Künstlerbürgertum
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Künstlerbürgertum TURUN YLIOPISTON JULKAISUJA ANNALES UNIVERSITATIS TURKUENSIS SARJA - SER. B OSA - TOM. 354 HUMANIORA Künstlerbürgertum – The Social Spheres of Berliner Actors in the Years 1815–1848 by Akseli Salmi TURUN YLIOPISTO UNIVERSITY OF TURKU TURKU 2012 ISBN 978-951-29-5093-5 (PRINT) ISBN 978-951-29-5094-2 (PDF) ISSN 0082-6987 Painosalama – Turku, Finland 2012 To my grandfather Kaaleppi Salmi (1925–1989) who wished to become an archeologist but ended up being an engineer Contents Acknowledgements 8 Dramatis personae 10 Introduction 1. Parades 12 2. Timeframe 16 3. Methodology 21 4. Künstlerbürgertum 39 5. Sources 44 I The Background for Social Positioning 1. Family 51 2. Education 64 3. Careers 77 4. Income 89 II In the Theatre 1. Everyday Work 107 2. Theatre as Part of the Court 128 3. Glimpses of Liberalism, Nationalism and Bürgerlich Traditions in the Theatre 159 III Sphere of Publicity 1. The Cult of Stardom 179 2. Actors and the Mass Media 196 IV Representative Lifestyles 1. Representative Bürgerlich Spheres 219 2. Social Networks and Salons, Private Homes and Associations 237 3. Prominent Homes of Actors 253 V Private Life 1. The Literary Private Sphere 267 2. Family Life 287 3. Female Actors 299 Conclusion 319 Bibliography 325 Illustrations 345 Abbreviations 346 Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Acknowledgements Studying the nineteenth-century social history of Berlin was sometimes a lonely job in Finland. Luckily, I have received great support from my supervisors and peers to persist along this solitary road. I am grateful for the support I have gained from the Department of General History at The University of Turku. Starting at the department’s MA seminar, Professor Emeritus Kalervo Hovi has supported my ideas. When Professor Hovi retired, I was “inherited” by Professor Auvo Kostiainen, who I thank for his support in helping me to finish my thesis. From the beginning of my undergraduate studies, censor D.G. Risto Hämäläinen, has had a great influence on my studies. During my meetings with him in his office, which were characterized by his humane but critical style in his treatment of the work of students, I often pondered the problems of my work as well as the peculiarities of life. Beyond my own department, I have also received great help from the best academics and colleagues in Finland. Professor Hannu Salmi, an expert on nineteenth-century cultural history, has always kept his door open for me, even for my most desperate questions. His encouragement has often inspired me to persist with my work. I am also grateful to Docent Pentti Paavolainen, an expert on theatre history, and Professor Heikki Lempa, an expert of middle class life forms, who have commented on my manuscripts. The official comments of Professor Hannes Saarinen and Professor Marjatta Hietala have been a great help in completing my work. I have received the best possible comments I could imagine from Professor Saarinen, as an expert on the history of Berlin and Professor Hietala, as an expert on urban history. I would also like to thank Professor Saarinen for acting as the official opponent of my work. Dr. Robert Collis is to thank for making it possible to write this work in English. His expertise as a historian, his supernatural talent to understand what my mumbo- jumbo meant and his support as a friend made the co-operation easy and fruitful. I would also like to thank Professor Bruce Johnson for teaching his “Publishing in English” course. Furthermore, the helpful staff at the archives ofGeheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin, Walter Unruh Sammlungen and Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin have earned my humble appreciation. Thanks are due to all my lovely colleagues and friends at the University of Turku for accepting this foppish guy amongst you. Thank you Tuomas, Kimmo, Janne, Meri, Leila, Taina, Pertti, Erja, Eero, Matti M., Laura B., Anniina, Heli, Jarkko, Suvianna, Anu L., Juhana, Heidi, Holmpäri and Tom. I would also like to thank the staff of Someron Lukio, for warmly welcoming me to my new work during the final phase of my thesis. I have also gained great economic support for my studies from various sources that I would like to sincerely thank. I started my PhD studies with the support of the Niilo Helander Foundation. After this I have received great financial help from the Finnish Doctoral School of History, the Turku University Foundation and the Lehtori Ossi Laapotti Fund. I also want to thank my late grandfather, Kaaleppi Salmi, whose financial support made my academic career possible in the first place. I am very grateful to my excellent friends, some of whom are also academics, who have always been there to support my work and my mental health. I especially salute