A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Schikaneder, Emmanuel
SCHIKANEDER, Emmanuel, theatrical manager, playwright, actor, and singer, born 1751 at Ratisbon, began life as a poor wandering musician, joined some strolling players at Augsburg in 1773, married the adopted daughter of the manager, and at length undertook the direction himself. In 1780 his wanderings brought him to Salzburg, where he fell in with the Mozarts, and at once began to make a profit out of Wolfgang's talents. In 1784 we find him in Vienna, giving with Kumpf a series of excellent performances of German opera, comedy, etc., at the Kärnthnerthor theater. He appeared on the boards both here and at the Burgtheater, where however he did not succeed. He next took the management of the theatre at Ratisbon, but was recalled to Vienna by his wife, who had undertaken the little theatre lately built in the grounds of Prince Starhemberg's house in the suburb of Wieden, for which Schikaneder received a privilegium or licence.[1] He had no scruples as to the means to be adopted to make a hit, but in spite of large receipts was continually in difficulty. On one such occasion (March 1791) he had recourse to Mozart, whom he implored to set to music a libretto adapted by himself from a piece by Giesecke, a member of his company. Mozart, always goodnatured, especially to a brother-mason, consented, and from that moment till its completion Schikaneder stuck closely to him, and did all he could to keep him amused over his work. The history of the 'Zauberflöte' is well known; Schikaneder made various suggestions in the composition, took the part of Papageno, and found himself saved from ruin by the success of the opera; but he showed little gratitude to Mozart, and after his death, instead of helping the widow of the man by whom he had benefitted so materially, contented himself with loud and vain lamentations. In 1800 he entered into partnership with a merchant named Zitterbarth, who at a short distance from the small theatre just mentioned, built the present 'Theater an der Wien,' opened June 13, 1801. Zitterbarth then bought the privilegium, from Schikaneder, who managed it for him till 1806. His next project was to build, with the assistance of some wealthy friends, a new theatre in the Josephstadt suburb, but this he did not carry out. On his way to Pesth, whither he had been invited to undertake a theatre, he went mad, was brought beck to Vienna, and died in great misery Sept. 21, 1812.
Schikaneder wrote the librettos for many popular operas, Singspiele, and fairy-pieces, the list of which, with year of performance, is here published for the first time:
'Anton der dumme Gärtner' (Schack and Gerl), 1789; 'Die beiden Antons' (with 4 sequels), 'Jakob und Nannerl,' and 'Der Stein der Weisen,' or 'Die Zauberinsel' (Schack and others), 1790; 'Die Zauberflöte' (Mozart), 1791; 'Der wohlthätige Derwisch,' or 'Die Schellenkappe' (Schack, Gerl, and others), 1792; 'Die Eisenkönigin,' 'Die Waldmänner,' and 'Der Zauberpfeil' (Lickl), 1793; 'Der Spiegel von Arkadien' (Süssmayer), and 'Die Hirten am Rhein,' 1794; 'Der Scheerenschleifer' (Henneberg), 'Der Königssohn aus Ithaka' (A. F. Hoffmeister), and 'Der Hollenberg' (Wölffl), 1795; 'Der Tiroler Wastel' (Haibel), and a 2nd part 'Oesterreich's treue Brüder,' 1796; 'Das medizinische Consilium' (Haibel), 'Der Löwenbrunnen' (Seyfried), and 'Babylons Pyramiden' (Act. i. Gallus, Act. ii. Peter Winter), 1797; 'Das Labyrinth,' or 'Kampf mit den Elemeuten' (2nd part of 'Zauberflöte,' Winter), 1798; 'Die Ostindier vom Spittelberg'[2] (Seyfried, Stegmayer, etc.), 'Conrad Langbarth,' or 'Der Burggeist' (Henneberg), 'Minna und Peru,' or 'Königspflicht' (Act i. Henneberg, Act ii. Seyfried), and 'Der Wundermann am Wasserfall' (Seyfried), 1799; 'Amors Schiffchen' (Seyfried), 1800. At the Theater an-der-Wien—opening night—'Alexander' (Teyber) and 'Thespis Traum,' and 'Proteus und Arabiens Söhne' (Stegmayer),1801; 'Tsching! Tsching!' (Haibel), 1802; 'Die Entlarvten,' a continuation of the 'Waldmänner' (Anton Fischer), and 'Pfändung und Personalarrest' (Teyber), 1803; 'Der Stein der Weisen' (Schack and others), 1804; 'Swetards Zauberthal' (Fischer), 1805; 'Die Elsenkönigin' (Henneberg), and 'Die Kurgäste am Sauerbrunnen' (Anton Diabelli), Schikaneder's last piece, given for his benefit, 1806.