, he toured successfully through the United States and Canada with Josefine Gallmeyer, Wilhelm Knaack and Franz Tewele. In 1881, he was finally engaged by director Franz Steiner as a comedian at the

and was a member of the ensemble until 1901. His roles in

operette This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

s and Wiener Possen made him a darling of the audience. He played Süffle in the premiere of Zeller's '' Der Vogelhändler'' on 10 January 1891. From 1876, Lindau was also active as a writer for the stage. In total he wrote more than 100 full-length plays, including ''s'', farces and

libretti A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major l ...

for operettas, some of which became very popular. Together with Leopold Krenn (1850–1930), he wrote farces (') such as ''Heißes Blut'' (''Hot Blood'', 1892), ''Ein armes Mädel'' (''A Poor Girl'', 1893) and ''Der Nazi'' (1895). In their operettas, Krenn and Lindau provided parade roles for

Alexander Girardi Alexander Girardi (pronounced ) (5 December 1850 – 20 April 1918) was an Austrian actor and tenor singer in operettas. Career Girardi was born in Graz; his father was the locksmith Andreas Girardi who had migrated to Graz from Cortina d'Ampe ...

, such as Korporal Kratz in ''Der Fremdenführer'', with music by

Carl Michael Ziehrer Carl Michael Ziehrer (more rarely spelled Karl Michael Ziehrer) (2 May 1843 – 14 November 1922) In the 8th edition the article title changed without comment to Ziehrer, Carl Michael. was an Austrian composer. In his lifetime, he was one of the ...

. Lindau also translated French comedies into German. Lindau died in Vienna.

Works

Lindau wrote several librettos for operettas: * 1899: ''

Die Landstreicher ''Die Landstreicher'' ("The Tramps") is a German-language operetta in one prologue and two acts by Carl Michael Ziehrer (libretto by Leopold Krenn and Karl Lindau). It was first performed on 26 July 1899, at the summer theatre "Venedig in Wien", ...

, Operette in zwei Akten und einem Vorspiele''. Libretto with Leopold Krenn. Music by

. (premiere 26 July 1899) * 1900: ''Der Schelm von Bergen. Komisch-romantische Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto with Konrad Loewe. Music by Alfred Oelschlegel. * 1902: ''Der Fremdenführer. Operette in einem Vorspiel und drei Akten''. Libretto with Leopold Krenn. Music by Carl Michael Ziehrer. * 1903: ''. Operette in drei Akten''. Libretto with . Music by Ernst Reiterer "after

Josef Strauss Josef Strauss (20 August 1827 – 22 July 1870) was an Austrian composer. He was born in Mariahilf (now Vienna), the son of Johann Strauss I and Maria Anna Streim, and brother of Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss. His father wanted him to ch ...

motives". (premiere: 9 May 1903) * 1904: ''Die Eisjungfrau. Operette in 2 Akten''. Libretto with Julius Wilhelm. Music by Josef Hellmesberger (after Gustave Adolph Kerker). * 1904: ''Wien bei Nacht. Burleske in 1 Akt''. Libretto with Julius Wilhelm. Music by Josef Hellmesberger. * 1904: ''Jung Heidelberg. Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto with Leopold Krenn. Music by Ernst Reiterer nach Motiven von

Karl Millöcker Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austri ...

. (UA: 9 July 1904) * 1905: ''Frauenherz. Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto (after the French). Music by Josef Strauss, arranged by Ernst Reiterer. * 1905: ''Die Schützenliesel. Operette in 3 Acten''. Libretto with

Leo Stein Leo Stein (May 11, 1872 – July 29, 1947) was an American art collector and critic. He was born in Allegheny City (now in Pittsburgh), the older brother of Gertrude Stein. He became an influential promoter of 20th-century paintings. Education ...

. Music by Edmund Eysler. * 1905: ''Der Schnurrbart. Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto with Leo Stein. Music by . * 1906: ''1001 Nacht. Fantastische Operette in einem Vorspiel und zwei Akten''. Libretto with Leo Stein. Music by Johann Strauss II, edited by Ernst Reiterer. (UA: 27 October 1907) * 1906: ''Künstlerblut. Operette in 1 Vorspiel und 2 Akten''. Libretto with Leo Stein. Music by Edmund Eysler. * 1907: ''Monte Carlo. Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto with F. Antony (nach einem Stoff von Heribert Hülgerth). Music by Ludwig Roman Chmel. * 1911: ''Die romantische Frau. Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto with Bela Jenbach (after a comedy by Ernst Wichert). Music by Charles Weinberger. * 1911: ''Vielliebchen. Operette in drei Akten''. Libretto with Rudolf Österreicher and . Music by

Ludwig Engländer Ludwig Engländer (October 20, 1853 Vienna, Austria – September 13, 1914) was an Austrian-born American composer of more than 30 musicals. He was born in Vienna, Austria.Passport application available in the series ''U.S. Passport Applications, ...

. * 1911: ''Das geborgte Schloß. Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto with Verő György. Music by Hermann Dostal. * 1911: ''Der Frauenfresser. Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto with Leo Stein and Eugen Spero. Music by Edmund Eysler. * 1915: ''Der Weltenbummler. Operette in einem Vorspiel und 2 Akten''. Libretto with

Fritz Löhner-Beda Fritz Löhner-Beda (24 June 1883 – 4 December 1942), born Bedřich Löwy, was an Austrian librettist, lyricist and writer. Once nearly forgotten, many of his songs and tunes remain popular today. He was murdered in Auschwitz III Monowitz concen ...

. Music by Richard Fall. * ''Graf Sandor. Operette in 3 Akten''. Libretto with Leopold Krenn. Music by Hermann Dostal.

Filmography

*'' The Vagabonds'', directed by

Luise Fleck Luise Fleck, also known as Luise Kolm or Luise Kolm-Fleck, née Louise or Luise Veltée (1 August 1873–15 March 1950), was an Austrian film director, and has been considered the second ever female feature film director in the world, after A ...

and

Jacob Fleck Jacob Fleck (8 November 1881 in Vienna as Jacob Julius Fleck – 19 September 1953, also in Vienna) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, film producer and cameraman. He is noted for his long-standing professional partnership with his wife ...

(Austria, 1916) *''Schützenliesel'', directed by

Rudolf Walther-Fein Rudolf Walther-Fein (20 November 1875 – 1 May 1933) was an Austrian film director and producer of the Silent and early sound era. He directed the first full sound film to be released in Germany ''It's You I Have Loved'' in 1929.Kreimeier p.182 ...

and Rudolf Dworsky (Germany, 1926) *'' The Vagabonds'', directed by

Karel Lamač Karel Lamač (27 January 1897 – 2 August 1952) was a Czech film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He directed more than 100 films in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Life Lam ...

(Germany, 1937) *''Frühlingsluft'', directed by

(Germany, 1938) *''Schützenliesel'', directed by

Rudolf Schündler Rudolf Ernst Paul Schündler (17 April 1906, in Leipzig – 12 December 1988, in Munich) was a German actor and director. He played "Karl" in ''The Exorcist'' (1973). After finishing the film '' The Nasty Girl'', Schündler died of a heart attac ...

(West Germany, 1954) *''Die Landstreicher'', directed by Peter Dörre (West Germany, 1968, TV film)

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindau, Karl 1853 births 1934 deaths Writers from Vienna Austrian stage actors Austrian male writers Austrian operetta librettists