you Sampo, Sanna, Lauri, Juutas, Saara Votila, Ari H.,Timo, Markus, Eki-setä, Hackero, Sampsa, Topi, Pasi and Stefan. Finally, I would like to thank my extended and eccentric family. Adapting the poem Zahme Xenien, by J. W. Goethe, I could state that ‘vom Mütter hab ich die Statur, des Lebens ernstes Führen,/ vom Vaterchen die Frohnatur und Lust zu fabulieren’. Lastly, of course, I want to praise my wise and lovely wife, Anna-Elina, whose talent and wisdom exceeds my understanding, and with whom I share absolute love for our newborn daughter Martta. Portsa, Finland August 2012 A.S Dramatis personae Eduard Devrient Actor at the Royal Theatre, the son of a Berliner merchant Adolph Bethge Actor at the Royal Theatre, the son of a gardener Charlotte von Hagn Actor at the Royal Theatre, the daughter of a Bavarian noble merchant Louis Schneider Actor at the Royal Theatre and later a Royal Reader at the Prussian court Ludwig Devrient Legendary actor at the Royal Theatre and uncle of Eduard Devrient Karoline Bauer Actor at the Royal Theatre, the daughter of a cavalry officer Auguste Crelinger-Stich First lady of the Royal Theatre, the daughter of a Berliner clocksmith Clara and Bertha Stich Daughters of Auguste Crelinger-Stich Pius Alexander Wolff First actor at the Royal Theatre, who previously worked in Weimar Amalie Wolff Actor at the Royal Theatre and the wife of P. A. Wolff Moriz Rott Actor at the Royal Theatre Karl von Holtei Leader of the Königstädtisches Theater and the husband of two actors at the Royal Theatre von Brühl, von Redern General Intendants at the Royal Theatre and von Küstner Frederick William III Prussian kings Frederick William IV Other actors, singers, dancers, Berliners, servants, children SCENE: Historical Berlin Introduction 1. Parades The famous Prussian painter Franz Krüger, who was also a professor at the Prussian Art Academy, painted two great paintings of ceremonial parades: Parade auf dem Opernplatz, ‘Eine Parade’ (1829–1830) and Parade auf dem Opernplatz, ‘Eine preußische Parade’ (1837–1839). The paintings are on a grand scale and they depict parades held in honour of the Russian tsar and the Prussian king respectively along the most important boulevard in Berlin. Troops are shown marching along the boulevard, whilst distinguished Berliners are illustrated as onlookers. The first painting marked the parade of Tsar Nicholas’ 6th Cuirassier Regiment in Berlin in 1824. King Frederick William III liked the painting so much that he commissioned a similar painting to be produced of him leading a similar parade.1 Scholars have emphasized that both paintings devote an extraordinary degree of attention to the spectators. In the right- hand corner of both paintings one can see many well-known and respectable Berliners. The figures are on such a grand scale that it is easy to recognize most of the faces. Indeed, one can imagine that it was perceived to be a great honour to be depicted in the parade paintings. In contrast to the visibility of the respectable onlookers, the 1 The Berliner painter Franz Krüger (1797–1857) was one of the most popular Biedermeier artists. In 1826, he was appointed to the post of Professor of the Prussian Art Academy. His main works were portraits of the elite of Berlin and he was also known as Pferde-Krüger (horse-Krüger), because of his many paintings devoted to equine subjects. He was married to the singer and actor Johanna Eunicke. See NDB Bd 13, 101–103. For more on Krüger’s paintings, see Bartochek 2007, 11–13; Franke 2007, 34–36. Katalog 2007, nr. 99, nr. 140. Introduction - 13 tsar and king are almost invisible. They are depicted on horseback at the rear of the pictures, where they both blend in with other riders.2 Significantly, among the respectable onlookers depicted in both parade paintings were a great number of actors3 from Berlin theatres. Why was it that actors were painted alongside university professors and rich merchants, in spite of longstanding prejudices against their profession? Whilst in some cultures actors have gained a degree of social acceptability, the tradition of wandering stage players and court jesters was still viewed with suspicion in nineteenth-century Prussia. Moreover, problems arose among spectators vis-à-vis the conflation of the private lives of actors and the roles they played on stage. The illusion of the moral ills of non-monogamous action has particularly created myths related to a lack of morality among actors.4 Yet, in the parade paintings the actors are portrayed in a very respectable manner. This leads one to the key question of this dissertation: what was the social position of Berliner actors and what were their spheres of social intercourse in the years between 1815 and 1848? The Actors in the Play The question of who can be perceived to have been an actor in Berlin between 1815 and 1848 is complex.