Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the
Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the
1848 revolutions and his work reflects the new liberal spirit then spreading throughout Europe.
Career
Nestroy was born in Vienna, where he was a law student from 1817 to 1822, before abandoning his studies to become a singer. He joined the
Theater am Kärntnertor
or (Carinthian Gate Theatre) was a prestigious theatre in Vienna during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its official title was (Imperial and Royal Court Theatre of Vienna).
History
The theatre was built in 1709 to designs by Ant ...
, beginning with Sarastro in ''
The Magic Flute
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...
'' on 24 August 1822. After a year of singing in Vienna, he went to Amsterdam where he appeared in
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
roles for two years at the local German Theatre. From 1825 to 1831 he accepted engagements to sing and act in
Brünn
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inha ...
,
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
,
Pressburg,
Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
, Vienna and
Lemberg
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
. He then returned to his native Vienna and started to write and continued to perform.
Nestroy's career as a playwright was an immediate success: his 1833 play ''Der böse Geist Lumpazivagabundus'' was a major hit. He soon became a leading figure in Austrian culture and society. Nestroy succeeded
Ferdinand Raimund
Ferdinand Raimund (born Ferdinand Jakob Raimann; 1 June 1790 – 5 September 1836, Pottenstein, Lower Austria) was an Austrian actor and dramatist.
Life and work
He was born in Vienna as a son of Bohemian woodturning master craftsman Jako ...
as the leading actor-dramatist on the
Volkstheater, the Viennese commercial stage or 'people's theatre'.
Whereas Raimund concentrated on romantic and magical fantasies, Nestroy used comedy for
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
and
criticism
Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...
. Working at the time of conservative minister
Klemens von Metternich
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...
, he had to carefully draft his plays to skirt the strict
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
in place. His interest in word play was legendary, and his characters often mixed
Viennese German
Viennese German ( bar, Weanarisch, Weanerisch, german: Wienerisch) is the city dialect spoken in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is counted among the Bavarian dialects. It is distinct from written Standard German in vocabulary, grammar, a ...
with less-than-successful attempts at more "educated" speech. Music held an important role in his work, with songs elaborating the theme or helping on with the plot.
Nestroy wrote nearly eighty comedies between the 1830s and the 1850s. Among the most important were ', ', ' (made into the 1939 musical comedy ''Titus macht Karriere'' by
Edmund Nick), ''
Einen Jux will er sich machen
''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' (1842) (''He Will Go on a Spree'' or ''He'll Have Himself a Good Time''), is a three-act musical play, designated as a Posse mit Gesang ("farce with singing"), by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy. It was adapte ...
'' (translated as ''
On the Razzle'' by
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
in 1981) and ', all of which were marked by social criticism and biting satire. He died in
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, Austria.
Works
Nestroy remained a singer all his life, and virtually all his plays include music. He worked closely with a relatively small number of composers:
Adolf Müller senior
Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...
, who set 41 of Nestroy's texts between 1832 and 1847,
Michael Hebenstreit
Michael Hebenstreit (ca 1812 – after 1875) was an Austrian Kapellmeister and composer for stage music.
Life
Almost nothing has been handed down about Hebenstreit's life, only a few scores have survived. He was a successor to Adolf Müller ...
, who set 10 works from 1843 to 1850, , who set seven from 1851 to 1859, as well as
Anton M. Storch
Anton M. Storch, Anton M. Storch, for/also: Anton Michael Storch or Anton Maria Storch or Anton Monachus Storch or Anton Max Storch or Anton Martin Storch, , Franz Roser, Carl Franz Stenzel, and Andreas Skutta.
Most of his works were designated as some form of ''Posse'' or farce, and of these the majority were ''
Possen mit Gesang'' (i.e. 'with singing'). He also produced a number of parodies, both of operas (including ''
Cendrillion'''', ''
La Cenerentola
' (''Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' ...
'', ''
Lohengrin
Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...
'', ''
Martha
Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...
'', ''
Robert le diable
''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first grand o ...
'', ''
Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...
'' and ''
Zampa
''Zampa'','' ou La fiancée de marbre'' (''Zampa, or the Marble Bride'') is an opéra comique in three acts by French composer Ferdinand Hérold, with a libretto by Mélesville.
