Johann Franz Brockmann

Johann Franz Brockmann painted by Heinrich Friedrich Füger .

Johann Franz Hieronymus Brockmann (born September 30, 1745 in Graz , † April 12, 1812 in Vienna ) was an Austrian actor and director of the Court Theater, later the Burgtheater , in Vienna.

Life

Brockmann was born in the Powder Tower on the Schloßberg, the son of a tin caster who was a tower guard when he was born. In 1757 Brockmann began an apprenticeship with a bather ; But already three years later he joined a tightrope walker and juggler troupe. He later earned his living as a clerk in Carinthia . From 1762 Brockmann joined the Bodenburg actor troupe, moved with her through Hungary to Sibiu and in 1765 married Therese Bodenburg , a daughter of the principal . In 1766 both were hired to Vienna by Count Giacomo Durazzo .

In 1768 Brockmann followed the acting company around the principal Joseph Felix von Kurz on a tour to Würzburg, Frankfurt / M., Mainz, Cologne and Düsseldorf, among others. In 1771 Brockmann was hired to Hamburg. Here he perfected his artistic talent under Friedrich Ludwig Schröder's direction so quickly and brilliantly that he was named next to the best actors in Germany and did not have to shy away from a comparison with David Garrick and Henri Louis Cain .

From Hamburg Brockmann was called to Vienna in 1776. On his trip there, he performed with Konrad Ernst Ackermann and his acting company in Berlin, where he gave Hamlet for the first time in Germany . Brockmann was celebrated sensationally for this guest performance; Among other things, Daniel Chodowiecki created an engraving and the medalist Abraham Abramson was commissioned with a commemorative coin .

After various engagements on the Viennese stage, Brockmann became director of the court theater in 1789 and held this position until 1791. Afterwards he was again active as an actor on the stage, where he was able to achieve his greatest successes in tragedies . Another great success of Brockmann is his founding of the first health insurance for actors . At the age of 66, Johann Franz Brockmann died on April 12, 1812 in Vienna.

In 1930 the Brockmanngasse in Vienna- Meidling (12th district) was named after him.

Roles (selection)

• Hamlet (Hamlet, William Shakespeare )
• Regulus (Regulus, Heinrich Joseph von Collin )
• Odoardo ( Emilia Galotti , Gotthold Ephraim Lessing )
• The chief forester (Die Jäger, August Wilhelm Iffland )
• The old Klingsberg (The two Klingsberg, August von Kotzebue )
• Count Essex (The Favor of the Princes, Christian Heinrich Schmid )

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Brockmann, Johann Franz Hieronymus . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 2nd part. Publishing house of the typographic-literary-artistic establishment (L. C. Zamarski, C. Dittmarsch & Comp.), Vienna 1857, pp. 152–155 ( digitized version ).
• August Förster:  Brockmann, Johann Franz Hieronymus . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 342 f.
• Ludwig Eisenberg : Large biographical lexicon of the German stage in the XIX. Century . Verlag von Paul List , Leipzig 1903, p. 129 f., ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
• Gustav Gugitz:  Brockmann, Johann Franz Hieronymus. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , p. 628 ( digitized version ).
• Walter M. Kienreich: Johann Franz Hieronymus Brockmann or the dimensions of the bourgeois fantasy in the German and Austrian theater of the 2nd half of the 18th century. A theater studies contribution to the cultural history of the second half of the 18th century. Dissertation, University of Vienna 1976.

Web links

Commons : Franz Brockmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on Johann Franz Brockmann in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )