Wulf Leisner

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Wulf Leisner (* 21st April 1907 in Itzehoe , † 20th September 1977 in Krefeld ) was a German playwright , director , playwright and longtime director of the State Theater Schleswig-Holstein and the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg .

Live and act

Before the Segeberger engagement

Born in Itzehoe in April 1907, Wulf Leisner started working as a journalist for the Hamburger Fremdblatt and Hamburger Anzeiger . He soon came into contact with the theater , and his talent and skills were noticed, so that he finally found himself as a dramaturge at the Thalia Theater (Hamburg) . In Königsberg , Osnabrück and Lübeck , Leisner mostly found employment as senior theater manager until he founded the Komödie als Kammerspiel in Lübeck , from which the Landesbühne Schleswig-Holstein emerged, with which he was to play on the Bad Segeberger limestone rock for many years . For ten years, from 1949/50 to 1958/59, Leisner was director of the Schleswig-Holstein state theater based in Rendsburg .

Accusation of anti-Semitism

Andrew G. Bonnell claimed in 2008: “In his history of theater in Nazi Germany, Bogusław Drewniak highlights the Lübeck production (sc. Of the play ' The Merchant of Venice ') by Wulf Leisner, which premiered in the month of ' Reichskristallnacht ' and was one of the most egregious anti-Semitics of the Nazi era . The German Shakespeare yearbook limited itself to commenting that the production stood in opposition to 'the earlier custom of the apology of the Jew' and instead emphasized the 'tone of the subtle comedy' in the play. "

Bogusław Drewniak wrote in 1983: “The 'Kaufmann' was also staged as an anti-Semitic propaganda work under Wulf Leissner (sic!) In Lübeck (November 1938), Otto Kirchner in Aachen (March 1940), at the private Berlin Rose Theater and in Göttingen ( 1942). ”As the“ most notorious ”and“ sharply condemned by the democratic world ”, he highlighted another one, namely that presented by Lothar Müthel in the Vienna Burgtheater in 1943.

In the quoted Shakespeare yearbook, Volume 76 (1940) 247, it says literally: “In all productions of the 'Merchant of Venice', the game management consistently tried to classify the figure of Shylock - contrary to the earlier custom of the apology of the Jews - in the ensemble and that To tune the piece to the tone of the subtle comedy (Lübeck Nov. 1938, director: Wulf Leisner; Reichenberg Jan. 1940, director: Friedrich Neubauer; Aachen May 1940, director: Otto Kirchner). "

It is definitely doubtful whether all of this is sufficient for the serious assessment of Leisner's performance as “one of the most egregious anti-Semitic productions of the Nazi era”. Leisner's involvement in the theater in the following years tends to suggest the opposite.

Lübeck Comedy

Wulf Leisner, senior theater director at the Lübeck City Theater, brought the "Landesbühne Lübeck" into being in 1945 and in 1947 developed the legendary "Comedy" from it. The newly created Landesbühne premiered on October 11, 1945 with Kleist's “ Broken Krug ” in the Kursaal in Travemünde . Schiller's “ Kabale und Liebe ” was played, Hauptmann's “ Biberfurz ” came out, and there was, well mixed, “ Robbery of the Sabine Women ” and “Noise in the Secret Annex”. 23 productions were offered in 1945, 1946, and 1947, with trips from Ahrensbök to Timmendorf , Bargteheide to Kücknitz , Ratzeburg to Reinfeld .

Illa Heddergott recalled:

“You could admire the fantastic costumes with which Charly Ritter delighted everyone; Nobody in the audience saw that they had been tinkered with recolored uniforms or leftover curtains (Charly took his experience with him into his international career as a fashion designer).

The house was called 'Die Komödie' when the 1947/48 season began. That sounded more elegant. Big names came forward. Günther Lüders played with joy in several pieces, Ursula Grabley and Franz Schafheitlin came, and Wulf Leisner caught a catch. He had found out that Henny Porten had found accommodation in Ratzeburg. He persuaded the world-famous star since the silent movie era to play for him. In 'Sophienlund' by Weiß and Woedtke she was the wife of Sigrid of the writer Erik Stjernborg ( Hans Karl Friedrich ); The premiere was on October 11, 1947. Guests from Hamburg and Berlin had come. Henny Porten had already played children's roles in Berlin, but entered a stage in Lübeck for the first time as an actress. ...

Tilly Wedekind , Frank Wedekind's widow , came to see a performance of ' Pandora's Box ', which Wedekind's daughter Kadidja and ' Erdgeist ' later reworked into 'Lulu'. Mrs. Wedekind praised it enthusiastically - the performance was better than the one in Munich, the tone was wonderful. The joy of such praise sank when the people of Lübeck found out that the worthy old lady was almost deaf. "

- Illa Heddergott : memories

The news magazine Der Spiegel reported in autumn 1947:

"Wulf Leisner, the enterprising 'Komödien' director, is now happy about sold-out houses and about the fact that at the last minute before the premiere he managed to compensate for a pair of stockings for Henny Porten , who appeared in Lübeck without stockings [this probably means: to organize]."

