Stefan Vacano

Stefan Vacano (* 12. December 1874 , people thought in 1878 indicated, † 1963 ), sometimes Stephan Vacano written, was an Austrian columnist , theater - and novelist and philologist and actor .

Life

Vienna-based Stefan Vacano became a friend of Otto Brahms at a young age , for whom he performed dramaturgical assistance work at the Deutsches Theater Berlin . In addition, he has already appeared as a columnist. Brahm in turn promoted Vacano, a. a. by staging his early stage works in Berlin. Mutterherz (1899), a one-act play about which the critics of the time found it was "as long as it can and remains columnist, (...) not bad, not without a spirit and a good mood", fell through with the audience. The following drama in four acts Der Tag , which was staged on January 19, 1901 with Albert Bassermann , Eduard von Winterstein and Friedrich Kayssler in the leading roles as the only play by a new author of the season, was also not particularly successful. The extensively researched naturalistic theater work about Upper Hungarian farmers in June 1831 disappeared from the program after a few performances. Nonetheless, it was published by the publisher Friedrich Fontane , a son of Theodor Fontane , who was known at the time and respected in the professional world, and who also oversaw the author's subsequent work, and was also translated into Ukrainian .

Georg Hirschfeld , who at that time was also one of the young playwrights around Brahm, later commented extremely condescendingly on Vacano's human and literary qualities. However, it is not clear to what extent the reasons for this lay in a personal rivalry. On the other hand, contemporary critics saw after the world premiere of Der Tag in Stefan Vacano an author “who justifies hopes”, although the play itself did not necessarily find approval.

Vacano later continued his literary work in the field of the novel. Until 1915 he was mentioned regularly in Kürschner's literary calendar. In both his novels and his theatrical work, he occasionally showed a preference for piquant topics such as mother-son incest, homosexuality or adultery. In the meantime, in 1906, he had finished his academic years in Bern by obtaining his doctorate. The philologist dedicated the widespread publication of his inaugural dissertation Heinrich Heine and Laurence Sterne, a contribution to comparative literary history (1907), to his “dear wife as the first gift”. Otherwise, Vacano, who publishes in Berlin, also lived temporarily on Helgoland during these years , where he owned a holiday home, which he later sold.

Vacano was married to the actress Lotte Sarrow , who also belonged to the Brahm circle until 1902. With her he founded the Lotti Sarrow Ensemble at the end of the decade, of which he was director and in which he also worked as an actor. With this drama company Vacano toured the metropolises of Europe, performing his own mimodramas . With She pays the penalty had been, for example, in London Palladium particular success. The piece was hailed by critics in 1913 as "one of the most artistic if rather daring productions among the many recently to be seen at Palladium".

At the time of the First World War, the traces of another activity Vacano as a playwright or book author are lost. Instead, he was seen for a few more years as an actor in major roles in various adventure and sensational films by Harry Piels . During the production of Der Reiter ohne Kopf , Vacano's face was burned when he had to handle a blowtorch for a scene. A subsequent "hard argument" between Vacano and Piel is reported, in which the actor threatened to inform the press about Piels' generally negligent and reckless production method should he not receive a payment of 30,000 marks for pain and suffering. After Piel offered Vacano compensation for pain and suffering in the amount of 3,000 marks, which the latter refused, a sensational discussion about Piel's working methods began , which was largely stimulated by Vacano's depictions of the film hell and other writings and the subsequent (later rejected) compensation claim .

Vacano's participation beyond the Piel production can be found before the premiere of Der Reiter ohne Kopf in Curt Courant's film Comrades (1921), where he played the leading role of the American millionaire Milford. Little is known about his further career, only that his “Jewish family history” was later “discussed” by the National Socialists . Vacano died in 1963.

effect

Adolf Bartels took Vacano into account in his depictions The German Poetry from Hebbel to the Present (1921) and The German Poetry of the Present (1922) as a more recent Austrian author. On the other hand, his name is rarely found in later, even more extensive literary stories or lexicons. Due to Vacano's choice of materials, which was unusual at the time, international specialist literature is still interested in his literary work to this day. His work on Heine and Stars is also sometimes referred to in publications about the two writers. The early friendship with Otto Brahm also touched the life stories of Gerhart Hauptmann and Arthur Schnitzler , so that Vacano is also rarely mentioned in this context.

Works (selection)

• Mother heart . Comedy in one act, A. ENT Berlin Zühlcke, Berlin, 1899
• The day drama in four acts, F. Fontane, Berlin 1901
• I lay in the deep night of death. From the estate of an unfortunate person F. Fontane & Co., Berlin 1908
• Sinful bliss. A love affair . F. Fontane & Co., Berlin 1909
• The adulteress . Drama in one act, F. Fontane & Co., Dahlem-Berlin 1909
• Dream of the adulteress. New York family drama in one act . Berliner Verein printing company, Berlin 1909
• Mistress of the Abbé. Mimodrama . Printed by A. Unger, Berlin 1913
• Children of the vagabonds, those lost and found again from the life . F. Fontane & Co., Berlin 1916

Filmography (selection)

• 1918: the rat
• 1918: The rolling hotel
• 1919: The Muff
• 1921: comrades
• 1921: The rider without a head

Web links

• Literature by and about Stefan Vacano in the catalog of the German National Library
• Stefan Vacano in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Stefan Vacano at filmportal.de

Single receipts

1. ^ Karl Kraus: Die Fackel , Volume 12, p. 480
2. ^ Adolf Bartels: The youngest . Haessel , 1922, p. 110
3. ^ The literary echo - bi-monthly publication for literary friends , Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt 1899
4. ↑ http://www.zeno.org/Schmidt-1902/A/Fontane,+Friedrich
5. ↑ http://www.luise-berlin.de/lesezei/blz00_06/text48.htm
6. ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/title/pered-dosvitom-drama-v-cotiroh-vidslonah/oclc/838656831&referer=brief_results
7. ↑ cf. Otto Hirschfeld: Otto Brahm. Letters and memories. Stilke, Berlin 1925
8. ^ The correspondence Arthur Schnitzler-Otto Brahm: complete edition. Niemeyer, 1975, p. 56
9. ↑ Stage and World , 1901
10. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ https://archive.org/details/heineundsternee00vacagoog
12. ↑ http://www.spurensuche-kreis-pinneberg.de/spur/juden-auf-helgoland/
13. ↑ The playgoer and society illustrated. Volume Seven, London 1913
14. ↑ Stefan Vacano. In: filmportal.de . German Film Institute , accessed on December 24, 2016 . 
15. ↑ Matias Bleckman: Harry Piel - a cinema myth and its time . Film Institute of the State Capital Düsseldorf, 1992, p. 110
16. ↑ Matias Bleckman: Harry Piel - a cinema myth and its time . Film Institute of the State Capital Düsseldorf, 1992, p. 122
17. ↑ http://www.spurensuche-kreis-pinneberg.de/spur/juden-auf-helgoland/
18. ↑ Peter Sprengel: Gerhart Hauptmann - Bourgeoisie and great dream . Beck, 2012
19. ^ The correspondence Arthur Schnitzler-Otto Brahm: complete edition . Niemeyer, 1975, p. 56