The Ständeklausel (''
estates-clause'') was a principle in poetic theatre, by which attempts were made to transfer the principles of
Classicist French drama into German theatre. It is often connected with
Johann Christoph Gottsched
Johann Christoph Gottsched (2 February 1700 – 12 December 1766) was a German philosopher, author and critic of the Enlightenment.
Biography
Early life
He was born at Juditten (Mendeleyevo) near Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Brandenburg-Pru ...
. It stated that only kings, princes and other people of high rank were to be shown in tragedies and that those of the middle classes could only be shown onstage in comedies. It also demarcated audiences in theatre concessions granted by ancien regime princes - only theatres in courts were allowed to put on tragedies (including ballets and serious
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s), while the rapidly proliferating Volkstheaters were only allowed to put on comedies, including
comic operas
Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
and pantomimes. It was broken by the onset of
Bourgeois tragedy
Bourgeois tragedy (German: ''Bürgerliches Trauerspiel'') is a form of tragedy that developed in 18th-century Europe. It is a fruit of the enlightenment and the emergence of the bourgeois class and its ideals. It is characterized by the fact that ...
such as ''
Love and Intrigue
''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'' or ''Luise Miller'' (german: Kabale und Liebe, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act Play (theatre), play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. ...
''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Standeklausel
Theatre in Germany
17th-century theatre
18th-century theatre
19th-century theatre