Fanny Janauschek

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Fanny Janauschek
Vereinstaler Frankfurt "Janauschektaler"

Fanny Janauschek , actually Franziska Magdalene Romance Janauschek , (born July 20, 1828 in Prague , † November 29, 1904 in Brooklyn , New York ) was an Austrian actress .

Life

Janauschek came from a humble background; her father Johan Janousek was a master tailor and her mother Anna Marie, b. Kratochvilova, laundress. As a child she became a member of the corps de ballet at the Prague State Theater. In addition, she received private acting lessons from Karl Baudius . With his help, she was able to shine in small supporting roles as early as 1844. During this time she also officially switched from ballet to theater. On July 17, 1845 she was able to successfully debut at the State Theater as "Karoline von Biberstein".

Janauschek moved from Prague to Leipzig , but the promised engagement was not realized. Therefore, in the winter of 1845/46 she found her livelihood more poorly than quite on the small provincial theaters as a temporary worker. In the spring of 1846 she played for some time in Annaberg and was from there committed to the Aktientheater ( Heilbronn ). For some time she became a member of the Ringelmann Theater Society in Heilbronn .

In Heilbronn she made the acquaintance of Justinus Kerner ; he tried to help, but in these politically troubled times ( revolution ) it was almost impossible to find a permanent job at the theater. In September 1848 Janauschek played for a few weeks at the Cologne City Theater , where he met Roderich Benedix . Convinced of her abilities, he referred her to the Comödienhaus in Frankfurt . There she was seen in February 1848 as "Marianne".

Janauschek became known for her participation in a festival performance (May 21, 1848) in honor of Ludwig Uhland , who was a member of the National Assembly in the Free City of Frankfurt . But she became famous with her "Iphigenia", with which she was able to shine on May 28, 1849 on the occasion of the celebration of Goethe's 100th birthday.

From 1849 to 1860 she was permanently engaged at the Frankfurt Schauspielhaus . Her dismissal in 1860 for reasons of economy caused a theater scandal. Several times she was the model of the city personification Frankofurtia . The Frankfurt club thaler from 1857 is said to have shown her picture. He was called Janauschektaler . After a few brief guest appearances on various stages, she came under contract at the Dresden Court Theater in November 1861 . She stayed there only a year. In the winter of 1862/63 she gathered a few colleagues around her and in 1863 set out on a major tour to and through the USA .

There her first official appearance (Medea) took place on October 9, 1863 at the Academy of Music in New York . This was followed by a five-year tour to all the major stages in North and South America. In 1873 Janauschek returned to Germany with her group. After a few appearances she was brought back to the USA. Since she - meanwhile fluent in English - played her best roles in this language, she was able to almost surpass the success of her first tour.

She lost all of her fortune in risky financial speculations. Even a short but important guest performance in London in 1876 could not help her. She returned to New York already sick and a short time later suffered a stroke. Janauschek died at the age of 75 on November 29, 1904 in St. Mary's Hospital (Brooklyn), where she also found her final resting place.

Quote

From an anonymous theater review in the Vossische Zeitung :

“Her playing, which emphasizes certain climaxes of the roles, is definitely something of the manner of the French tragedian ( Rachel ). Her play is perfect majesty not only in the plastic part, but also in terms of its inner being. In historical characters, what it gives has not only artistic and psychological, but also historical truth ”.

Since this article at the latest, Fanny Janauschek has been called the German Rachel .

Trivia

Around 1861 the painter Arnold Böcklin portrayed the actress Fanny Janauschek as "Donna Isabella" ( The Bride of Messina ); today this picture is in the Städelschen Museum Frankfurt / M. to see.

Roles (selection)

literature

  • Fanny Janauschek: Illustrations on the latest history of the Frankfurt theater . Adelmann Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 1861.
  • Constantin von Wurzbach : Janauschek, Franzisca Magdalena Romance . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 10th part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1863, pp. 63–65 ( digitized version ).
  • Ludwig Eisenberg: Large biographical lexicon of the German stage of the 19th century . List Verlag, Leipzig 1903, pp. 471–472.
  • Georg Swarzenski: Arnold Böcklin, the portrait of the actress Fanny Janauschek . Städelscher Museumsverein, Frankfurt / M. 1936.

Web links

Commons : Fanny Janauschek  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Copy of the original and certified translation, v. January 7, 1936, Czechoslovak Republic, District Office Magistrate, District Court Prague II, baptism certificate, baptism matriculation XI sheet: 255, baptism date 21.VII.1828
personal data
SURNAME Janauschek, Fanny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Janauschek, Franziska Magdalene Romance
BRIEF DESCRIPTION actress
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH November 29, 1904
Place of death New York City