Carl Adam Johann Nepomuk Zeller (19 June 1842 – 17 August 1898) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n composer of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s. Zeller was born in

Sankt Peter in der Au Sankt Peter in der Au is a town in the district of Amstetten in Lower Austria in Austria. Geography Sankt Peter an der Au lies in the west part of the Mostviertel (English: '' Most Quarter'') is the southwestern quarter of the four quarter ...

, the only child of physician Johann Zeller and Maria Anna Elizabeth. Zeller's father died before his first birthday, after which his mother remarried Ernest Friedinger. In 1875, Zeller married Anna Maria Schwetz. Zeller had a fine soprano voice, and sang in the

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

before studying and composition in the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

. He worked as a civil servant at the Imperial Ministry of Education while composing choral works and a number of operettas, the best-known of which is '' Der Vogelhändler''. All of his librettos were written (or co-written) by , often together with . Legal troubles, including a

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

conviction, ended Zeller's career at the ministry and led to prison and public disgrace in the mid-1890s (although his prison sentence was later repealed). After an injury in 1895 from falling on the ice, he spent his last years physically and then mentally ill. Zeller died of pneumonia in

Baden bei Wien Baden (German for " Baths"; Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden District in the state of Lower Austria. Loc ...

at the age of 56.

Operettas

*''Joconde'' (1876) *''Die Fornarina'' (1878) *''Capitän Nicoll, oder Die Carbonari'' (1880) *''Der Vagabund'' (1886) *'' Der Vogelhändler'' (The Bird Seller) (1891) *'' The Mine Foreman'' (Der Obersteiger) (1894) *''Der Kellermeister (1901; completed by Johannes Brandl)

External links

Biography of ZellerZeller at the Johann Strauss Society of Great BritainBrief profile of ZellerMore complete German Wikipedia entry

References

1842 births 1898 deaths Composers from Vienna Austrian Romantic composers Austrian opera composers Male opera composers 19th-century classical composers Austrian male classical composers Deaths from pneumonia in Austria 19th-century male musicians 19th-century musicians {{austria-composer-stub