![Robert Kautsky](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Robert_Kautsky.jpg)
Robert Kautsky (26 October 1895 – 18 June 1963) was an Austrian theatre painter,
stage
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* Sta ...
and
costume designer
A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...
, who worked for many years at the
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...
and at the
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...
.
Life and work
Born in Vienna, Kautsky came from a family of theatre painters and actors. His grandfather
Johann Kautsky (1827–1896) was a painter and stage designer in Prague, his grandmother was the actress and writer
Minna Kautsky (1837–1912). His father, Hans Joseph Wilhelm Kautsky (1864–1937), was a royal Austrian and royal Prussian court theatre painter in Vienna and Berlin. His eldest brother (1891–1966) became a famous chemist, and his second brother Fritz worked as a geologist in Sweden. His uncle was the social democratic theorist
Karl Kautsky
Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theorist. Kautsky was one of the most authoritative promulgators of orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels i ...
(1854–1938), married to
Luise Kautsky
Luise Kautsky (née Ronsperger, 11 August 1864 – 8 December 1944) was a German politician and member of the USPD.
Life and career
Kautsky was a Socialist and active Social Democrat. She married the prominent Marxist theorist Karl Kautsky. ...
.
Kautsky graduated from the Gymnasium in Vienna and then went to the academy in Berlin-Charlottenburg. After the end of the First World War, he studied at the
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria.
History
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...
.
His grandfather Johann Kautsky was a highly respected stage painter who decorated numerous new productions of the Vienna Court Opera in the 1870s and 1880s. For example, he designed the sets for the Vienna premiere of Meyerbeer's ''
L'Africaine
''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1865 French ''grand opéra'' in five acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Eugène Scribe. Meyerbeer and Scribe began working on the opera in 1837, using the title ''L'Africaine'', bu ...
'' in 1870 and, together with
Carlo Brioschi and
Hermann Burghart
Hermann Burghart (7 April 1834, Türmitz – 23 January 1901, Vienna) was a Bohemian-born Austrian scenic designer and set decorator
The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible ...
, designed the scenery for two other important Viennese premieres: Verdi's ''
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'' in 1874 and Wagner's ''
Siegfried
Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace".
The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...
'' in 1878. The sets of ''L'Africaine'' could still be seen at the Vienna Opera until 1903, those of ''
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'' until December 1931. The grandson followed in his grandfather's footsteps and worked for the Vienna State Opera already in 1920, at the age of 25. He was in charge of the "Decorative set with use of the original Italian designs" for Puccini's comic opera ''
Gianni Schicchi
() is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccin ...
''. In 1921, he became director of the painters' hall at the Vienna State Opera. In the same year he married Rosa Krupha. In 1924 he became a member of the
Kunstgemeinschaft Wien.
For many years he assisted the legendary set designer
Alfred Roller
Alfred Roller (2 October 1864 – 21 June 1935) was an Austrian painter, graphic designer, and set designer. His wife was Mileva Roller and they were members of the Viennese Secession movement.
Life and work
Roller was born in Brünn (Brn ...
and was jointly responsible for the decorations for ''
Feuersnot
' (''Need for (or lack of) fire)'', Op. 50, is a ''Singgedicht'' (sung poem) or opera in one act by Richard Strauss. The German libretto was written by Ernst von Wolzogen, based on J. Ketel's report "Das erloschene Feuer zu Audenaerde". It was ...
'' by Richard Strauss in March 1922. In December of the same year, his first independent set had its premiere, Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy-tale opera ''
Hänsel und Gretel'', staged by Woldemar Runge and conducted by Richard Strauss. He had a long-standing collaboration with the composer and conductor, both in Vienna, where Kautsky set ''
Arabella
''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.
Performance history
It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the Dr ...
'', ''
Ariadne auf Naxos
(''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work' ...
'' and the ''
Der Rosenkavalier
(''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...
'', among others, and in Salzburg. Like Strauss, Kautsky was active in Vienna and Salzburg throughout all the system changes – from the first Austrian Republic to the
Ständestaat
The Federal State of Austria ( de-AT, Bundesstaat Österreich; colloquially known as the , "Corporate State") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the clerical fascist Fat ...
and the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
to the Second Austrian Republic. It is not known how far he came to terms with the Nazi regime.
Robert Kautsky
on Theatermuseum
He debuted at the Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...
, again with Roller, in 1933 for another Richard Strauss premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
, ''Die ägyptische Helena
''Die ägyptische Helena'' (''The Egyptian Helen''), Op. 75, is an opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on 6 June 1928. Strauss had written the title role with ...
''. He worked with a number of renowned conductors and directors in Salzburg, most recently with Oscar Fritz Schuh
Oscar Fritz Schuh (15 January 1904 – 22 October 1984) was a German-Austrian opera director, theatre director and opera manager. He is known for directing Mozart operas at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival in productions that tour ...
for a new ''Così fan tutte
(''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...
'' in 1947. Kautsky's most successful productions were created in the post-war years at the Staatsoper's temporary quarters, at the Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...
and 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 ...
. The sets for Beethoven's ''Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...
'' were used in 145 performances, those for Offenbach's ''The Tales of Hoffmann
''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died ...
'' 216 times. Both productions were made in 1945, the ''Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...
'' was directed by , the Offenbach opera by Oscar Fritz Schuh. His ''Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'' production from 1946 reached 290 performances, the new production of ''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 ...
