The Theater in der Josefstadt is a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in the eighth district of

Josefstadt Josefstadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Josefstod'') is the eighth district of Vienna (german: 8. Bezirk, Josefstadt). It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily po ...

. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following remodeling and rebuilding in 1822 — celebrated by the performance of the overture '' Die Weihe des Hauses'' ('Consecration of the House') by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

— opera was staged there including

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le d ...

and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. From 1858 onwards the theatre gave up opera and instead concentrated on straight theatre and comedy.

Major figures in musical and theatrical history connected with the house

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

conducted there. *

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 Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions an ...

and

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 ...

were connected to the theater as actors and poets. *

Johann Strauss I Johann Baptist Strauss I (; also Johann Strauss Sr., the Elder, the Father; 14 March 1804 – 25 September 1849) was an Austrian composer of the Romantic music, Romantic Period. He was famous for his light music, namely waltzes, polkas, and galo ...

performed in the Sträußelsälen. *In 1814,

had his Vienna debut as Franz Moor in ''

Die Räuber ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim, Germany, and was inspired by Leisewitz' earlier play ''Julius of Taranto''. It was ...

'' by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

. *In 1822, '' Die Weihe des Hauses'' composed and directed by

. *In 1829

debuted as an actor with the 'Die Verbannung aus dem Zauberreich oder Dreißig Jahre aus dem Leben eines Lumpen''. *From 1833 to 1836

Conradin Kreutzer Conradin Kreutzer or Kreuzer (22 November 1780 – 14 December 1849) was a German composer and conductor. His works include the operas ''Das Nachtlager in Granada'' and incidental music to ''Der Verschwender'', both produced in 1834 in Vienna. ...

was the theater conductor and on 13 January 1834, his romantic opera ''

Das Nachtlager in Granada ''Das Nachtlager in Granada'' (''The Night Camp in Granada'') is a romantic opera in two acts by Conradin Kreutzer. The libretto is by based on Johann Friedrich Kind's 1818 drama of the same name. Performance history The premiere of a first vers ...

'' was first performed in the theater. *On 20 February 1834,

's ''Der Verschwender'' was first performed with the poet in the role of Valentin (with stage music by Kreutzer). *Between around 1840 and 1860, famous dancers

Fanny Elssler Fanny Elssler (born Franziska Elßler; 23 June 181027 November 1884) was an Austrian ballerina of the Romantic Period. Life and career She was born in Gumpendorf, a neighborhood of Vienna. Her father Johann Florian Elssler was a second ge ...

and the Spanish

Pepita de Oliva Josefa Durán y Ortega (1830–1872), known by the stage name Pepita de Oliva, was a Romani Spanish dancer who performed across Europe, popularizing Spanish flamenco dancing and costumes. Despite her official marriage with her dance teacher Jua ...

performed in the theater. *

Franz von Suppé Franz von Suppé (né Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo de Suppe) (18 April 181921 May 1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas and other theatre music. He came from the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of Croatia). A c ...

wrote music for over a hundred productions at the theater. *The first German-language performance of

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial play ...

's ''

Liliom ''Liliom'' is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was well known in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 musical ''Carousel''. P ...

'' with

Josef Jarno Josef Jarno (born 24 August 1866 in Pest, died 11 January 1932 in Vienna) was an Austrian actor and theatre director. He was the older brother of opera composer Georg Jarno. Life Jarno made his debut in the ''Lehártheater'' in Bad Ischl, Uppe ...

in the title role on 28 February 1913 played a key role in the piece's long-lasting appeal.

Directors (with their years of service)

* 1788 – 1812 Karl Felix Mayer * 1812 – 1822 ? * 1822 – 1824 Karl Friedrich Hensler * 1824 – 1828 J. von Scheidlin * 1828 – 1831

Carl Carl Karl Andreas Bernbrunn (1787–1854), known by the stage name Carl Carl, was a Kraków-born actor and theatre director. Bernbrunn was born illegitimately to Maria Anna Alxinger and Karl Andrä Bernbrunn. Maria Anna was the wife of the poet (175 ...

* 1831 – 1834 Johann August Stöger * 1834 – 1836 Scheiner * 1837 – 1848

Franz Pokorny Franz Pokorny (22 December 1797 – 5 August 1850) was an Austrian theatre manager. He owned two leading theatres in Vienna, the Theater in der Josefstadt and the Theater an der Wien, where he staged notable productions. Life Early career Pokorn ...

* 1848 – 1865 ? * 1865 – 1866 Johann Fürst * 1866 – 1871 ? * 1871 – 1877 Johann Fürst * 1877 – 1899 ? * 1899 – 1923

* 1924 – 1926

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...

