Theater in the Josefstadt

The theater was created in 1788 in the garden of an inn by actor Karl Mayer and is the oldest theater in Vienna that is still in use.It was one of Vienna’s outlying theaters, along with the Theater in der Leopoldstadt and the Theater auf der Wieden.It is sometimes referred to colloquially as the Josefstadt.(The same-named suburb was integrated into Vienna in 1850.)

Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner conducted here, Johann Nestroy and Ferdinand Raimund were associated with “the Josefstadt” as actors and poets of the old Viennese Volkstheater, and Johann Strauss (father) played in the Strausselsäle house up.Ferdinand Raimund made his Vienna debut at the Theater in der Josefstadt in 1814 as Franz Moor in Friedrich Schiller’s drama Die Räuber.

After the theater became too tiny and had to be entirely renovated by Joseph Kornhäusel, the house was reopened in 1822 with the overture The Consecration of the House, composed and directed by Ludwig van Beethoven.From 1828 to 1829, the theater’s Kapellmeister, Wilhelm Reuling, debuted his first musical theater pieces here.Johann Nestroy made his debut as an actor and playwright here in 1829 with The Banishment from the Magic Kingdom or Thirty Years from the Life of a Lumpen, after performances at the Court Opera, in Amsterdam, and in Graz.From 1820 through 1840, the Josefstadt hosted the premieres of a number of Italian and French operas (including works by Meyerbeer, Gaetano Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini), and the house competed with the court opera at the Kärntnertor.Conradin Kreutzer, the theater’s conductor from 1833 to 1836, presented the romantic opera Das Nachtlager in Granada on January 13, 1834.Ferdinand Raimund’s drama The Waster debuted on February 20, 1834, with the poet in the part of Valentin (with accompanying music by Conradin Kreutzer).Melusina, Kreutzer’s “romantic magic opera” based on a libretto by Franz Grillparzer (originally performed in Berlin in 1833) was premiered in 1835 at “der Josefstadt” in Vienna.Fortunat, Eduard von Bauernfeld’s sole contribution to popular theatre, premiered here the same year.Karl von Holtei worked at the kk private theater in Josephsstadt from November 1834 until March 1835, where his works The Wandering Singer and Laurel Tree and Begging Staff were presented.

Ludwig Döbler showed moving pictures in the theater for the first time in Vienna on January 14, 1847, using the so-called magic lantern, an innovation of the Tyrolean mathematician and natural scientist Simon Stampfer.The famous dancers Fanny Elssler and Pepita de Oliva, a Spaniard, danced at the stage from roughly 1840 until 1860.Georg Jarno’s operetta Die Försterchristl, written by his brother, then-theater director Josef Jarno, premiered on December 17, 1907, with his wife Johanna Niese in the lead part.The German language debut of Franz Molnar’s suburban legend Liliom on February 28, 1913, with Josef Jarno in the title character, laid the groundwork for the play’s international success, which continues to be performed today.

Camillo Castiglioni financed the purchase and conversion of the Theater in der Josefstadt (Sträußelsäle, including the adjacent hotel) by the last Viennese kuk court architect Gustav Orglmeister for Max Reinhardt, who had the auditorium redesigned after the model of Venice’s Teatro La Fenice.On April 1, 1924, the home in the Reinhardt directorate opened its doors.Reinhardt was a leading factor behind the Salzburg Festival while also running a theater in Berlin.As a result, he quickly hired sub-directors in the “Josefstadt,” including Otto Preminger.After assuming power in Germany in 1933, Hitler concentrated on his efforts in Austria for two years, but beginning in 1935, he planned his relocation to the United States, which took place in 1937.

The Vienna theaters were shuttered in August 1944 during World War II.In April 1945, the Soviet occupying force placed a high value on immediately reviving the cultural landscape.Viktor Matejka, City Councilor for Culture, made a substantial contribution to the reopening of four Viennese theaters on May 1, 1945, one of which being the Theater in der Josefstadt.The drama Der Hofrat Geiger by Martin Costa was reintroduced here, acknowledging the true author for the first time, who was barred from working during the Nazi era.

Two feature films were produced in a specifically built film studio in 1948 and 1949.Rudolf Steinboeck presented The Other Life in 1948 and Dear Girlfriend in 1949.Current theatrical performers such as Vilma Degischer appeared in both films.

From 1946 through 1950, the group utilized Liliengasse’s “Kleine Haus” as a studio stage.The Kammerspiele opened as the theatre’s main stage in 1949.The theater (together with other well-known Viennese theaters) took part in the so-called Brecht boycott in the 1950s and 1960s.The Rabenhof Theater served as a second side stage from 1990 till the end of 2000.The debut of dön von Horváth’s early work, Nobody, which was found the same year, took place at the theater on September 1, 2016 under the direction of Herbert Föttinger.The wooden stage floor (including the turntable) was replaced during the 2017 summer vacation.The black pines used in this are from the Bundesforste region Hinterbrühl.