The overture to the opera is one of Hérold's most famous works an ...
'') and dramas (including
Karl von Holtei's ''Lorbeerbaum und Bettelstab'' and
Raupach's ''Robert der Teufel''). In addition he wrote four
Quodlibet
A quodlibet (; Latin for "whatever you wish" from ''quod'', "what" and '' libet'', "pleases") is a musical composition that combines several different melodies—usually popular tunes—in counterpoint, and often in a light-hearted, humorous man ...
s, two
Burlesken, a Travestie and finally an
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 ...
using music by
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...
.
His early works were performed in Graz and Pressburg, then from 1832 to 1846 he worked exclusively 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 ...
, where 45 of his plays were premiered. After two productions at the
Theater in der Leopoldstadt
The Theater in der Leopoldstadt (also: Leopoldstädter Theater) was an opera house in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, founded in 1781 by Karl von Marinelli, following the ''Schauspielfreiheit'' (ending of the court's monopoly on entertainment ...
, he moved to the
Carltheater
The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile).
It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had ...
from 1847 to 1859, where another 20 were performed.
Legacy
About half of Nestroy's works have been revived by the modern German-speaking theatres and many are part and parcel of today's Viennese repertoire. However, few have ever been translated into English. Only one, ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'', has become well known to English-speaking theatregoers. It has become a classic more than once. It was first adapted as
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...
's 1938 play ''
The Merchant of Yonkers
''The Merchant of Yonkers'' is a 1938 play by Thornton Wilder.
History
''The Merchant of Yonkers'' had its origins in a 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'', by the English dramatist John Oxenford. In 1842 ''A Day Well Spent'' was extended int ...
'', which Wilder rewrote in 1954 as ''
The Matchmaker
''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''.
History
The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been exte ...
''. That version later became the 1964
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
''
Hello, Dolly!'' and 1969
film of the same name. Nestroy's original play later achieved success as the 1981 play ''
On the Razzle'', which was translated by
Stephen Plaice and adapted by
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
.
Nestroy has a square——named after him in Vienna, as well as the station
Nestroyplatz on
Line 1 of the
Vienna U-Bahn
The Vienna U-Bahn (german: U-Bahn Wien), where ''U-Bahn'' is an abbreviation of the German term ''Untergrundbahn'' ( en, underground railway), is a rapid transit system serving Vienna, Austria. With the September 2017 opening of the , five-stati ...
, which opened in 1979. When the
Reichsbrücke
The Reichsbrücke (German for ''Imperial Bridge'') is a major bridge in Vienna, linking Mexikoplatz in Leopoldstadt with the Donauinsel in Donaustadt across the Danube. The bridge is used by 50,000 vehicles per day and carries six lanes of tra ...
had to be rebuilt after its collapse in 1976, the tender was won by a consortium named ''Project Johann Nestroy''. The official name of the newly built bridge is probably ''Johann Nestroy Brücke'', but that name doesn't seem to have any currency.
One of the most important German speaking theatre awards is named after Nestroy. The
Nestroy Theatre Prize
The Nestroy Theatre Prize is an Austrian theatre award named after the poet Johann Nestroy
Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the ...
is an annual award for primarily Austrian theatre with Oscar-like categories. Its ceremony is held in Vienna and broadcast live on national television.
The Austrian illustrator and painter adapted Nestroy's play ''Der Talisman'' for a
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
of the same name.
''Der Talisman – Graphic Novel''
Edition Steinbauer
References
*Branscombe, Peter
Peter John Branscombe (7 December 1929 in Sittingbourne, Kent – 31 December 2008 in St Andrews, Scotland) was an English academic in German studies, a musicologist, and a writer on Austrian cultural history.
Career
Branscombe attended Dulwic ...
(1992), "Nestroy, Johann Nepomuk" in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
'', ed. Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
(London)
External links
*
Internationales Nestroy Zentrum
(in German)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nestroy, Johann
1801 births
1862 deaths
Austrian male stage actors
Austrian male dramatists and playwrights
Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery
Writers from Vienna
19th-century Austrian male actors
19th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights
German-language poets
19th-century Austrian poets
Austrian male poets
19th-century Austrian male writers