Johann Christian Gerber

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Johann Christian Gerber (born November 19, 1785 in Hanover ; † May 3, 1850 in Oldenburg (Oldb) ) was a German theater actor , director and opera singer ( baritone ).

Life

Early years

Gerber, who showed an acting inclination from an early age, was supposed to become a surgeon at the request of his parents. He also became a pupil of the Hanoverian court surgeon Christian Friedrich Stromeyer in 1,800 . But after two years he secretly went to Braunschweig to become an actor. There, however, he was so frightened by a drama sheet announcing "The Dangers of Youth" that he returned home ruefully and continued his studies.

1803 was, however, ill as a member of the Hanover Theater, he offered the director as a substitute and made a successful debut as "Count Butterfly" in the hunt by Christian Felix White . Now he finally broke off his medical studies and joined one of the many traveling groups of actors with whom he appeared in Lemgo and Lippstadt . His talent for acting and his ability to be used as a singer in operas and singspiel performances soon gave him shorter or longer engagements at various theaters. So he came first in Magdeburg . There he had the opportunity to train his voice and in 1806 changed to a not insignificant position in Stettin . From 1807 to 1812 he was at the Hamburg City Theater (debut: "Heinrich" in Der Graf von Burgund ) and was there in the favor of the theater director Friedrich Ludwig Schröders . The turmoil of war in the course of the Hamburg French era drove Gerber from there and he accepted an engagement in Hanover. He then worked in Braunschweig from 1819 to 1825 as an opera singer, bon vivant , lover and hero. From 1825 to 1831 he was in Kassel and from 1831 to 1833 in Bremen , where he also took over the management of the city ​​theater .

Activity in Oldenburg

In order to secure additional sources of income, Gerber suggested in June 1832, based on a plan that had been discussed for years, to organize regular performances with his ensemble in Oldenburg in a kind of "branch establishment" of the Bremen theater. The Oldenburg writer and cabinet secretary Ludwig Starklof supported these plans and saw to it that a wooden hall was built in which the theater in Oldenburg was opened in February 1832 . Initially, the Oldenburg-Bremen theater combination was a logical and sensible solution. However, practice quickly showed that this solution was only feasible with enormous organizational and technical difficulties and resulted in operating costs that were not economically justifiable. Starklof, who saw this connection only as a temporary solution anyway, soon made preparations for the creation of a theater independent of Bremen. When Gerber had to resign from the Bremen stage in November 1834 because he could no longer pay his actors' fees, Starklof had achieved his goal. Gerber moved to Oldenburg and took over the management of the theater under the direction of Starklof, who acted as a kind of artistic director . He also directed and appeared as a versatile actor. Gerber was quickly integrated into the social life of the royal seat of Oldenburg. Since 1818 a Freemason in the lodge Zum schwarzen Bär in Hanover, in 1842 he was affiliated with the Oldenburg lodge Zum golden Hirsch and was also a member of the Schwarzauge pub society founded by Theodor von Kobbe . Gerber, who was more of an actor than a manager and tended to neglect his organizational tasks when he played a good role, had been ailing since the end of the 1830s and had to retire completely from the theater as a result of a stroke in 1842, as it robbed him of his voice, which - despite more intense efforts - could not be restored. The tone remained hard and stuttered, so it was no longer suitable for the stage and said goodbye. Another nerve attack put an end to his life on May 3, 1850.

family

Gerber had been married since 1806 to the actress Warnick, who later appeared in Oldenburg, and a daughter of the court theater barber Johann Friedrich Warnick (1768–1861). The couple had ten children, of whom their daughter Fanny Lanz also became an actress and worked for a long time at the Oldenburg theater.

Rating

In the Great Biographical Lexicon of the German Stage in the XIX. In the 19th century , Gerber's artistic performance was rated as follows:

“Gerber found pleasure in all the theaters in which he worked, both as a singer and as a performer. For chevaleresque roles he was equipped with rare resources and it was especially his versatility; he sang and played with the same excellence that many colleagues could envy him. "

- Ludwig Eisenberg : Large biographical lexicon of the German stage in the XIX. Century Verlag von Paul List , Leipzig 1903, p. 317 f.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Gerber, Johann Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theater actor, director and opera singer (baritone)
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1785
PLACE OF BIRTH Hanover
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 1850
Place of death Oldenburg