* 1926 – 1933 Max Reinhardt and Emil Geyer * 1933 – 1935 Max Reinhardt and

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

* 1935 – 1938 Max Reinhardt and

Ernst Lothar Ernst Lothar (; 25 October 1890 – 30 October 1974) was a Moravian-Austrian writer, theatre director/manager and producer. He was born Ernst Lothar Müller, and as Müller is a very common German surname, he dropped it. His brother, Hans ...

* 1938 – 1938 Robert Valberg * 1938 – 1945 Heinz Hilpert * 1945 – 1953

Rudolf Steinboeck Rudolf Steinboeck (1908–1996) was an Austrian theatre actor and director. He also directed and acted in several films.Fritsche p.232 & 246 He was married to the actress Aglaja Schmid. He headed the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna ...

* 1953 – 1958

Franz Stoß Franz Stoss (28 May 1909 – 21 June 1995) was an Austrian stage. film and television actor. He also worked as a theatre director. Following the Second World War he worked at the re-opened Vienna Burgtheater.Yates p.236 Selected filmography * ' ...

and Ernst Haeussermann * 1958 – 1977

* 1977 – 1984 Ernst Haeussermann * 1984 – 1988 Heinrich Kraus (in September 1986 Boy Gobert was to become director, but died only a few months before) * 1988 – 1997

Otto Schenk Otto Schenk (born 12 June 1930, in Vienna) is an Austrian actor, and theater and opera director. Life and career Schenk was born to Catholic parents. His father, a lawyer, had Jewish roots and therefore lost his job after the Anschluss in 1938. ...

and Robert Jungbluth * 1997 – 1999

Helmuth Lohner Helmuth Lohner (24 April 1933 – 23 June 2015) was an Austrian actor, theatre director, and from 1997 to 2006 director of the Theater in der Josefstadt. Early life Born in Vienna, Lohner initially trained as a commercial artist, while also taki ...

and Robert Jungbluth * 1999 – 2003 Alexander Götz and Robert Jungbluth * 2003 – 2004 Hans Gratzer * 2004 – 2006

* 2006 – Herbert Föttinger

Famous ensemble members

Albert Bassermann Albert Bassermann (7 September 1867 – 15 May 1952) was a German stage and screen actor. He was considered to be one of the greatest German-speaking actors of his generation and received the famous Iffland-Ring. He was married to Elsa Sch ...

Klaus Maria Brandauer Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in ''The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto'' ...

Attila Hörbiger Attila Hörbiger (21 April 1896 – 27 April 1987) was an Austrian stage and movie actor. Life Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger and the young ...

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in '' Des Teufels Gene ...

Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn; 12 May 1892 – 22 July 1970) was an Austrian stage and film actor and theatre director. Life and career Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn into a Jewish family. He studied at the Vienna A ...

* Werner Krauß *

Wolfgang Liebeneiner Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner (6 October 1905 – 28 November 1987) was a German actor, film director and theatre director. Beginnings He was born in Lubawka, Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the directo ...

Karl Merkatz Karl Merkatz (17 November 1930 – 4 December 2022) was an Austrian actor. Merkatz was born on 17 November 1930 in Wiener Neustadt, the son of a firefighter. He first wanted to become a carpenter. After World War II he was an active Boy Scout ...

Fritz Muliar Fritz Muliar, born as Friedrich Ludwig Stand (December 12, 1919 – May 4, 2009), was an Austrian actor who, due to his huge popularity, is often referred to by his countrymen as ''Volksschauspieler''. Biography Born in Neubau, Vienna as the ...

Susi Nicoletti Susi Nicoletti (3 September 1918 – 5 June 2005) was a Bavarian-born actress best remembered today for over 100 supporting roles mostly in comedy films. She was born as Susanne Emilie Luise Adele Habersack in Munich, but spent most of her childh ...

Hans Thimig Hans Emil Thimig, pseudonym: Hans Werner (23 July 1900 in Vienna – 17 February 1991, also in Vienna) was an Austrian actor, film director, and stage director. Life The youngest son of the Burgtheater actor Hugo Thimig and Franziska "Fanny" ...

Paula Wessely Paula Anna Maria Wessely (20 January 1907 – 11 May 2000) was an Austrian theatre and film actress. ''Die Wessely'' (literally "The Wessely"), as she was affectionately called by her admirers and fans, was Austria's foremost popular postwar actr ...

Bernhard Wicki Bernhard Wicki (28 October 1919 – 5 January 2000) was an Austrian actor and film director. Life and career Wicki studied in the city of Breslau such topics as art history, history and German literature. In 1938, he transferred to the d ...

External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Josefstadt Theatres completed in 1788 Theatres completed in 1822 Theatres in Vienna Cultural venues in Vienna 1788 establishments in Austria