- Der Spiegel from October 18, 1947

In 1949 the theater bill for the performance of Goethe's " Urfaust " in Lübeck under the heading "The Comedy in the New Year" read:

“The first performance of 'Urfaust' in the production of Wulf Leisner, which all theater fans are justifiably expecting, will be convincing evidence of our artistic will and at the same time a significant contribution of the 'Comedy' to the Goethe year.

This is followed by Coubier 's witty comedy 'Aimée', directed by Robert Bürkner, with Hansi Nassée in the title role. With this performance, the two artists say goodbye to the Lübeck audience.

In preparation is also the premiere of the comedy 'I'm not a Napoleon' by Wulf Leisner, whose tragicomedy Don Quixote 'and Grabbe editing images, Jest, Satire, Irony and Deeper Meaning ' both at the Municipal Theater Luebeck have been premiered ; the author took over the staging of the work himself.

In the carnival month we give our friends a special treat with the popular fun game ' Schneider Wibbel ' by Hans Müller-Schlösser, which has already become classic . Master Wibbel is played by Hans Karl Friedrich , who, alongside Erich Ponto, can be considered the best representative of this role; he and his native wife Fin (Helene Weiler) also excellently safeguarded the 'dialectic matters'. In modern drama we have intended Williams ' 'The Light Hearts Are', the instant series success of the Hamburger Schauspielhaus . By B. Shaw is Caesar and Cleopatra 'with Hans Friedrich Karl and Christa Schwertfeger, directed by Wulf Leisner, appear in the game plan. Carl Zuckmayer , the most important living playwright, should finally have his say with the circus play ' Katharina Knie '. The 'comedy' succeeded in engaging the well-known actor Joseph Sieber for the role of the old knee.

This planning arose from the obligatory realization that the stage should be that for movement in the spiritual, what highly sensitive seismographs are for movement in the material and that all spiritual and spiritual development in the areas of great life has to be announced above all in the theater . "

- Theater ticket for the Lübeck “Komödie” 1949

On February 16, 1949, the announced premiere of Leisner's “Ich bin kein Napoleon” took place at the Komödie in Lübeck.

Schleswig-Holstein State Theater

Leisner's attempt to set up a state theater in Rendsburg was successful. The performances were recognized by the public in Rendsburg and in the 12 detour locations that were initially used. In the course of the first ten years , the Schleswig-Holstein state theater became an integral part of the state's cultural life. The conscious cultivation of classics led to 22 classics being performed in 10 years.

Leisner organized several world premieres. Particularly successful: “The Daisy Society” by Heinz Wunderlich and “The Hungry Gods” by Hans Schubert.

Ten of his own pieces and revisions by artistic director Leisner himself were also on the program. “Don Quixote” was also able to enjoy it in Sweden .

In the years that followed, the program sheets of the first season became stately monthly issues.

First organization of visitor rings and theater trips. The number of visitors increased from year to year.

Karl May Games Bad Segeberg

Main focus of his directorship

Leisner campaigned vehemently for the Segeberger Games since 1954 and tried to use every opportunity to dramatize May's works. Even Karl May radio plays were made under his direction. To do this, he took the actors with him to the recording studio . Wulf Leisner stayed at the helm in Bad Segeberg for the next 17 years - a great win for the Karl May Games.

In 1954, Leisner brought Hans Joachim Kilburger back to the open-air stage as Old Shatterhand . Kilburger remained in the saddle of the Karl May Games until 1959. Whether as Shatterhand or Kara Ben Nemsi - the audience loved him, he had a certain resemblance to Karl May , which of course looked particularly real.

From 1954 to 1970 Leisner wrote textbooks for the stage in Bad Segeberg, directed and “discovered” the most influential actors (such as Heinz Ingo Hilgers for Winnetou or Harry Walther for Old Shatterhand or Kara Ben Nemsi).

In 1955 Leisner brought the first oriental piece to the stage with " Hajji Halef Omar ". Later he also wrote Karl May pieces for other open-air theaters such as Elspe or the Naturbühne am Blauen See in Ratingen .

