Franz von Dingelstedt (30 June 1814 – 15 May 1881) was a German poet, dramatist and theatre administrator.

Life and career

Dingestedt was born at Halsdorf, Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), Germany, and later studied at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

nearby. In 1836 he became a master at the Lyceum in

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 ...

, from where he was transferred to

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

in 1838. In 1839 he wrote ''Unter der Erde'' ("Beneath the Earth"), a novel which obtained considerable success. In 1841, ''Lieder eines kosmopolitischen Nachtwächters'', the book by which he is best remembered, was published. These poems, animated as they are by a spirit of bitter opposition to everything that savours of

despotism In political science, despotism () is a government, form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute Power (social and political), power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot (as in an autocracy), but societies whi ...

, were an effective contribution to the political poetry of the day. The popularity of this book determined Dingelstedt to take up a literary career, and in 1841 he obtained an appointment on the staff of the '' Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung''. In 1843, however, the

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

of German princes accepted, to general surprise, his appointment as private librarian to the king of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. In the same year he married the celebrated

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n opera singer, Jenny Lutzer (1816-1877). In 1845 he published a volume of poems dealing with then modern life, some of which possessed merit of a literary rather than strictly poetical nature. A subsequent collection, published in 1852, attracted little attention. He attained the position of intendant at the court theatre in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

as a result of the success of his

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

''Das Haus der Barneveldt'' (1850), and he soon became the center of literary society there. He incurred, however, the animosity of the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

clique at court, and in 1856 was suddenly dismissed on the most frivolous of charges. A similar position was offered to him at

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

through the influence of

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

, and he remained there until 1867. His administration was most successful, and he especially distinguished himself by presenting all

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 natio ...

's historical plays upon the stage in an unbroken cycle. In 1867 he became director of the court opera house in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and in 1872 of the Hofburgtheater, a position which he held until his death in Vienna on 15 May 1881. He was ennobled in 1867 by the king of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and in 1876 was created

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

by the emperor of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. His remains are buried beside his wife's at Wiener Zentralfriedhof. His other works include ''Münchener Bilderbogen'' (1879), an autobiographical sketch of his Munich career, ''Die Amazone'', an art novel of considerable merit (1869), translations of several of Shakespeare's comedies, and several writings dealing with questions of practical dramaturgy. Dingelstedt's ''Sämtliche Werke'' appeared in 12 volumes (1877–1878), but this edition was far from complete.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dingelstedt, Franz von 1814 births 1881 deaths People from Marburg-Biedenkopf People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel German opera managers 19th-century German librarians German male poets German male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights German-language poets 19th-century German male writers Intendants of the Bavarian State Opera General Directors of the Vienna State Opera 19th-century German poets