Hermann Sallmayer

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Hermann Sallmayer (born March 29 or March 31, 1823 in Vienna ; † May 3, 1886 in Dornbach (Vienna) ), was an Austrian writer , actor , theater director and from 1879 publisher of the satirical magazine " Die Bombe ".

Life

The son of a bookseller was drawn to the theater from an early age. He did not enjoy regular acting lessons, his training facility was the stage. As a member of an impromptu theater across the country , he played all subjects of drama, with the exception of roles that could be assigned to the low-comic style. After these years of traveling, there followed appearances at larger provincial theaters, including in Regensburg, Augsburg, Bremen, Lemberg, Leipzig, Vienna and London. But these were only temporary engagements, as Sallmayer did not want to be tied to a certain stage. Even a well-intentioned advice from Nestroy that a role was to be cast at the Theater in Ofen did not lead to a conclusion.

Hermann Sallmayer's grave at Dornbacher Friedhof

On October 1, 1856, Sallmayer performed for the first time in Innsbruck . His secretary Wurm in Schiller's “ Kabale und Liebe ” was mentioned in the daily press with praise. Not only as an actor, but also as a playwright and writer, the artist enjoyed a good reputation in the Tyrolean capital. The dramas “Philippine Welser” and “Frauenherzen” originate from his pen and were performed with great success both in Innsbruck and on other stages. On November 26, 1856, the archducal couple Karl Ludwig of Austria and Margarete von Sachsen attended the performance of the festival "A Day of Joy for Tyrol", which the artist had written especially for the occasion, in the Imperial and Royal National Theater Innsbruck . In the seasons 1859/60 and 1861/62 he headed the estate theater in Klagenfurt . To promote local dramatic literature, he organized a competition at this theater in which he promised a generous reward to anyone who presented him a drama from Carinthian folk life within a year. After having worked in Marburg ad Drau and Raab for a while , he returned to Innsbruck, where he took over the management of the National Theater for two seasons (1864/65 and 1865/66). In 1866/67 he moved to the Landständische Theater in Linz , but kept the management of the opera company in Innsbruck. If you understand the staff working at both venues as corporations, more than 150 people were employed in his company. After the contract expired, his contract was no longer extended, as the performances, which were enthusiastically applauded at the beginning, no longer met the audience's expectations towards the end of the season.

In 1867 Sallmayer took over the management of the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna. Despite its initial artistic success, this company ended in a financial fiasco and ultimately resulted in the auction of the theater library and the cloakrooms of the theater company. Further attempts to gain a foothold as director at the Thalia Theater in Vienna and at the summer theater in Hernals he built in 1868 were just as unsuccessful as the establishment of a summer theater in Königsberg (Prussia) in 1870 , where Sallmayer was a director and actor on 1870/1871 United Theater worked. In 1873 he was entrusted with the deputy management of the German Theater in Budapest , but retired from the stage in 1874 and subsequently lived as a writer and journalist.

Sallmayer wrote a number of literary works, including the consideration: “Art institute or amusement location ? Sketches about the state of the German theater, with particular reference to the Schaubühne in Austria and the smaller theater companies there ” . Some of his writings have appeared under a pseudonym.

After the condemnation of the editor of the weekly newspaper "Die Bombe" in June 1879, Sallmayer continued the satirical newspaper.

Sallmayer was married twice and last lived in Vienna, where he died at the age of 64. The City of Vienna dedicated an honorary grave to him in recognition of his services at the Dornbacher Friedhof . Two of the artist's granddaughters, twin sisters Hermance and Marianne Merten-Sallmayer, were celebrated child stars in the 1890s.

Lyric and dramatic works (selection)

  • An artist's heart (Drama, Lemberg 1851)
  • Philippine Welser (play in 5 acts, Augsburg 1854)
  • Women's hearts (drama, Augsburg 1855)
  • A day of joy in Tyrol (Festival, Innsbruck 1856)
  • Mirror Images (Poems, 1855)
  • Songs from the Sea (Poems, 1858)
  • Snowy Spring (Songs and Poems, 1858)
  • The Controversy for the Throne (Prologue with Singing in One Act, 1867)
  • Humans are not descended from animals (polemical humoresque, 1872)
  • Surprises (one-act Bluette, 1874)
  • The victory of the spirit (dramatic fairy tale, 1875)
  • For the Women (Serious and Cheerful Sketches, 1875)
  • Equal law (comedy, written for the Ringtheater in 1878)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The term low-comic style was coined by Johann Christoph Adelung in his work on German stylistics. Adelung means a primitive and ignoble style which corresponds to the way of thinking of the lower social classes. The work can be obtained free of charge as an e-book from Google Books.
  2. ^ J. Nestroy, Letter No. 65, written July 18, 1851 in Ofen
  3. ↑ Emanuel Schikaneder (approx. 1780) and Oskar von Redwitz (1859) also wrote dramatic poems with the title "Philippine Welser" .
  4. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten October 2 and November 19, 1856
  5. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, November 27, 1856
  6. ↑ Klagenfurter Zeitung, April 7, 1860, p. 5
  7. ↑ Fremdblatt, May 12, 1866, p. 6, retrieved from Google books on January 6, 2019
  8. ↑ Wiener Zeitung, March 28, 1904, p. 4
  9. ↑ Published by Wagner'schen Buchdruckerei in Innsbruck in 1865 [1]
  10. ↑ For the process see: Die Presse, June 3, 1879, p. 11
  11. ↑ Badener Bezirksblatt, July 29, 1892, p. 2
personal data
SURNAME Sallmayer, Hermann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Starke, Heinrich (Enrico) (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian theater specialist
DATE OF BIRTH March 29, 1823 or March 31, 1823
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 1886
Place of death Vienna