Maximilian Steiner (27 August 1830 â€" 29 May 1880) was an Austrian
actor and theater director and manager. He is known particularly for
his leadership of Vienna's Theater an der Wien from 1869 to 1880, a
period during which the theater reduced the importance of folk plays
(dialect drama) and was prominent in developing and promoting the
fashion of a Viennese style of operetta.Steiner was born in Ofen, near
Budapest in Hungary, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In
the early 1850s, he began work in the stage crew of the theatre in
Temeswar (now in Romania). In 1854, he was engaged by the theater
director Friedrich Strampfer as an actor in the German-language
theater. He continued to act in that theater and others in the region
till 1862, gaining both acting and directing experience, when he
followed Strampfer to Vienna, where Steiner became secretary (an
executive role) in the Theater an der Wien. Strampfer gave him
considerable leeway to develop his own career, and in August 1869
Steiner became manager after Strampfer stepped down. Till 1875 Steiner
was co-manager with the actress and singer Marie Geistinger; together,
they "set a tone for the repertoire that lasted until the end of the
century," despite criticism from the conservative press. When
Geistinger left for Berlin, Steiner led the theater on his own, with
help from his sons Franz and Gabor, till his death in 1880. Steiner's
business acuity helped the Theater stay open after the stock market
crash in 1873, but he did lose control for several months in 1877 due
to another set of financial difficulties; he gained control again
later in the same year with the help of friends and other
backers.Although he and Geistinger came to emphasize operetta more and
more, Steiner still built the theater's seasons by emphasizing
variety: the typical fare included folk plays, burlesques with music,
and operetta. He gradually phased out spoken-word dramas, contributing
fundamentally to the Viennese operetta boom that continued till well
into the twentieth century. He produced both well-proven and new stage
works by Offenbach but also discovered young talent such as the
playwright Ludwig Anzengruber, the last prominent author of folk
plays, and the composer Carl Millöcker, who became the Theater's
Kapellmeister in 1869.When the first wife of Johann Strauss, jr.,
brought some of the composer's musical sketches to Steiner, he took on
himself responsibility for encouraging Strauss to write operetta. As
it happened, Strauss, piqued by the Viennese successes of Jacques
Offenbach, had already started working on an operetta, a project that
fell through when it was discovered that his intended lead, Josefine
Gallmeyer, was unavailable. Steiner then collaborated with Strauss on
Indigo and the Forty Thieves, which premiered on 10 February 1871 and
for which Steiner wrote the libretto. Strauss's second operetta, Die
Fledermaus (1874) became a fixture of German-language theaters and has
remained in the canon of operetta to this day. The initial production
starred Geistinger as Rosalinde. Second and third productions followed
in 1875 and 1876. The latter is notable for introducing, as Dr. Falke,
Alexander Girardi, who stayed with the Theater's company for twenty
two years and was a central figure in many successful operetta
productions.
actor and theater director and manager. He is known particularly for
his leadership of Vienna's Theater an der Wien from 1869 to 1880, a
period during which the theater reduced the importance of folk plays
(dialect drama) and was prominent in developing and promoting the
fashion of a Viennese style of operetta.Steiner was born in Ofen, near
Budapest in Hungary, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In
the early 1850s, he began work in the stage crew of the theatre in
Temeswar (now in Romania). In 1854, he was engaged by the theater
director Friedrich Strampfer as an actor in the German-language
theater. He continued to act in that theater and others in the region
till 1862, gaining both acting and directing experience, when he
followed Strampfer to Vienna, where Steiner became secretary (an
executive role) in the Theater an der Wien. Strampfer gave him
considerable leeway to develop his own career, and in August 1869
Steiner became manager after Strampfer stepped down. Till 1875 Steiner
was co-manager with the actress and singer Marie Geistinger; together,
they "set a tone for the repertoire that lasted until the end of the
century," despite criticism from the conservative press. When
Geistinger left for Berlin, Steiner led the theater on his own, with
help from his sons Franz and Gabor, till his death in 1880. Steiner's
business acuity helped the Theater stay open after the stock market
crash in 1873, but he did lose control for several months in 1877 due
to another set of financial difficulties; he gained control again
later in the same year with the help of friends and other
backers.Although he and Geistinger came to emphasize operetta more and
more, Steiner still built the theater's seasons by emphasizing
variety: the typical fare included folk plays, burlesques with music,
and operetta. He gradually phased out spoken-word dramas, contributing
fundamentally to the Viennese operetta boom that continued till well
into the twentieth century. He produced both well-proven and new stage
works by Offenbach but also discovered young talent such as the
playwright Ludwig Anzengruber, the last prominent author of folk
plays, and the composer Carl Millöcker, who became the Theater's
Kapellmeister in 1869.When the first wife of Johann Strauss, jr.,
brought some of the composer's musical sketches to Steiner, he took on
himself responsibility for encouraging Strauss to write operetta. As
it happened, Strauss, piqued by the Viennese successes of Jacques
Offenbach, had already started working on an operetta, a project that
fell through when it was discovered that his intended lead, Josefine
Gallmeyer, was unavailable. Steiner then collaborated with Strauss on
Indigo and the Forty Thieves, which premiered on 10 February 1871 and
for which Steiner wrote the libretto. Strauss's second operetta, Die
Fledermaus (1874) became a fixture of German-language theaters and has
remained in the canon of operetta to this day. The initial production
starred Geistinger as Rosalinde. Second and third productions followed
in 1875 and 1876. The latter is notable for introducing, as Dr. Falke,
Alexander Girardi, who stayed with the Theater's company for twenty
two years and was a central figure in many successful operetta
productions.
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