Karl Meisl

Karl Meisl, or Carl Meisl (30 June 1775 – 8 October 1853) was an accountant in the Imperial Austrian Navy, and a dramatist.

Life

Meisl was born in Ljubljana (at that time in the Hapsburg Monarchy) in 1775, and was educated there. In 1800 he was appointed Fourier (a military officer rank); he was promoted to accounting officer and field warfare commissioner, and moved to Vienna. He rose to become accounting adviser in the naval department of the Hofkriegsrat. He retired in 1840; he died in Vienna in 1853 and was buried in Schmelzer Cemetery [de].[1][2]

Dramatic works

He wrote about 200 pieces for the stage. His first play, Carolo Carolina, appeared in 1802, and his last, Die blonden Locken, in 1844.[2] Together with the dramatists Josef Alois Gleich (1772–1841) and Adolf Bäuerle (1786–1859), he was important during a period in Old Viennese folk theatre [de], after the earlier Hanswurst-theatre and before the folk theatre of Ferdinand Raimund and Johann Nestroy.[3] His plays were mostly performed in the Theater in der Leopoldstadt in Vienna; leading roles were played by Ferdinand Raimund, Ignaz Schuster [de], Friedrich Josef Korntheuer [de], Carl Carl, Johann Nestroy and Wenzel Scholz.[1]

The Consecration of the House

Meisl wrote the text of the cantata Die Weihe des Hauses (The Consecration of the House), for which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote the overture; it was written to celebrate the re-opening in October 1822 of the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna, rebuilt by Karl Friedrich Hensler.[1][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Anton Schlossar (1906), "Meisl, Karl", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 52, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 305–307
  2. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1867). "Meisl, Karl" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 17. p. 284 – via Wikisource.
  3. ^ "Meisl, Karl (1775–1853), Schriftsteller" Oesterreichisches Biographisches Lexikon. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  4. ^ Paul Nettl. Beethoven Encyclopedia. Philosophical Library, New York, 1956. Entries "Meisl, Karl" and "Hensler, Karl Friedrich".

Free scores by Karl Meisl at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)