Joseph August Röckel (28 August 1783 – September 1870) was a German operatic tenor and opera producer. He played Florestan in the 1806 revival of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's opera ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'' in Vienna, and later produced the opera for the first time in London.

Life

Röckel was born in 1783 at

Neunburg vorm Wald Neunburg vorm Wald is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 21 km east of Schwandorf on the river Schwarzach, a tributary of the Naab. Mayor The mayor is Martin Birner (CSU). He was elected in 2014 ...

, in the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...

. He was originally intended for the church, but in 1803 entered the diplomatic service of the

Elector of Bavaria The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...

as Private Secretary to the Bavarian Chargé d'Affaires at

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. On the recall of the Salzburg Legation in 1804, he accepted an engagement to sing 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 prim ...

in Vienna, where, on 29 March 1806, he appeared as Florestan in the revival of Beethoven's ''

''. In 1823 Röckel was appointed Professor of Singing at the Imperial Opera; in 1828 he undertook the direction of

Aachen Opera Theater Aachen is a theatre in Aachen, Germany. It is the principal venue in that city for operas, musical theatre and plays. It is the home of the Sinfonieorchester Aachen. The original project was by Johann Peter Cremer, later altered by Ka ...

, and in the following year made the bold experiment of producing German operas in Paris with a complete German company. Encouraged by the success of this venture, he remained in Paris until 1832, when he brought his company to London, and produced ''Fidelio'', ''

Der Freischütz ' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...

'', and other operas of the German school, at the King's Theatre; the principal artists being

Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient ( Schröder; 6 December 180426 January 1860), was a German operatic soprano. As a singer, she combined a rare quality of tone with dramatic intensity of expression, which was as remarkable on the concert platform as ...

and Anton Haizinger, with

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Salieri, and ...

(Röckel's brother-in-law) as conductor. In 1835 he retired from operatic life, and in 1853 finally returned to Germany, where he died, at

Köthen Köthen () is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about north of Halle. Köthen is the location of the main campus and the administrative centre of the regional university, Anhalt Univers ...

, in September 1870. The opera singer Elisabeth Röckel was his sister; the composer and conductor August Röckel was his son.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockel, Joseph 1783 births 1870 deaths German operatic tenors 19th-century German male opera singers German opera directors 18th-century German musicians