International Nestroy Society
The International Nestroy Society was founded in 1973 to promote employment with the work of Johann Nestroy (1801–1862). The memory of the Austrian comedian should be cultivated especially in the areas of scientific research and performance practice.
The company is based in Vienna; Heinrich Kraus (1923–2018) was its president from 1990 onwards . Othmar Nestroy has been President of the Society since 2018.
Forerunner, foundation
On the occasion of the poet's 125th birthday in 1926, a federation of Nestroyfreunde was founded in Vienna with the aim of "erecting a worthy memorial to the Viennese Aristophanes Johann Nestroy in his native Vienna". This was created by Oskar Thiede , was erected in front of the house at Praterstrasse 17 at the junction of Zirkusgasse in Leopoldstadt and was ceremoniously unveiled on June 16, 1929. The square was renamed Nestroyplatz in 1932 . The memorial shows Nestroy in the role of Blasius Rohr in the farce of happiness, abuse and return . Originally, the memorial should have been erected in front of the Carltheater , Nestroy's central place of work. The larger than life bronze statue was dismantled due to the war in 1942 and only narrowly escaped being melted down. After the end of the Nazi regime, the memorial was found again in the United Wiener Metallwarenfabriken in Erdberg and was re-erected in 1950 in the courtyard of the Palais Cumberland in Penzing . The Max Reinhardt Seminar was and is there .
As early as the late 1960s there were founding efforts, but only after appeals from the Federal Republic of Germany could the Nestroy Society be founded in 1973. Her early supporters included Otto Basil , Hans Weigel , Gustav Manker , director of the Vienna Volkstheater and founding president of the society, and Franz H. Mautner . Due to an intervention by the Nestroy Society, the statue returned to Leopoldstadt in 1983. It was relocated near its original location on either August 2 or September 2, 1983, according to conflicting sources.
Board
From 1990, Heinrich Kraus (1923–2018) served as president , and for many years was theater director in Vienna. Its vice-presidents are Othmar Nestroy and W. Edgar Yates . The publisher Johann Lehner and the actor and author Gottfried Riedl act as secretaries . The board includes the theater directors Herbert Föttinger and Robert Meyer , the actor and director Peter Gruber , the librarian Walter Obermaier , the Germanist Ulrike Tanzer and the theater scholars Wolfgang Greisenegger , Stefan Hulfeld and Johann Hüttner .
One of the founding members and longstanding Vice President was Jürgen Hein (1942–2014), until 2007 professor for literary studies at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster .
activity
The core activities of the association exist
- in the annual organization of a scientific symposium, the International Nestroy Talks in Schwechat,
- the publication of the scientific journal Nestroyana and
- Public relations for Nestroy and his works through lectures, awarding of awards and publications.
The society tries to research the Viennese folk theater as a whole and maintains close contact with the Raimund Society. In 1973 the Nestroy-Spiele Schwechat was founded, which since then has presented a play by Nestroy in an open-air performance at Rothmühle Castle every year since then . Since the company was founded, there has been close collaboration with the Nestroy Games and the Nestroy Committee of the city of Schwechat , which is directly adjacent to Vienna in the southeast. Over the years, the International Nestroy Center Schwechat has developed from the committee . In 1975 the first International Nestroy Talks took place.
The greatest merit of the society is the patronage of the historical-critical complete edition of Nestroy, which was published from 1977 in 52 volumes, and the provision of all pieces of Nestroy free of charge on the website of the society.
International Nestroy talks in Schwechat
This scientific symposium is open every year to German scholars, theater scholars, teachers and theater makers (both for professionals and for amateurs and enthusiasts). Participation is free of charge. The conference begins with a visit to the Nestroy Games. An excursion is also included every year, for example to the historic Grein Theater .
Historical-critical complete edition
Nestroy's literary estate came into the care of the then Vienna City Library in 1923, today's Vienna Library in the City Hall , which has since been the center of Nestroy research worldwide. Since it was founded, the Nestroy Society has endeavored to create a historical-critical complete edition (HKA) of the works of Nestroy, which Otto Rommel and Fritz Brukner's edition should revise and supplement from 1924 to 1930. Already in 1977 the first two volumes appeared under the editorship of Jürgen Hein and Johann Hüttner , the letters and Johann Nestroy im Bild , by Deuticke Verlag . In 1992 W. Edgar Yates and Walter Obermaier were added to the editorial team. The project comprises a total of 52 volumes and was completed on Nestroy's 200th birthday in 2001.
Nestroyana
Nestroyana magazine bears the subtitle Leaves of the International Nestroy Society and thus serves as the institution's official publication. It appears every six months and is included in the membership fee. The Nestroyana are published by Verlag Lehner, whose publication series Quodlibet and Pictures from a Theatrical Life contain further contributions to the person and work of Nestroy. In Quodlibet , Nestroy's “Reserve” was edited for the first time and a guide to his pieces was published. W. Edgar Yates and Ulrike Tanzer were editors of the Nestroyana for a long time.
Viennese lectures
The renowned Vienna Lectures in the Vienna City Hall presented four symposia in cooperation with the Nestroy Society:
- 1992: From creative to edited Nestroy
- 1994: The unknown Nestroy: editorial, biographical, interpretative
- 1997: 'In the circumstances of the time there are still such private relationships': Nestroy's everyday life and its documentation
- 2000: Behind the scenes of pre-March and post-March: social upheavals and theater culture at Nestroy
Awards
From 1976 to 1999 the City of Vienna awarded the Johann-Nestroy-Ring . The right to nominate the winners lay with the Nestroy Society. In 2000, the Nestroy Theater Prize was launched instead of the Nestroy Ring and Kainz Medal .
Since 2005, the new Johann-Nestroy-Ring has been awarded in cooperation with the city of Bad Ischl . Previous winners include well-known Nestroy actors such as Erni Mangold , Nicholas Ofczarek and Erwin Steinhauer but also the cabaret artist Michael Niavarani , the writer Peter Turrini and the director of the Theater in der Josefstadt , Herbert Föttinger .
On its own initiative, the company awards the Johann Nestroy Medal of Honor to well-known Nestroy actors and directors. The recipients of the medal include Elfriede Ott , Fritz Muliar , Herbert Lederer , Otto Tausig in 2007 , Heinrich Schweiger in 2008 and Conny Hannes Meyer in 2010 .
literature
- W. Edgar Yates (ed.): I'm a poet only of the farce: Johann Nepomuk Nestroy: An attempt at a biography; on the 150th anniversary of the poet's death; a publication by the International Nestroy Society. Lehner, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-901749-97-1 .
- Jürgen Hein , Johann Hüttner , Walter Obermaier , W. Edgar Yates (eds.): Complete works - historical-critical edition. (With over 50 volumes that are available individually, the most comprehensive and current critical, commented edition of the pieces and letters), Deuticke / Zsolnay, Vienna / Munich 1977ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b orf.at: Theater doyen Heinrich Kraus died . Article dated May 24, 2018, accessed May 24, 2018.
- ↑ Nestroy monument in Vienna History Wiki of the city of Vienna
- ↑ International Nestroy Society: The International Nestroy Society mourns the loss of its vice-president. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hein , accessed on May 15, 2018
Web links
- Nestroy.at , joint website of Nestroy Games, the Nestroy Society and the Nestroy Center