Eduard Genast

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Eduard Genast

Eduard Franz Genast (born July 15, 1797 in Weimar ; † August 3, 1866 in Wiesbaden ) was a German opera singer (bass), actor, composer, theater director and director.

Life

Genast was born on July 15, 1797 in Weimar as the son of the famous actor and director Anton Genast . After school he first learned the confectionery trade , as his father was against a career in the theater, and made it in his profession as an assistant in the grand ducal court confectionery.

Training as a singer and actor

After his voice broke, he had a pleasant baritone voice, which is why he received vocal training from the music director Carl Eberwein from 1813 , which increased his already existing enthusiasm for acting and music. On April 23, 1814, he made his debut at the court theater in Weimar under Goethe's special direction as Osmin in the singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . From Goethe he got an engagement as second bass player. In 1816 Genast trained his voice with Wilhelm Häser in Stuttgart . This was followed by engagements in Dresden , Hanover and Prague and - under Theodor von Küstner  - from 1818 to 1828 in Leipzig . During this time he married the singer Karoline Christine Böhler and had five children with her: The four daughters Johanna, Dorothea, Antonia - called "Toni" - and the youngest daughter Emilie , who became a famous singer, and their son Wilhelm Genast , who later playwright. Besides being a singer, Genast was also able to establish himself as an actor. He was widely admired for this versatility.

Theater management in Magdeburg and Weimar

The Weimar Court Theater around 1800

After Küstner left Leipzig, Genast followed the call of the Magdeburg theater committee under August Wilhelm Franke in spring 1828 and took over the management of the city ​​theater in Magdeburg as well as the post of chief director. Since the Leipzig City Theater was closed at the same time , he was able to engage outstanding actors for his stage and perform a number of excellent pieces. In just under twelve months, Genast performed 37 demanding works that set standards, including 21 operas. The creative period in Magdeburg lasted only a short time, as he got a lifetime engagement from the Weimar court theater in April 1829. From 1833 to 1851 he also directed the opera in Weimar . In 1860 he retired. Since then he has only been mentioned as an honorary member and guest on the theater bill.

Composer at the end of life

With general sympathy, he said goodbye to the theater in 1864 for his 50th anniversary on the stage, but among other things composed songs , two operas and wrote opera texts under the pseudonym Franz Naumann . On August 3, 1866, he died in the house of his daughter Doris Raff in Wiesbaden , who had married the composer Joachim Raff .

meaning

During his time, Genast was highly valued as a hard-working singer and actor. In his book Retrospect on the Leipzig Theater , Küstner assessed him very carefully. Both opera and reciting drama, both the serious and the funny subject, both the older and the younger roles of the drama and singspiel, and finally both the poetic dramas and conversational pieces, he completely mastered. In the opera his repertoire extended to all the first bass and baritone roles. He sang the Sarastro and the Zampa . He also acted in very different roles. He played Wallenstein in the play of the same name by Friedrich Schiller , Alp in Zeitgeist , Götz and Zacharias Styx, King Philipp in Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller and the shoemaker in Lumpaci Vagabundus . At the end of his theater career, he only appeared as an actor. He is considered to be one of the last great representatives of the "Weimar Style".

Works

  • The Sun Men , opera (premiere 1828);
  • The Traitors in the Alps , Opera, 1833.
  • Vocal piece The Last Hour of the House of Moritz Gottlieb Saphir, for one voice with orchestra or pianoforte; Score, Julius Wunders Musik-Verlag, Leipzig, around 1845.
  • Genast, Eduard: From the diary of an old actor 4 volumes, Voigt & Guenther, Leipzig, 1862–1866

Anecdotes

From Eduard Genasts From the diary of an old actor :

  • In the performance of “The Broken Jug” by Kleist, the village judge played so broadly and boringly that the other actors lost interest in it. When a ducal official whistled the play, Duke Carl August ordered him to be arrested for three days. “The next day, Goethe is said to have remarked against Riemer, who told Genast: 'Man was not so wrong at all; I would have been there if my decency and my position had allowed it. Because of decency he should have waited until he was outside the auditorium. '"
  • In August 1818, Goethe did his rounds in the room in the morning, drinking a glass of red wine each time. Goethe asked Rehbein as he happened to enter the date and heard the answer in disbelief, because he insisted that this was his 28th birthday. When his servant also said it was the 27th, Goethe said to his servant: "That you - calendar here!" Karl brought the calendar. Goethe (after a long pause): “Thunder! I got drunk for free ” .

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Healed, Eduard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Genast, Eduard Franz (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (bass), actor, composer, theater director and director
DATE OF BIRTH July 15, 1797
PLACE OF BIRTH Weimar
DATE OF DEATH August 3, 1866
Place of death Wiesbaden