Emanuel Schikaneder (born Johann Joseph Schickeneder; 1 September 1751 – 21 September 1812) was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and composer. He wrote the libretto of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s opera The Magic Flute and was the builder of the Theater an der Wien. Peter Branscombe called him “one of the most talented theatre men of his era”. Aside from Mozart, he worked with Salieri, Haydn and Beethoven.

During Easter 1788, the troupe run by Johann Friedel and Eleonore Schikaneder had settled as the resident troupe at the Theater auf der Wieden, located in a suburb of Vienna.^[12] Friedel died on 31 March 1789, leaving his entire estate to Eleonore, and the theater was closed. Following this, Eleonore offered reconciliation to Schikaneder, who moved to Vienna in May to start a new company in the same theater in partnership with her.^[13] The new company was financed by Joseph von Bauernfeld, a Masonic brother of Mozart.^[14] With plans of an emphasis on opera, Schikaneder brought two singers with him from his old troupe, tenor Benedikt Schack and bass Franz Xaver Gerl. From his wife’s company he retained soprano Josepha Hofer, actor Johann Joseph Nouseul, and Karl Ludwig Giesecke as librettist. New additions to the troupe included Anna Gottlieb and Jakob Haibel.^[15]

The new company was successful, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail again became part of the repertory. Several aspects of the company’s work emerged that later came to be immortalized in The Magic Flute. A series of musical comedies starting with Der Dumme Gärtner aus dem Gebirge, oder Die zween Antons (“The Foolish Gardener from the Mountains, or The Two Antons”), premiered in July 1789.^[15] The comedy provided a vehicle for Schikaneder’s comic stage persona. Another line of performances by the company involved fairy tale operas, starting with the 1789 premiere of Oberon, with music by Paul Wranitzky and a libretto that was a readaptation of Friederike Sophie Seyler‘s original libretto. This was followed by Der Stein der Weisen oder Die Zauberinsel in September 1790,^[16] a collaborative opera marked by the musical collaboration of Gerl, Schack, Schikaneder and Mozart.

Emanuel Schikaneder – Wikipedia

Akt I
1. Ouverture [Henneberg]
2. Introduktion, “Ihr Mädchen, Ihr Jünglinge” [Henneberg]
3. Aria [Lubano], “Alle Wetter! O Ihr Götter” [Henneberg]
4. Aria [Lubanara], “So ein schönes Weibchen kann” [Henneberg]
5. Chor und Solo, “Welch reizende Musik” [Schack]
6. Duett [Lubanara und Lubano], “Tralleralara“ [Gerl]
7. Recitativ und Arie [Eutifronte und Lubanara], “In finstrer Höhenkluft” [Gerl]
8. Chor und solo [Lubano], “Seht doch! Mit goldnem Geweih!” [Henneberg]
9. Aria [Nadine], “Ein Mädchen, die von Liebe heiß” [Henneberg]
10. Recitativ und Arie [Nadir und Astromonte], “Welch fremde Stimme hörte ich” [Schack]
11. Finale, “Wohin, Nadine” [Henneberg und Schikaneder]
Akt II
1. Ouverture [ohne Nennung eines Komponisten]
2. Chor und Recitativ [Eutrifonte und Genius], “Ach, Astromonte” [Henneberg]
3. Aria [Lubano], “Den Mädchen trauet nicht zuviel” [Henneberg]
4. Marsch [ohne Angabe eines Komponisten]
5. Duett [Lubano und Lubanara], “Nun, liebes Weibchen” [Mozart]
6. Aria [Eutifronte], “Nadir, Du siegst” [ohne Nennug eines Komponisten]
7. Aria [Nadir], “Ihr güigen Götter” [Gerl]
8. Chor, “Astromont stribt durch uns” [Schack]
9. Aria [Lubano], “Die Lieb ist wohl ein närrisch Ding” [ohne Nennung eines Komponisten]
10. Aria [Nadine], “Mein einziger, liebster Nadir!“ [Schikaneder]
11 . Finale, „Miau! Miau“ [Mozart] – „Fort, armer Jüngling“ [Mozart]
– Herr Astromonte, wir danken Euch“ [Schack]

Benedikt Emanuel Schack[1] (Czech: Benedikt Žák) (7 February 1758 – 10 December 1826) was a composer and tenor of the Classical era, a close friend of Mozart and the first performer of the role of Tamino in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.

Benedikt Schack (also spelled as Žák, Ziak, Cziak or Schak) was born on 7 February 1758 in Mirotice, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic, then part of the Habsburg monarchy). Like Joseph and Michael Haydn, he worked as a chorister as a child, singing from 1773 in the cathedral in Prague, then moved to Vienna (1775) to study medicine, philosophy and singing. His voice teacher in Vienna was Karl Frieberth [de], a tenor who performed under Joseph Haydn. From 1780, Schack worked for several years as Kapellmeister to Prince Heinrich von Schönaich-Carolath in Silesia.

In 1786, Schack joined the traveling theatrical troupe of Emanuel Schikaneder, working both as a tenor and as a composer of Singspiele. The troupe settled in Vienna in 1789, performing in the suburban Theater auf der Wieden.

In 1790, Schack and his fellow singer-composers of the Schikaneder troupe collaborated to write an opera Der Stein der Weisen (“The Philosopher’s Stone”). Mozart also played a part in its composition, contributing a duet (“Nun liebes Weibchen,” K. 625/592a) and perhaps other passages. This fairy-tale opera can be considered a kind of precursor to The Magic Flute; it employed much the same cast in similar roles.

When The Magic Flute (music by Mozart, libretto by Schikaneder) premiered in 1791, Schack took the role of Tamino. According to the New Grove, “it is to be presumed that he also played Tamino’s flute solos”, though other scholars disagree. An 1815 source indicates that Schack sang the role a total of 116 times.

Benedikt Schack – Wikipedia

Benedikt Schack – Wikipedia EN

Johann Baptist Henneberg (5 December 1768 – 27 November 1822) was an Austrian composer, pianist, organist and Kapellmeister.

Born in Vienna, Henneberg was Kapellmeister from 1790 to 1801 at the Theater auf der Wieden, then until 1803 at the Theater an der Wien. Later he was employed as an organist by the prince Nikolaus II, Prince Esterházy in Eisenstadt, where he also conducted opera performances. From 1814, Henneberg was choir master at the Augustinian Church, Vienna, and from 1818 to 1822 organist in the Imperial court orchestra, the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle.

Henneberg played a decisive role in the rehearsal of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. After Mozart himself conducted the premiere on 30 September and 1 October 1791, Henneberg conducted the following performances. Henneberg also created several operas himself, which enjoyed great popularity at the time.

In 1797 he composed together with Ludwig van Beethoven menuets and allemandes for a mask ball of the Pension Society for Performing Artists, which was performed on 26 November 1797 in the Großer Redoutensaal of the Vienna Hofburg.

Henneberg died in 1822 in Vienna, aged 53.

Work (operas)

Mina und Peru, 1799

Der Stein der Weisen, with Benedikt Schack, Franz Xaver Gerl, Emanuel Schikaneder and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premiered 11 September 1790 in Theater auf der Wieden (and also produced by Bampton Classical Opera in 2002)

Der redliche Landmann, 1792

Der wohltätige Derwisch [de], 1793

Die Eisenkönigin, 1793

Die Waldmänner, 1793

Der Scherenschleifer, 1795

Das Jägermädchen, 1798

Konrad Langbart von Friedburg, 1799

Johann Baptist Henneberg – Wikipedia