Friedrich Strampfer (24 July 1823 – 7 April 1890) was a German actor and theatre manager. His career of varied fortunes included a successful period in the 1860s running 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 ...

in Vienna; he managed many other theatres for short periods, and lived for several years in North America.

Life

He was born in

Grimma Grimma (; , ) is a town in Saxony, Central Germany, on the left bank of the Mulde, southeast of Leipzig. Founded in 1170, it is part of the Leipzig district. Location The town is in northern Saxony, southeast of Leipzig and south of Wurz ...

in Saxony. His father, Heinrich Strampfer (c.1790–1848), an actor, had appeared in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, and in Vienna at the

Theater in der Leopoldstadt The Theater in der Leopoldstadt (also: Leopoldstädter Theater) was an opera house in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, founded in 1781 by Karl von Marinelli, following the ''Schauspielfreiheit'' (ending of the court's monopoly on entertainment) ...

and the Theater an der Wien. Friedrich's first engagement was in Linz in 1841, and afterwards appeared in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

and

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

. In 1843, he was engaged at the court theatre in Weimar, being recommended by and

Ottilie von Goethe Ottilie Wilhelmine Ernestine Henriette von Goethe (born ''Freiin von Pogwisch''; 31 October 1796, Danzig – 26 October 1872, Weimar) was a German socialite and the daughter-in-law of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Biography Her father, Wilhelm Jul ...

."Strampfer, Friedrich Ernst Wolfgang"
''

Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon The ''Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon'Oesterreichisch'' with ''Oe'' is the spelling of the print and online output. (, ) is a five-volume music encyclopedia founded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences' Commission for Music Research. It was offic ...

Online''. Retrieved 19 November 2024. He married in 1845 Anna von Ottenburg, an actress in the court theatre; she was Roman Catholic and Strampfer was

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, so a priest to officiate was found with difficulty. The marriage was soon after declared null and void by

Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Charles Frederick (; 2 February 1783 – 8 July 1853) was the reigning Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Biography Born in Weimar, he was the eldest son of Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Luise Auguste of Hesse-Darmstad ...

, and Strampfer and Anna were dismissed from the court theatre of Weimar. Anna died in 1858, and he later remarried. For a few years from 1845, he was in an acting troupe, travelling through Germany and Austria. From 1850 to 1862, he was theatre manager successively in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

, where he founded the city's first permanent theatre, and

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

In Vienna

In 1862, Strampfer became manager of the Theater an der Wien; he ran the theatre with great success, with productions particularly of operettas of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

, and engaging Josefine Gallmeyer and

Marie Geistinger Marie Charlotte Cäcilie Geistinger (1836–1903) was an Austrian actress and operatic soprano, known as the "Queen of Operetta". She frequently appeared in works by Jacques Offenbach, Johann Strauss II and Franz von Suppé. She achieved particu ...

. He left the theatre in 1869. In 1870, he acquired the old building of the

Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde The (), also known as the (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Beethoven’s friend Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Theatre in Vienna, Austria. Overview ...

in Vienna, and opened it in 1871 as the . It had 600 seats and 28 boxes. In 1873, he also became the manager of the . The ventures were not successful, and, in financial difficulty, he gave up both theatres in 1874. From 1875 until 1878, he gave acting lessons in Vienna, and during the following few years in Vienna he was manager successively of the

Ringtheater The Ringtheater was a popular theater in Vienna, Austria. In 1881, it was destroyed in the Ringtheater fire that killed 384 people. The site now houses the federal headquarters of police for Vienna. Construction The Ringtheater was built betwee ...

, the Vienna Municipal Theatre and the

Carltheater The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile). It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had ...

America and later

From 1883 to 1888 he lived in Canada and the United States as a farmer, manager of a German-American travelling theatre, newspaper editor and reciter. He returned to Europe and from 1889, together with Anna Mayr-Peyrimsky (1855–1915), a singer and singing teacher, he was director of a theatre school in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

."Mayr-Peyrimsky (geb. Peyrimsky), Anna"
' Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon Online''. Retrieved 20 November 2024. He died in Graz in 1890.

Commentaries

His biographer in ''

Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' (English, ''Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire'') (abbreviated ''Wurzbach'' from the author's surname) is a 60-volume work, edited and published by Constantin von Wurzbach, cont ...

'' (1879) wrote that Strampfer "has been praised for being particularly fortunate in discovering talent for the stage." His biographer in ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

'' (1893) wrote: "Strampfer was by nature an adventurer, full of enterprising spirit and understanding of the stage and the public."

References