Productions

evaluation

“Leisner always had the reputation of a director-director father who was passionate about the matter. He was a heavy smoker and his health deteriorated over time. Albert Lichtenfeld, now 84 years old, remembers how the director was later almost unable to climb the stairs of the theater. 'In the event of Leisner's failure, the later game director Heinz Bender-Plück would have taken over his task and I would have taken his place,' said Albert Lichtenfeld. But Leisner managed not only to climb every height in the arena by 1970, but also to stage Karl May open-air plays that were widely praised. "

- Nicolas Finke : Karl May am Kalkberg, 1999

After the Segeberger engagement

After leaving Bad Segeberg, Leisner tried in 1971 to set up Karl May games in Mülheim ad Ruhr ( open-air theater on the Dimbeck ). He staged "The Secret of Bonanza" there

The busy theater artist, who had settled in Krefeld, died in September 1977 after he had been awarded an honorary coin in 1976 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary on Kalkberg.

Radio plays

  • 1965 "Old Surehand"

Works (text books)

As an author

  • 1937: Don Quixote. A romantic story in five incidents after Cervantes
  • 1949: I am not a Napoleon. A vacillating comedy in three acts
  • 1960: Cinderella. A fairy tale game based on the Brothers Grimm in four pictures
  • 1961: The Oil Prince. An open-air play based on the travel novel by Karl May
  • 1962: Among vultures (The Bear Hunter's Son). An open-air play based on the motifs of Karl May's travel story of the same name
  • 1963: Through the desert. An open-air play based on Karl May's stories about the Orient
  • 1964: The treasure in the Silbersee
  • 1965: Old Surehand. An open-air play based on the novel of the same name by Karl Mays
  • 1966: Winnetou II (Ribanna and Old Firehand). An open-air play based on a story from Karl May's novel "Winnetou II"
  • 1968: In the gorges of the Balkans. An open-air game based on motifs by Karl May
  • 1969: The rock castle. Old Shatterhand and Winnetou on the Sonora River. Open-air play based on Karl May's motifs

As a co-author

Leiser wrote the following text books together with Roland Schmid :

  • 1955: Hajji Halef Omar. Adventure in North Africa based on Karl May's travel stories "Through the desert" - "Merhameh" - "Allah il Allah" edited for open-air stages
  • 1956: In the gorges of the Balkans
  • 1959: The treasure in the Silbersee (for Elspe)

As a processor

  • 1949: Goethe: Urfaust
  • 1954: Karl May : The treasure in Silbersee. Adventures in the Wild West for open-air stages arranged by Roland Schmid (arranged for the performance by Wulf Leisner)
  • 1958: Gustav Raeder: Robert and Bertram. A farce with songs and dances in three sections
  • 1970: Goethe: Götz von Berlichingen

literature

  • Director of the Landesbühne Schleswig-Holstein (Ed.): 10 years Landesbühne , Darmstadt: Mykenae-Verlag o. J. (1959).
  • Landesbühne Schleswig-Holstein (Ed.): 20 years Landesbühne Schleswig-Holstein , Rendsburg: Albers o. J. (1969).
  • Bogusław Drewniak: The theater in the Nazi state. Scenario of contemporary German history 1933–1945 , Düsseldorf: Droste 1983.
  • Wolfgang Chechne : Lübeck and its theater. The story of a long love , Reinbek b. Hamburg: Dialogue 1996.
  • Nicolas Finke, Torsten Greis: 45 years of the Karl May Games in Bad Segeberg. Part 1 and 2. In: Karl May & Co. No. 66/1996 and No. 67/1997.
  • Reinhard Marheinecke , Nicolas Finke, Torsten Greis, Regina Arentz: Karl May am Kalkberg. History and stories of the Karl May Games Bad Segeberg since 1952 , Bamberg / Radebeul: Karl May Verlag 1999, p. 30 f.
  • Nicolas Finke: Orient & Balkan on the stage - example Bad Segeberg: A historical picture arch 1955–1978. In: Karl May & Co. No. 90/2002, pp. 40-42.
  • Rolf-Peter Carl: Curtain up! Theater in Schleswig-Holstein , Heide: Boyens 2008.