'' from 1948 was shown 239 times, ''Der Rosenkavalier
(''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...
'' from 1955 a total of 175 times.
Three quite different works are recorded in the archives as the last stage sets at the State Opera in 1960: '' Andrea Chénier'' in May, '' Capriccio'' in June and ''Der Wildschütz
''Der Wildschütz oder Die Stimme der Natur'' (''The Poacher, or The Voice of Nature'') is a German ''Komische Oper'', or comic opera, in three acts by Albert Lortzing from a libretto by the composer adapted from the comedy ''Der Rehbock, oder Di ...
'' in October. The decorations of ''Capriccio'' remained in the State Opera's repertoire until 1997, 33 years after Kautsky' death in Leoben
Leoben () is a Styrian city in central Austria, located on the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial centre and hosts the University of Leoben, which specialises in mining. The Peace of Leoben, an armistice bet ...
at the age of 67.
Stage designs for the Salzburg Festival
* 1933: ''Die ägyptische Helena
''Die ägyptische Helena'' (''The Egyptian Helen''), Op. 75, is an opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on 6 June 1928. Strauss had written the title role with ...
'', conductor: Clemens Krauss
Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner.
Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, ...
, staging: Lothar Wallerstein (stage design together with Alfred Roller
Alfred Roller (2 October 1864 – 21 June 1935) was an Austrian painter, graphic designer, and set designer. His wife was Mileva Roller and they were members of the Viennese Secession movement.
Life and work
Roller was born in Brünn (Brn ...
, auch 1934)
* 1935: ''Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...
'', conductor: Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
, staging: Guido Salvini (until 1939)
* 1936: ''Orfeo ed Euridice
' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...
'', conductor: Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the Un ...
, staging: Margarete Wallmann
Margarete Wallmann or Wallman (aka Margarethe Wallmann, Margherita Wallman or Margarita Wallmann) (22 June or July 1901 or 1904 – 2 May 1992)
was a ballerina, choreographer, stage designer, and opera director.
Life and career
Born probably ...
(also in1937)
* 1936: ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
(; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...
'', conductor: Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
, staging: Herbert Graf
Herbert Graf (10 April 1903 – 5 April 1973) was an Austrian-American opera producer. Born in Vienna in 1903, he was the son of Max Graf (1873–1958), and Olga Hönig. His father was an Austrian author, critic, musicologist and member of Sig ...
(until 1938)
* 1936: ''Der Corregidor
''Der Corregidor'' is a comic opera by Hugo Wolf. The German libretto was written by Rosa Mayreder-Obermayer, based on the short novel '' El sombrero de tres picos'' by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón.
History
Wolf composed the opera in 1895 and revis ...
'', conductor: Bruno Walter, staging: Lothar Wallerstein
* 1938: ''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 ...
'', conductor: Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss.
Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...
, staging:
* 1938: ''Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'', conductor: Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss.
Life and career
Education
Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...
, staging: Wolf Völker (also in 1939)
* 1939: ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail
' () ( K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's ''Belmont und Constanze, oder Die ...
'', conductor: Karl Böhm, staging: Wolf Völker
* 1941: ''Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'', conductor: Karl Böhm, staging: Walter Felsenstein
Walter Felsenstein (30 May 1901 – 8 October 1975) was an Austrian theater and opera director.
He was one of the most important exponents of textual accuracy, productions in which dramatic and musical values were exquisitely researched and ba ...
* 1942: ''Arabella
''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.
Performance history
It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the Dr ...
'', conductor: Clemens Krauss, staging: Rudolf Hartmann
Rudolf Hartmann (1893–1972) was a German banker and reserve officer. Known as one of the most prominent cooperative bankers in Germany during and after the Nazi era, he has been revealed by recent research as a leading member of the military re ...
(also in 1943 and 1947)
* 1947: ''Così fan tutte
(''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...
'', conductor: Josef Krips
Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist.
Life and career
Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...
, staging: Oscar Fritz Schuh
Oscar Fritz Schuh (15 January 1904 – 22 October 1984) was a German-Austrian opera director, theatre director and opera manager. He is known for directing Mozart operas at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival in productions that tour ...
Further reading
* ''Das Jahrbuch der Wiener Gesellschaft''. Biographical contributions to contemporary Viennese history. edited by Franz Planer. F. Planer, Vienna 1929.
* Robert Teichl: ''Österreicher der Gegenwart''. Encyclopaedia of creative and creative contemporaries. Published by the Austrian State Printing Office, Vienna 1951.
* Kautzky, Robert. In Hans Vollmer
Hans Vollmer (16 November 1878 – 15 February 1969) was a German art historian.
Life
His father was the architect (1845-1920), his grandfather of the Hamburg marine painter and sculptor Adolph Friedrich Vollmer (1806–1875). He was the older ...
(ed.): ''Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler des XX. Jahrhunderts''. Vol. 3: K–P. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1956, .
* Jahrbuch ''Wiener Theaterforschung''. Vol. 13–16, 1966, pp. 226 ff.
References
External links
*
* Archiv der Wiener Staatsoper:
Suchergebnisse
', performances with Robert Kautsky, retrieved 8 February 2021
* Bildarchiv Austria (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of Vi ...
):
Robert Kautsky
', Aufnahme Kautskys vor dem Bühnenbild von ''Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', Vienna 1949, retrieved 8 February 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kautsky, Robert
Austrian scenic designers
Costume designers
1895 births
1963 deaths
Artists from Vienna