Karl Theophil Döbbelin
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Karl Gottlieb Döbbelin (Karl Theophilus Döbbelin, also Carl Theophil Döbbelin as well as Doebelin or Döbelin (27 February 1727 – 10 December 1793) was a German theatre director and actor.


Life

Born in
Königsberg in der Neumark Chojna (; "King's Mountain in the New March") is a small town in northwestern Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately south of Szczecin. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 7,330. Chojna is located near ...
, Döbbelin studied law at the
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public university, public research university in the cities of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German State o ...
, where he had to flee early without a degree because of involvement in a tumult, and joined the society of
Friederike Caroline Neuber Friederike Caroline Neuber, née Friederike Caroline Weissenborn, also known as Friedericke Karoline Neuber, Frederika Neuber, Karoline Neuber, Carolina Neuber, Frau Neuber, and ''Die Neuberin'' (9 March 1697 – 30 November 1760), was a Germa ...
in 1750. After years with wandering troupes of actors, he founded his own troupe, and had to give it up after a short time. Also a second society, which he formed in 1757 and with which he played in the Rhine area, disbanded after one year. After that, Döbbelin was a member of the Ackermannsche Gesellschaft until 1766 and then went to Berlin to the director , whom he helped to abolish the comedy. Döbbelin separated from him in 1767 and founded a third company, with which he travelled through several Prussian provinces and brought Lessing's ''
Minna von Barnhelm ''Minna von Barnhelm or the Soldiers' Happiness'' (, ) is a ''lustspiel'' or comedy by the German author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. It has five acts, was begun in 1763 and completed in 1767 – its author put the year 1763 on the official title ...
'' to success in Berlin in 1768. At the in
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
Lessing's ''
Emilia Galotti ''Emilia Galotti'' () is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Braunschweig, Brunswick (''Braunschweig'' in German). The work is an example of German ''bürgerliches Trauerspiel'' (bourg ...
'' was premiered under his direction in 1772. After the death of , he was granted the privilege for Berlin. In 1775, he opened his own
Döbbelinsches Theater The Döbbelinsches Theater or Döbbelin Theater, was a theatre in Berlin, active between 1764 and 1799. It was the first permanent German language theatre in Berlin. It was founded by Karl Schuch and was situated in Behrenstraße, replacing the te ...
in the , which became a permanent stage from that time on. In the autumn of 1777,
Johann André Johann André (28 March 1741 – 18 June 1799) was a German musician, composer and music publisher of the Classical period. He was born and died in Offenbach am Main. In 1774, as the patriarch of a Huguenot family, André founded one of the firs ...
followed a call from Döbbelin to become
music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...
of the Döbbelinisches Orchester. He developed an extensive activity as a composer of
Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...
e and conducted his own and foreign works. His successor in 1784 became Johann Christian Frischmuth until his death in 1790 - from 1788 with
Karl Bernhard Wessely Karl Bernhard Wessely, also ''Carl Bernhard Wessely'' (Berlin 1 September 1768 – Potsdam 11 July 1826), was a German composer. He was born to a Jewish family in Berlin associated with intellectual circles, both Jewish and Christian: his father ...
. The Döbbelin's stage was the venue for many theatre-historically significant performances. The guest performance of the Hamburg actor in December 1777 deserves special mention: Brockmann played Hamlet in Shakespeare's play of the same name on 12 evenings in front of a sold-out audience. Shakespeare's ''
Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...
'' was first performed in Berlin on 29 April 1775 in a translation by Johann Joachim Eschenburg. Döbbelin himself appeared in the title role. Döbbelin's passion for Shakespeare was inspired by Lessing of which
Daniel Chodowiecki Daniel Niklaus Chodowiecki (16 October 1726 – 7 February 1801) was a Polish painter and printmaker with partial Huguenot ancestry, who is most famous as an etcher. He spent most of his later life in Berlin, and became the director of the Ber ...
produced a series of pictures. In 1783, the first performance of Lessing's ''
Nathan the Wise ''Nathan the Wise'' (original German title: , ) is a play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing from 1779. It is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. It was never performed during Lessing's lifetime and was first performed in 1783 at the Döbbelinsches ...
'' took place here, in which Döbbelin also embodied the first Nathan. On 8 March 1784, there was also the Berlin premiere of Schiller's '' Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua'', edited by . Döbbelin himself appeared in the role of Andrea Doria, Duke of Genoa, while Leonore, the wife of the Fiesco, was played by his daughter Caroline. After the closure of the Döbbelin's Theatre on 3 December 1786, the German actors were assigned by order of the King to the vacant French Comedy House on the
Gendarmenmarkt The is a square in Berlin and the site of an architectural ensemble that includes the Berlin concert hall, along with the French and German Churches. In the centre of the square stands a monumental statue of poet Friedrich Schiller. The ...
, which the King
Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was also the prince-elector of Brandenburg and (through the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign princ ...
elevated to the status of "Royal National Theatre". It was opened on 5 December 1787 with a speech "composed and spoken" by Döbbelin. On 2 January 1787 the Fiesko was performed again under the direction of Döbbelin, but after a dispute with him, the theatre was placed under royal administration. It was closed on 31 December 1801 and a new building was constructed. As a theatre director, Döbbelin strove for a purified stage and knew how to attract the best forces such as
Ferdinand Fleck Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
, Joseph Anton Christ, Margarete Schick and others. As an actor, he was especially liked in typical roles, but his main merit is seen in the assertion of the German drama at a time when almost exclusively works by French and Italian authors were performed in the original language. His first wife was Maximiliana Christiana Döbbelin (?-1759), Friederike von Alvensleben's second daughter (1739-1793), who played the female leading roles in his companies with great success. When Döbbelin was arrested in Leipzig 1774 because of gambling debts, she did not release him, but went into business for herself with some actors and went to Dresden, where she also met the courtly society. After his release, she went with him to Berlin and Potsdam, where she gave ''Minna'' and ''Emilia''. in addition, Goethe's '' Clavigo'' and ''Die Lügner'' by
Carlo Goldoni Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays ...
were also performed. In 1775, Friederike Caroline gave birth to a son ''August'' by her lover, the chamberlain Johann Friedrich
von Alvensleben von Alvensleben may refer to: * Christian von Alvensleben (born 1941), German photographer * Constantin von Alvensleben (1809–1892), Prussian general * Gustav von Alvensleben (1803–1881), Prussian general * 'Alvo' Gustav Konstantin von Al ...
, whom she married after her divorce in September 1776.
Udo von Alvensleben Udo August Ernst von Alvensleben (23 January 1897 – 22 August 1962) was a German art historian. Family Born in Wittenmoor, Alvensleben descended from the old noble House of Alvensleben of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and was the eldest so ...
: ''The life story of the beautiful Klinglin''. In: ''Besuche vor dem Untergang, Adelssitze zwischen Altmark und Masuren'', compiled from diary entries and edited by Harald von Koenigswald. Frankfurt / Berlin 1968, , with further reference to the memoirs of the actor Joseph Anton Christ, published in 1912, who belonged to the Döbbelin's troupe 1773-74
Döbbelin then married Regine Elenson in third marriage Among his children were the actors: * (1758-1828) * (1763-1821) * (1799-1856) * (1803-1842), Ziehtochter Friederike Carolines und Ehefrau von Conrad Carl Theodor Ernst Döbbelin Döbbelin died at the age of 66.


