Ludwig Chronegk (3 November 1837,

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the H ...

– 8 July 1891,

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

) was a German actor and director. He headed the

Meiningen Ensemble The Meiningen Ensemble, also known as the Meiningen Company, was the court theatre of the German state of Saxe-Meiningen, led by George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Its principal director was Ludwig Chronegk. The Ensemble was a great influence on ...

and reformed theatre direction principles.

Life

Chronegk came from a mercantile family and was educated in the gymnasiums in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

before going to study the French theatre in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for a year. On his return to Germany, he was inspired to begin a career on the stage by Karl August Görner. He acted his first role in 1856 at the Krollschen Theater in Berlin. A member of the Meininger Hoftheater until 1866, Chronegk also appeared in or at

Liegnitz Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 a ...

and

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

, various theatres in Berlin, the Hamburg Thalia, the theatres in Pest, Breslau,

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

and the

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Stadttheater. In 1874 Chronegk officially began work as a director. He gave up his acting work in 1877 – he had been seen in all the comic roles - to devote himself to being a director. That same year he became Chief Director and Head (and, from 1884, Intendant) of the Meininger Hoftheater. With artistically-ambitious duke Georg II and his wife

Ellen Franz Ellen Franz (30 May 1839 – 24 March 1923) was a German pianist and actress. Biography Early life She was born in Berlin. According to Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt, Ellen Franz made her first appearance in the ''Hoftheater'' of Meiningen ...

, Chronegk created the 'Meiningen principles', leading to a profound reform of the art of direction. Under his leadership, he took the Hoftheater company on many tours across Europe as the

, making his reforms known throughout the continent and making them the foundations of reforms in the rest of Europe. In 1886 Chronegk fell seriously ill and had to limit his direction of the tours, which finally ended in 1890. A street was named after him in the centre of

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

in 1901.

Bibliography

* Alfred Erck: ''Geschichte des Meininger Theaters'', Das Meininger Theater 2006.

External links

Article in the Jewish Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chronegk 1837 births 1891 deaths German male stage actors German theatre directors 19th-century theatre 19th-century German male actors People from Brandenburg an der Havel Artists from Meiningen