Raimund, Ferdinand

(Ferdinand Raimann, 1790-1836)

   Playwright, actor. Raimund is closely identified with the Volksstück— particularly the Zauberstück variety of that dramatic species — with its roots in his native Vienna. His career began at age 18 when he joined a small touring company; after engagements in Pressburg and Ödenburg, his breakthrough came when he was engaged by the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna, and in 1815 he became that theater's most popular comic actor. In 1817 Raimund began to write short pieces and interludes for the Theater in der Leopoldstadt company. His first full-length play was Der Barometermacher auf der Zauberinsel (The Barometer Maker on the Magic Island), which premiered in 1823; it established him as both the leading actor and the leading playwright of Vienna during the 1820s. Others were Der Diamant des Geisterkönigs (The Fairy Kings Diamond, 1824), Das Mädchen aus der Feenwelt (The Girl from the Fairy World; better known as Der Bauer als Millionär, The Peasant as Millionaire, 1826), Die gefesselte Fantasie (The Imagination Enchained, 1828), and his best play, Der Alpenkönig und der Menschenfeind (The Alpine King and the Misanthrope, 1828); all featured Raimund in the leading role.

   Raimund was named director of the Leopoldstadt Theater in 1828, but he resigned in 1830 apparently suffering from nervous exhaustion. He toured as a guest artist to perform the roles he had created for himself and won enthusiastic acclaim nearly everywhere he played; his Der Verschwender (The Prodigal) of 1834 was his last effort, and in 1836 he committed suicide in despair that he would never be taken seriously. He had little estimation as a "serious" artist, his prosperity and renown notwithstanding. The frequency of his plays in repertoires increased throughout the remainder of the 19th century, however, and by 1900 most theaters had at least one Raimund play in their repertoires. The 20th century saw successive Raimund revivals, and students regularly study them as "serious" literature for the stage, much as he had hoped. There are Raimund memorials in several Austrian towns and cities, and in Vienna a theater bears his name, along with a learned society that promotes the scholarly study of his plays and career.