Christoph Friedrich Bretzner

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Christoph Friedrich Bretzner (born December 10, 1748 in Leipzig ; † August 31, 1807 there ) was a German comedy poet . He was one of the most popular German librettists at the end of the 18th century.

Life

His parents were the electoral Saxon court wallpaperer Johann Friedrich Bretzner and Christiane Sophie, daughter of the Leipzig sculptor Christian Buschweiler. Christoph Friedrich Bretzner worked as a businessman in his native Leipzig, initially as an accountant, later he became a partner in a business. In addition to his job, he wrote numerous plays between 1769 and 1796, both comedies and antics as well as dramas and tragedies. His works are in the tradition of the bourgeois Enlightenment . He criticized the nobility imitating appearance of the nouveau riche, condemned immoral behavior, while he let virtuous lovers triumph over adverse circumstances. His dramas were inspired by Lessing's work (e.g. Minna von Barnhelm ). Bretzner often used the dialect element to characterize characters through their language. In spite of the enlightenment demands, his works are characterized by lightness and naturalness, up to the exuberance of feelings and echoes of frivolity. They reflect the zeitgeist of the time and the prosperity of the city ​​of Leipzig, known as “ Little Paris ”. In the German Theater Lexicon (1953) Bretzner was classified as a "model writer", i. H. an author who writes his works in such a way that they meet current tastes.

One of his Singspiele is “Belmonte and Constanze, or: The Abduction from the Seraglio”, thanks to Mozart's composition The Abduction from the Seraglio . Bretzner's operetta was composed by Johann André . In 1782 Bretzner publicly protested in the Leipziger Zeitung against the plagiarism of Mozart and his librettist Johann Gottlieb Stephanie the Younger , who reworked the text according to Mozart's ideas. One difference between the two works was that Bretzner lets his end positively, with Selim Bassa proving to be Belmonte's father. Some of Bretzner's songs, such as Vivat Bacchus , became very famous through Mozart's interpretation. The fact that Bretzner published a German adaptation of Mozart's “ Così fan tutte ” in 1794 with woman loyalty or the girls are from Flanders is interpreted as a sign of reconciliation or admiration for Mozart.

Another well-known play by Bretzner is the comedy Das Räuschen , which was a hit at the box office and was played long after its release in 1786. For example, the comedy was shown at the Weimar court theater in 1852. Bretzner takes up the theme of the American War of Independence . He also brought events of his time into other plays, such as the emergence of the balloon flight in the comedy Die Luftbugeln (1786) or the physiognomic theories of Johann Caspar Lavater , to which he makes comedic references in his play Karl and Sophie or: Die Physiognomisten ( 1781). In this respect, his work is also important as a cultural and historical source.

Daniel Chodowiecki : Illustration from Bretzner's novel The Life of a Lüderlichen , Los Angeles County Museum of Art

In 1787 Bretzner's novel The Life of a Lüderlichen was published: a moral-satyrical painting based on Chodowiecki and Hogarth . He used two series of works of art as a template: the "Twelve Leaves for the Life of a Lüderlichen" by the engraver Daniel Chodowiecki and " A Rake's Progress " by William Hogarth .

Bretzner died on August 31, 1807 as a participant in a theater performance in Leipzig .

Works (selection)

  • The apple thief or the treasure hunter. 1769.
  • Karl and Sophie or: The Physiognomists. A comedy in five acts. Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer, Leipzig 1780.
  • The will-o'-the-wisp, or: he finally found her. An operetta in three acts. Music by Ignaz Umlauf , Vienna 1781.
  • Belmont and Constanze, or: The Abduction from the Seraglio. An operetta in three acts by CF Bretzner. Composed by Kapellmeister Andre in Berlin . Carl Friedrich Schneider, Leipzig 1781. Reprint: Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden : Die Entführung aus dem Seraglio, program booklet 175, season 1995/96 .
  • The inheritance from the East Indies. A comedy in four acts. Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer, Leipzig 1781.
  • The noise. A comedy in four acts. Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer, Leipzig 1786.
  • The air balls or the lovers à la Montgolfier. Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer, Leipzig 1786.
  • The life of a ludicrous: a moral-satyrical painting after Chodowiecki and Hogarth. Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer, Leipzig 1787.
  • The necromancer. A tragedy in three acts. Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer, Leipzig 1790.
  • Felix and Hannchen: A comedy in four acts. Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer, Leipzig 1791.
  • Faithful women or the girls are from Flanders. Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer, Leipzig 1794.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bretzner, Christoph Friedrich. In: Brockhaus Riemann Musiklexikon . Volume 1. Schott, Mainz 1989, ISBN 3-7957-8305-4 .
  2. ↑ a b c Wynfrid Kriegleder : Bretzner, Christoph Friedrich. In: Walther Killy (ed.): Literature Lexicon: Authors and works in the German language. Volume 2. Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1989.
  3. ^ A b c Karl Richter:  Bretzner, Christoph Friedrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , p. 603 f. ( Digitized version ).
  4. ^ A b Bretzner, Christoph Friedrich In: Wilhelm Kosch : Deutsches Theater-Lexikon : biographical and bibliographical manual. Volume 1, Kleinmayr, Klagenfurt 1953.
  5. ↑ Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden: Die Entführung aus dem Serail, program booklet 175, season 1995/96 , p. 34
  6. ↑ Playbill The Räuschchen , Weimar Court Theater, Wednesday, September 15, 1852. Archives of the State of Thuringia, Central State Archive Weimar "art and science, Hofwesen, No. A 10419/40, sheet 5. Accessed on 18 November 2018th
personal data
SURNAME Bretzner, Christoph Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German comedy poet
DATE OF BIRTH December 10, 1748
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH August 31, 1807
Place of death Leipzig