Further reading

* Ludwig Eisenberg: Karl Theophil Döbbelin. In ''Großes biographisches Lexikon der deutschen Bühne im XIX. Jahrhundert''.
Paul List Pawel M. List (, ; Odesa, 9 September 1887 – London? 1954) was a Russian Jewish chess player, who emigrated to Britain in 1937 but never took British citizenship. He was born in Odesa, Ukraine (then Russian Empire). He had a separate chess ...
, Leipzig 1903, * Hans Knudsen: Herr Döbbelin bittet ab. Anmerkungen zu einem Theaterzettel. Den Teilnehmern zum Festessen der Hauptversammlung der Gesellschaft für Theatergeschichte am 17. April 1932 aus Anlaß ihres 30-jährigen Bestehens gewidmet. Private impression 1932 (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek). * Dagmar Claus: Einer, der den Hanswurst vertrieb. Carl Theophil Doebbelin (1727–1793). In the ''
Berlinische Monatsschrift The ''Berlinische Monatsschrift'' was a monthly magazine published by Johann Erich Biester and Friedrich Gedike (though the latter resigned his editorship in 1791). It served primarily as the mouthpiece for the Berliner Mittwochsgesellschaft ...
'' (Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein). Issue 2, 1997, , (luise-berlin.de). * *


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbelin, Karl Theophil German male stage actors 18th-century German male actors German theatre directors 1727 births 1793 deaths People from Chojna