Anschütz, Heinrich

ACTOR, DIRECTOR, TRANSLATOR (GERMANY)
BORN 8 Feb 1785, Luckau, Brandenburg - DIED 29 Dec 1865, Wien
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Evangelischer Friedhof Matzleinsdorf, 10. Triesterstraße 1 (Gruft 70 (Ehrengrab))

Heinrich Anschütz was the son of a soldier who became the director of the Luckauer Orphanage. In 1794 the family moved to Leipzig. He attend the Gymnasium in Grimma and entered Leipzig University in 1804. He frequently visited the Goethetheater in Bad Lauchstädt and the Hoftheater in Weimar. He gave up his studies to become an actor himself.

He debuted in Nürnberg in 1807 at the Stadttheater. In 1810 the married the singer Josephine Kette (1793-after 1822). They had a son, Alexander, but they divorced in 1817. In Nürnberg he also worked as an opera singer. In 1811 he moved to Danzig and in 1814 to Breslau. In 1818 he married the actress Emilie Butenop (1795-1866) and in 1821 they were both contracted by the Burgtheater in Vienna. There he was successful as an actor as well as an director.

In 1822 he met Beethoven in Döbling. They became friends and after Beethoven's death in 1827 Anschütz speeched at his grave, changing the text that Grillparzer had written for the occasion.

In 1857 he celebrated 50 years of activity in the theatre and in 1861 his 40th anniversary at the Burgtheater was celebrated. For this occasion Friedrich Halm wrote a poem about him. his last stage appearance took place on 4 Juni 1865. He died in the same year in Vienna.

Family
• Daughter: Koberwein-Anschütz, Auguste
• Daughter: Anschütz, Rosa
• Wife: Anschütz-Butenop, Emilie (1818-1865, Weigelsdorf)

Related persons
• was a friend of Beethoven, Ludwig van

Images

The grave of Heinrich Anschütz at the Evangelischer Friedhof Matzleinsdorf, Vienna.
Picture by Androom (24 Aug 2005)

 

Sources
• Bauer, Werner T., Wiener Friedhofsführer, Genaue Beschreibung sämtlicher Begräbnisstätten nebst einer Geschichte des Wiener Bestattungswesens, Falter Verlag, Wien, 1991
Heinrich Anschütz - Wikipedia


Anschütz, Ottomar

Published: 28 Apr 2018
Last update: 03 Mar 2024