Web links

  • Wulf Leisner in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  • Portrait of Wulf Leisner
  • Entry in the Karl May Wiki
  • Wulf Leisner in the Karl May audio play database
  • Entry at the VVB
  • Karl May Games: How it all began ... ( online )
  • Wild West Reporter: A city plays Karl May. History of the Karl May Games Bad Segeberg ( online )
  • Applause, flowers and stockings . In: Der Spiegel . No. 42 , 1947, pp. 19 ( Online - Oct. 18, 1947 ).
  • Karl N. Nicolais: "I am not a Napoleon". Contemporary political comedy in Lübeck . Zeit article from February 24, 1949.
  • FW: Karl May on the Gipsberg . Zeit article from August 8, 1956.
  • Johannes Jacobi: Outpost of theater culture . Zeit article dated November 22, 1956.
  • Jac: Theater . Zeit article dated February 2, 1962.
  • Hellmuth Karasek : Balkans in Holstein. Karl May Festival with God's judgment . Zeit article dated August 9, 1968.
  • In the history of the Karl May Games in Bad Segeberg, “The Oil Prince” has been brought onto the open-air stage six times . Article in the Hamburger Abendblatt from July 15, 2011.
  • 50 years ago: Premiere for "Winnetou II" . LN article dated July 10, 2016.
  • Astrid Mathis: Karl May Festival: Wild West in the Far North . Spiegel article from July 5, 2017.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andrew G. Bonnell: Shylock in Germany. Antisemitism and the German Theater from The Enlightenment to the Nazis , London / New York: IB Tauris 2008, p. 150, in German translation; with reference to Bogusław Drewniak: The Theater in the Nazi State. Scenario of German Contemporary History 1933–1945 , Düsseldorf 1983, p. 251; and Werner Papsdorf: “Theaterschau”, in: SJb 76, 1940, p. 247; At that time, the artistic director in Lübeck was Robert Bürkner .
  2. ^ Bogusław Drewniak: The Theater in the Nazi State ... , 1983, p. 251.
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Chechne: Lübeck and his Theater ... , 1996, p. 146 ff.
  4. ↑ Applause, flowers and stockings . In: Der Spiegel . No. 42 , 1947, pp. 19 ( Online - Oct. 18, 1947 ).
  5. ↑ https://www.zeit.de/1948/52/die-leichten-herzens-sind
  6. ↑ Playbill ( online version )
  7. ^ Cover letter from Toth Verlag dated August 2, 1949.
  8. ↑ Map of the venues
  9. ↑ 20 years of the Schleswig-Holstein State Theater , Rendsburg 1969.
  10. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Hans_Joachim_Kilburger
  11. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Harry_Walther
  12. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Winnetou_(Bad_Segeberg_1957)
  13. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Der_Schatz_im_Silbersee_(Bad_Segeberg_1958)
  14. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Hadschi_Halef_Omar_(Bad_Segeberg_1959)
  15. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/In_den_Schluchten_des_Balkan_(Bad_Segeberg_1960)
  16. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Der_Schatz_im_Silbersee_(Bad_Segeberg_1964)
  17. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Unter_Giere_(Bad_Segeberg_1967)
  18. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/In_den_Schluchten_des_Balkan_(Bad_Segeberg_1968)
  19. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Der_Ölprinz_(Bad_Segeberg_1970)
  20. ↑ http://karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Albert_Lichtenfeld
  21. ↑ Heinz Bender-Plück in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  22. ^ Reinhard Marheinecke , Nicolas Finke, Torsten Greis, Regina Arentz: Karl May am Kalkberg. History and stories of the Karl May Games in Bad Segeberg since 1952 , Bamberg / Radebeul: Karl May Verlag 1999, p. 71.
  23. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Das_Geheimnis_der_Bonanza_(Mülheim)
  24. ↑ Reinhard Marheinecke u. a .: Karl May am Kalkberg ... , 1999, p. 30 f.
  25. ↑ http://www.karl-may-hoerspiele.info/vpersonzuord.php?_id=537
  26. ↑ DNB 574852239
  27. ↑ DNB 452790085
  28. ↑ DNB 880163658
  29. ↑ DNB 880265213
  30. ↑ DNB 880171782
  31. ↑ DNB 881146471
  32. ^ Not listed in the catalog of the German National Library; but see the entry in the Karl May Wiki about the performance in Bad Segeberg.
  33. ↑ DNB 880335181
  34. ^ Not listed in the catalog of the German National Library; but see the article on the performance in Bad Segeberg: " Winnetou II - Ribanna and Old Firehand ".
  35. ↑ DNB 881127930
  36. ↑ DNB 880183713
  37. ↑ DNB 880485493
  38. ^ Not listed in the catalog of the German National Library; but see the article on the performance in Bad Segeberg: In the Gorges of the Balkans (open-air play) .
  39. ^ Not listed in the catalog of the German National Library; but see the entry in the Karl May Wiki about the performance in Elspe.
  40. ^ The arrangement by Wulf Leisner cannot be found at the moment; but see the playlist for the performance in the "Komödie" in Lübeck.
  41. ↑ DNB 880265221
  42. ^ The arrangement by Wulf Leisner cannot be found at the moment; but see the article on the performance in Bad Segeberg: The treasure in Silbersee (Bad Segeberg 1954) .
  43. ↑ https://www.vvb.de/werke/showWerk?wid=283
  44. ↑ DNB 881408379
  45. ↑ http://karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Karl-May-Hörspieldatenbank
predecessor Office successor
Robert Ludwig Director of the Karl May Games in Bad Segeberg
1954–1970 		Toni Graschberger
personal data
SURNAME Leisner, Wulf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German journalist, dramaturge, director, director
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Itzehoe
DATE OF DEATH 20th September 1977
Place of death Krefeld