Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer (23 June 1800 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

25 August 1868 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) was a German actress, writer, director of the Stadttheater in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

for six years, and author of over 100 plays and

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Biography

Charlotte Johanna Birch-Pfeiffer's father was a schoolmate of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

, supposedly her father was responsible for saving the manuscript ''

Die Räuber ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first dramatic play by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim and was inspired by Leisewitz's earlier play '' Julius of Taranto''. It was wr ...

'' by hiding it in his mattress. When he went blind in 1809, Birch-Pfeiffer read him the classics and by doing so gained a strong literary education. Both father and daughter loved the theater. In 1813 Birch-Pfeiffer's stage debut at the Munich Isarthortheater was supported by the Bavarian King, Max Joseph. From 1818 to 1826 she appeared in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

as a member of the Munch Hoftheater playing the lead in tragic roles. In 1825 she married Danish writer and historian, Christian Andreas Birch, the couple begat two children. From 1827 to 1839 Charlotte acted at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...

. From 1837–1842 she worked as the director of the Stadttheater in Zürich. After professionally visiting most of the cities in Germany, in 1844 she accepted an engagement at the royal Berlin Hoftheater, to which she remained attached until her death. Her daughter, Wilhelmine von Hillern, also became an actress and writer.

Lasting influence

On 29 May 2012 Birch-Pfeiffer was honored as the first director of the Zürich theater, where an honorary board was placed for her. On 24 February 2013 at the Theater Stok in Zürich ''Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer'' the play was performed about Birch-Pfeiffer's life.

Works

Publications

Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer Josef Anton Bauer

Charlotte Johanna Birch-Pfeiffer's publications as cited by ''An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers''. * ''Gesammelte Dramatische Werke'', 23 Volumes (1863–1880), or the 74 plays collected in these volumes, only two have been translated to English. ''Twixt Axe & Crown'' lizabeth, Prinzessin von England(1870) and ''Jane Eyre, or the Orphan of Lowood'' (1870) * ''Gesammelte Novellen und Erzäwungen'', 3 volumes (1863–1865) * ''Charlotte von Birch-Pfeiffer und Heinrich Laube Im Briefwechsel'' (1917) * ''Alexander von Weilen'' (1917)

Her plays

Dramatization of popular novels was her specialty, for which her intimate knowledge of the technical necessities of the stage fitted her. Her plays, adapted and original, fill 23 volumes (''Gesammelte dramatische Werke''; Leipzig, 1863–1880). Many continued to retain the public favor. Her novels and tales were collected in three volumes (''Gesammelte Novellen und Erzählungen'';

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, 1863–1865). Among her plays are: * ''Dorf und Stadt'' (after

Berthold Auerbach Berthold Auerbach (28 February 1812 – 8 February 1882) was a German poet and author. He was the founder of the German "tendency novel", in which fiction is used as a means of influencing public opinion on social, political, moral, and religiou ...

) * ''Die Frau in Weiss'' (after

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1860), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for ''The Moonsto ...

) * ''Der Glöckner von Notre Dame'' (after

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

) * ''Der Goldbauer'' * ''Die Grille'' (after

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...

) * ''Die Günstlinge'' * ''Der Herr Studiosus'' * ''Hinko'' * ''Kind des Glücks'' * ''Steffen Langer aus Glogau oder Der holländische Kamin'' * ''Der Leiermann und sein Pflegekind'' * ''Mutter und Sohn'' * ''Nacht und Morgen'' (after

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...

) * ''Pfefferrösel'' * ''Die Waise aus Lowood'' (after

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Nicholls (; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855), commonly known as Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ), was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë family, Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novel ...

's ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

'')

Notes

;Attribution * *

External links

*
A selection of works by Birch-Pfeiffer
on the Sophie database {{DEFAULTSORT:Birch-Pfeiffer, Charlotte German women novelists German women dramatists and playwrights German stage actresses 1800 births 1868 deaths 19th-century German actresses Actresses from Stuttgart 19th-century German women writers 19th-century German novelists 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights Women librettists