Karoline Christine Genast (née Böhler; 31 January 1798 – 15 April 1860) was a German actress, singer and pianist.

Early life

Karoline Christine Böhler was born on 31 January 1798 in Cassel as the eldest daughter of Wilhelm Böhler, a lawyer from

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

. Her father was persuaded to act by actor August Wilhelm Iffland and then gained a reputation in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

for comic and character roles. Her father personally educated Böhler and her younger sister, Doris, himself. She made her stage debut on 2 May 1814 as in Lilla in the opera of the same name in Frankfurt. The next year she made her debut as a pianist also in Frankfurt.

Career

The early death of her father in 1816 prompted Böhler to accept an engagement at the Estates Theatre 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 ...

, where she was praised for her "naturalness, charm and youthful freshness". Along with her younger sister Doris, they came to the Stadttheater in

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 ...

, which was then under the direction of Karl Theodor von Küstner. During this time, she was known as the "great Böhler", while her sister was known as the "little Böhler". While there, she met fellow newcomer Eduard Genast and married him on 14 May 1820. Together they had 5 children; four daughters and a son. She was known in her prime for being one of the best representatives of

Friedrich 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 ...

and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's heroines.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

was a fan of her work and dedicated a poem to her while he was still in Leipzig on 31 January 1822. This poem was also written in von Küstner's ''Review''. On 24 April 1830, with Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, she sang "

Erlkönig "Erlkönig" is a German poetry, poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the Erlking, a king of the fairy, fairies. It was originally written by Goethe as part of a 1782 ''Singspiel' ...

" by

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

set by Goethe's poem of the same name in front of Goethe himself, who remarked "I have this composition once before, when it did not appeal to me at all; but sung in this way, the whole shapes itself into a visible picture". After Küstner's theatre failed, her husband, Eduard, built a theatre in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

from the ruins of that company in 1828 with support from the

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

. He also brought in actors from Küstner's company including her sister and her husband Emil Devrient. One year later, the couple was offered a lifelong engagement at the Weimar Court Theatre as well as the opportunity to manage a newly built court theatre in Leipzig. They opted for the former as it had been run by her father-in-law Anton Genast and Goethe.

Later life and death

As she grew older, Genast moved away from playing youthful heroines and focused on portraying mothers in drama. She found success in this type of role as well as in older classical plays such as Isabella in '' The Bride of Messina'' and Volumnia in ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

''. One of her last consequential roles was Claudia Galotti in ''

Emilia Galotti ''Emilia Galotti'' () is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Braunschweig, Brunswick (''Braunschweig'' in German). The work is an example of German ''bürgerliches Trauerspiel'' (bourg ...

'' on 15 September 1859. Her last role was the main part in ''Rosa und Röschen'' on 16 January 1860, where she bade goodbye to the audience. Genast died that same year on 15 April 1860, in Weimar.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genast, Christine 1798 births 1860 deaths 19th-century German actresses 19th-century German women opera singers Actors from Kassel Musicians from Kassel German stage actresses