Ludwig Dessoir

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Ludwig Dessoir (actually Leopold Dessauer , born December 27, 1810 in Posen , † December 30, 1874 in Berlin ) was a German actor.

Ludwig Dessoir (after 1850)
Ludwig Dessoir as Richard III.
Old St. Matthew Cemetery, Ludwig Dessoir grave

Life

Dessoir came from a Jewish merchant family; the actor Rudolf Dessoir was his older brother, the older sister Jeanette Dessoir , also an actress, the mother of the actor, director and theater director Theodor Lobe . At the age of 14 he was able to successfully debut in the role of "Nanky". This success was followed by a journey to various stages in Germany. At the same time, Dessoir was also repeatedly active as a secretary and scroll writer.

In 1831 Dessoir in Lübeck was engaged by theater director August Haake in Mainz. From there he moved to the Saxon court theater in Leipzig in 1834 . During this engagement Dessoir made the acquaintance of Heinrich Laube . There he also met the actress Therese Reimann and married her there the following year. With her he had a son, Ferdinand . The marriage turned out to be unhappy, and in 1836 he divorced again.

Dessoir's next professional career was at the Breslau City Theater (1836–1837), the Pest Theater (1837–1839) and the Grand Ducal Court Theater in Karlsruhe (1839–1849). These were only interrupted by guest appearances at the Deutsches Theater in Prague and at the Burgtheater in Vienna .

In 1844 Dessoir married Helene Pfeffer for the second time. This marriage also turned out to be unhappy, as his wife fell into "incurable depression" after the early death of their child.

In 1849 Dessoir was brought to Berlin and he was seen there for the first time on October 1st as Franz Hoppé's successor . Dessoir remained engaged in Berlin until his farewell performance in October 1872. In between, however, he always gave guest performances on various stages, such as B. at the royal court theater in Munich and at the city theater in Hamburg . In 1853 he gave a sensational guest appearance in London at Her Majesty's Theater with Emil Devrient and Lina Fuhr .

Ailing for a long time, Dessoir was no longer able to cope with his major roles in 1867. He gave his official farewell performance on October 31, 1867 as "Richard III." Until he retired completely from the stage in 1872, he still shone, even if the roles were getting smaller and smaller. At the end of 1872 he finally withdrew into private life and died two weeks after his 64th birthday on December 30, 1874 in Berlin. There he found his final resting place. His grave is in the Old St. Matthew Cemetery, on Großgörschenstrasse, in Berlin-Schöneberg.

Dessoir's son was the philosopher, physician, psychologist and art historian Max Dessoir .

Quotes

George Henry Lewes said of Ludwig Dessoir in his book On Actors and Drama :

“Mr. Dessoir, one of the first tragic actors, proved in his portrayal as 'Othello' what I had expected after his portrayal as 'Faust', that the same leg possesses his knowledge of the conception and a mastery of performing power.
Never before have I heard the address to the Senate presented with such poetic appreciation and with such artistic execution; I never saw any actor, even Kean not so true and tragic in portraying the inner excitement during the great seduction scene (with Iago).
The restrained feeling, struggling with language, shivered through and the almost paralyzed soul, now trying not to believe, now forcing itself to rest; the convulsive shudder, which not only betrays the inner suffering, but also prepares the later convulsive attack, the hoarse voice and the enforced calm, gave us a much truer and more tragic portrayal than any Othello has ever given my mind. "

Franz von Dingelstedt , Karl Frenzel , Gustav Freytag , Rudolf Gottschall , Karl Gutzkow , Friedrich Hebbel , Karl Theodor von Küster and Dorothea Tieck were equally enthusiastic .

reception

Until his engagement in Berlin Dessoir played all the first amateur roles , from then on he turned into the character subject ; most recently he played almost exclusively the first character roles in classical dramas. Seldom has an actor in the same way as Dessoir satisfied the educated with the depth and consistency of his conception and entranced the crowd with the overwhelming, thoroughly inwardness of his portrayal. He is best served by characters in which a demonic force of nature is paired with philosophical reflection.

Roles (selection)

literature

Web links

Commons : Ludwig Dessoir  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ according to NDB . In contrast, the ADB gives December 15, 1810 as the date of birth.
personal data
SURNAME Dessoir, Ludwig
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dessauer, Leopold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1810
PLACE OF BIRTH Poses
DATE OF DEATH December 30, 1874
Place of death Berlin