The First Stay in Vienna
From November 1784 to February 1785, Schikaneder collaborated with theater director Hubert Kumpf for a series of performances at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. He had been invited to do so by the Emperor Joseph II, who had seen him perform the previous year in Pressburg. The Vienna run was admired by critics and attracted large audiences, often including the Emperor and his court. Schikaneder and Kumpf opened their season with a revival of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Joseph Haydn's La fedeltà premiata was also performed by the troupe.
Works of spoken drama were of interest for their political content. The Austrian Empire at the time was governed (like most of Europe) by the system of hereditary aristocracy, which was falling under increasing criticism as the values of the Enlightenment spread. Schikaneder put on a successful comedy entitled Der Fremde which included a character named Baron Seltenreich ("seldom-rich") who was "a caricature of a scheming windbag of the Viennese aristocracy". Schikaneder and his colleague then stepped over the line, initiating a production of Beaumarchais' then-scandalous send-up of the aristocracy, The Marriage of Figaro. This production was canceled by the Emperor at the last minute.
In spite of the content and cancellation of the production, Joseph II brought Schikaneder entered Imperial service from April 1785 through February 1786. During his service, he performed in the Austrian Nationaltheater at Burgtheater. During his debut he sang the role of Schwindel in Gluck's Singspiel Die Pilgrime von Mekka.
In 1785, Schikaneder's wife, Eleonore, left him as a result of his infidelities. She moved in with Schikaneder's former colleague, Johann Friedel, and formed a traveling theater troupe with him. Schikaneder's brother, Urban, was also a part of this group.
Schikaneder was discontented at the Nationaltheater; in his previous career he had normally played leading roles such as (in translated Shakespeare), Hamlet, Macbeth, Iago, and Othello. His main successes at the Nationaltheater were as a singer. Seeking new options, Schikaneder proposed to the Emperor that he be allowed to build a new theater in the suburbs, a request that quickly received the Emperor's official approval. However, the plan remained unfulfilled at that time.
Eventually, Schikaneder formed a new troupe and left Vienna to tour the provinces. They played in Salzburg (May 1786; Schikaneder renewed his friendship with Leopold Mozart), then Augsburg (June 1786). During the years 1787 to 1789, the troupe performed in Schikaneder's home town of Regensburg, where they functioned as the resident company in the theater of the reigning Prince, Carl Anselm Thurn und Taxis.
Read more about this topic: Emanuel Schikaneder
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