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Grillparzer, Franz (1791-1872)
Copyright: IMAGNO/Austrian Archives
Franz Grillparzer is born on 15 January 1791 in Vienna. His father is an influential lawyer, his mother, a nervous, finely-strung woman, belonged to the well-known musical family. Already as child Grillparzer was fascinated by fairytales and magic stories of knights and ghosts. Grillparzer studied linguistics and law and wrote his first plays during his university years.
In 1808 Grillparzer began publishing poetry; in 1817 the first performance of his tragedy “Die Ahnfrau” (The Ancestress) evoked public interest. A remarkable advance in style was the quickly written tragedy Sappho (1819). As a result Grillparzer was awarded a 5-year contract as poet to the Hofburgtheater, which he cancelled after only two years.
In 1820 Grillparzer’s difficulties with censorship and repression imposed by the Metternich regime started. His historical tragedy König Ottokars Glück und Ende (King Ottocar, His Rise and Fall), for instance, was written in 1823, but not performed or published until 1825. Although Grillparzer had always been critical of Metternich’s repressive regime he did not support the revolution in 1848 and in 1861 he was even elected to Vienna's upper legislative house (Herrenhaus).
Among Grillparzer’s greatest dramas are “Ein treuer Diener seines Herrn” (A Faithful Servant to His Master; 1830), "Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen" (The Waves of Sea and Love; 1831) and “Der Traum ein Leben” (A Dream Is Life; 1834), his technical masterpiece. Despite his great success, Grillparzer never became a full-time playwright. Many years he worked as exchequer at the Hofburg; in 1832 he became director of the archives of that department, and in 1856 he retired from the civil service with the title of Hofrat. Grillparzer had little aptitude for an official career and regarded his office merely as a means of independence. During his travels through Europe, Grillparzer met Goethe in Germany in 1826 and Alexandre Dumas and Heinrich Heine in 1836 in Paris.
After his comedy “Weh dem, der lügt!” (Woe To Him Who Lies) flopped with the audience, Grillparzer withdrew from theater life in 1838. His late dramas “Ein Bruderzwist in Habsburg” (Family Strife in Hapsburg), “Die Jüdin von Toledo” (The Jewess of Toledo) and "Libussa" (1847-51) were staged after Franz Grillparzer’s death on 21 January 1872 in Vienna.
Franz Grillparzer
In 1808 Grillparzer began publishing poetry; in 1817 the first performance of his tragedy “Die Ahnfrau” (The Ancestress) evoked public interest. A remarkable advance in style was the quickly written tragedy Sappho (1819). As a result Grillparzer was awarded a 5-year contract as poet to the Hofburgtheater, which he cancelled after only two years.
In 1820 Grillparzer’s difficulties with censorship and repression imposed by the Metternich regime started. His historical tragedy König Ottokars Glück und Ende (King Ottocar, His Rise and Fall), for instance, was written in 1823, but not performed or published until 1825. Although Grillparzer had always been critical of Metternich’s repressive regime he did not support the revolution in 1848 and in 1861 he was even elected to Vienna's upper legislative house (Herrenhaus).
Among Grillparzer’s greatest dramas are “Ein treuer Diener seines Herrn” (A Faithful Servant to His Master; 1830), "Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen" (The Waves of Sea and Love; 1831) and “Der Traum ein Leben” (A Dream Is Life; 1834), his technical masterpiece. Despite his great success, Grillparzer never became a full-time playwright. Many years he worked as exchequer at the Hofburg; in 1832 he became director of the archives of that department, and in 1856 he retired from the civil service with the title of Hofrat. Grillparzer had little aptitude for an official career and regarded his office merely as a means of independence. During his travels through Europe, Grillparzer met Goethe in Germany in 1826 and Alexandre Dumas and Heinrich Heine in 1836 in Paris.
After his comedy “Weh dem, der lügt!” (Woe To Him Who Lies) flopped with the audience, Grillparzer withdrew from theater life in 1838. His late dramas “Ein Bruderzwist in Habsburg” (Family Strife in Hapsburg), “Die Jüdin von Toledo” (The Jewess of Toledo) and "Libussa" (1847-51) were staged after Franz Grillparzer’s death on 21 January 1872 in Vienna.
Franz Grillparzer
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