Decline and Demise
Fidelio premiered in the Theater an der Wien, but not under Schikaneder's direction. By 1804, Schikaneder's career had taken a downward turn; his productions could not bring in enough customers to cover their cost. He sold the Theater an der Wien to a consortium of nobles and left Vienna for the provinces, working in Brno and Steyr. Following economic problems caused by war and an 1811 currency devaluation, Schikaneder lost most of his fortune. During a journey to Budapest in 1812 to take a new post, he was stricken with insanity. Emmanuel Schikaneder died impoverished in Vienna on September 21, 1812 at age 61.
Read more about this topic: Emanuel Schikaneder
Famous quotes containing the words decline and and/or decline:
“Or else I thought her supernatural;
As though a sterner eye looked through her eye
On this foul world in its decline and fall,
On gangling stocks grown great, great stocks run dry,
Ancestral pearls all pitched into a sty,
Heroic reverie mocked by clown and knave....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Families suffered badly under industrialization, but they survived, and the lives of men, women, and children improved. Children, once marginal and exploited figures, have moved to a position of greater protection and respect,... The historic decline in the overall death rates for children is an astonishing social fact, notwithstanding the disgraceful infant mortality figures for the poor and minorities. Like the decline in death from childbirth for women, this is a stunning achievement.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)