Caesar of Arx

Bust of the sculptor Jakob Probst in the local history museum Schwarzbubenland in Dornach .

Caesar von Arx (born May 23, 1895 in Basel ; † July 14, 1949 Niedererlinsbach ) was a Swiss playwright .

Life

Caesar von Arx began studying German , history and philosophy at the University of Basel in 1914 , which he broke off in 1919 to work from 1918 to 1920 as an acting manager and director at the Basel City Theater . After 1920 he worked as a director at the municipal theaters in Leipzig . From 1925 on he lived as a freelance writer and festival author in Niedererlinsbach. When his wife died terminally ill on July 14, 1949, he passed away on the same day by suicide . In 2008 Franco Supino reconstructed the last weeks of his life in the novel The Other Life .

Create

In the dramatic work of Caesar von Arx, classically constructed historical dramas dominate, in which he designed subjects from Swiss history. His historical play The Treason of Novara became the most successful stage work by a Swiss author to date. In addition to numerous festivals, von Arx also wrote period pieces and social dramas that were based on modern stylistic principles. Most of his dramas were premiered at the Schauspielhaus Zürich . Performances on professional and amateur stages in Switzerland and abroad made von Arx the most important and successful Swiss playwright of his generation. In 1930 and 1936, two of his plays were awarded the Welti Foundation Prize for Drama .

The estate of Caesar von Arx is in the Solothurn Central Library .

Trivia

In honor of Caesar von Arx, a street in the village center of Niedererlinsbach was named. This branches off the main road westwards. Portal for Swiss place name research. Retrieved June 11, 2019 . 

Works

Single issues

• Laupen . A stage play from Swiss history, Basel 1914
• Saints and Abigail , 1915
• Lyre and sword , 1915
• The Rot Schwizerin . Volksstück in five acts. Schunke, Leipzig 1921
• Festival for the founding celebration of the shooting society of the city of Solothurn , 1922
• The Swiss . Historical festival for the Swiss Federal Shooting Festival in Aarau in 1924. Meißner, Aarau 1924
• The Bernese Oberland game , 1926
• Burlesque about death , 1926
• The bridge , 1927
• The Brugger Festival in three parts . Music by Werner Wehrli . Brugg 1927
• Moritat , 1927
• Swiss Festival . For the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival in Lucerne in 1928. Music by Werner Wehrli. Keller, Lucerne 1928
• The story of General Johann August Suter . Piece in two parts. Müller, Munich 1929
• 1882-1932 . Radio play for the anniversary of the Gotthard Railway , Bern 1932
• Opera Ball 13 . Play in three acts. Rascher, Zurich 1932
• Bird eat or die! Comedy in 3 acts. Sauerländer, Aarau 1932
• The drama of the prodigal son . After Hans Salat . Tschudy, Glarus 1934
• The betrayal of Novara . Play in three acts. Rentsch, Erlenbach 1934
• From five points of view . A dance of death game based on Johannes Kolros . Tschudy, Glarus 1934
• The holy hero . Play in five acts. Rascher, Zurich 1936
• Triathlon . Play in three acts, Basel 1937
• The Selzach Passion Play , 1937
• Laupen scenario , 1938
• The little fall . Play in three acts. Sauerlander, Aarau 1939
• Romance in plush . Play in four acts. Volksverlag, Elgg 1940
• The federal party game to mark the 650th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation , Schwyz 1941
• Land without sky . Play in three acts. Sauerländer, Aarau 1943
• Brothers in Christ . Play in three acts. Oprecht, Zurich 1947
• The Solothurn Memorial Game , 1949
• Ceremony for the unveiling of the battle memorial in Dornach , Solothurn 1949

Letter volumes

• Letters to the Father , ed. v. Armin Arnold. Lang, Bern 1982, ISBN 3-261-05000-4
• Correspondence 1929–1949 (with Walter Richard Ammann ). Lang, Bern 1985, ISBN 3-261-04046-7
• Correspondence and documents 1940–1941 (with Philipp Etter ). Lang, Bern 1985, ISBN 3-261-04074-2
• There is not much to report about me. Correspondence 1941–1949 (with Otto Oberholzer ). Book and audio CD. Schwabe, Basel 2010, ISBN 978-3-7965-2723-4

Work edition

• Works in four volumes , ed. v. Armin Arnold:
  • Volume 1: Dramas 1915-1932 . Walter, Olten 1986, ISBN 3-530-02311-6
  • Volume 2: Dramas 1934-1949 . Schwabe, Basel 2005, ISBN 3-7965-2178-9
  • Volume 3: Festival 1914–1949 . Walter, Olten 1987, ISBN 3-530-02313-2
  • Volume 4: Seals, Lectures, Feature Pages 1913–1948 . Schwabe, Basel 2008, ISBN 978-3-7965-2433-2 (with bibliography)

literature

• Werner Juker:  Arx, Caesar von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 404 ( digitized version ).
• Urs Kamber: Arx, Caesar von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Urs Viktor Kamber: The struggle for existence of the Swiss playwright Caesar von Arx. In the mirror of the tradition of the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, 1934 to 1941. Caesar von Arx Foundation, Niedererlinsbach 2001.
• Urs Viktor Kamber: Letters from Ödön von Horváth to Caesar von Arx October 25, 1937 to May 27, 1938. Caesar von Arx Foundation, Erlinsbach 2006.
• Josef Moser: Studies on the theory of drama by Caesar von Arx. 1895-1949. Dissertation Freiburg (Switzerland) 1956.
• Ernest Prodolliet : Caesar of Arx. Life and work. Keller, Aarau 1953.
• Rolf Röthlisberger: The Festival of the Swiss playwright Caesar von Arx (1895-1949). An estate documentation with an introductory biography. Lang, Bern 1984, ISBN 3-261-03478-5 .
• Werner Wüthrich: Caesar von Arx . In: Andreas Kotte (Ed.): Theater Lexikon der Schweiz . Volume 1, Chronos, Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-0340-0715-9 , pp. 75-76.
• August Kamber: Caesar von Arx in the mirror of his wife In: Oltner Neujahrsblätter , Vol. 10, 1952, pp. 31–34.

Web links

• Publications by and about Caesar von Arx in the Helveticat catalog of the Swiss National Library
• Literature by and about Caesar von Arx in the catalog of the German National Library
• Website of the Caesar von Arx Foundation