Christian Felix Weisse
Christian Felix Weisse was a notable German poet, dramatist, and librettist born in 1726 in Annaburg, Germany. He pursued his education at the University of Leipzig, where he studied philology and theology, and became acquainted with prominent literary figures of his time. Weisse began his literary career while working for Count von Geyersberg, where he adapted English operas into German. His most recognized contributions include lyric writing for the stage, particularly libretti that explored themes contrasting rural innocence and urban corruption. Although his works were popular among audiences, they often faced critical disapproval, leading him to eventually cease writing for public performance in 1772. He redirected his efforts toward editing a children's periodical, which is considered one of the first of its kind, and wrote short operas for inclusion in it. Weisse's most celebrated work, the libretto for "Die Jagd," intertwined comedy and pastoral themes, remaining popular even into the 20th century. He passed away in Leipzig in 1804, leaving behind a legacy in the realm of German theater and children's literature.
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Christian Felix Weisse
Writer
- Born: January 28, 1726
- Birthplace: Annaburg, Germany
- Died: December 16, 1804
- Place of death: Leipzig, Germany
Biography
Christian Felix Weisse was a German poet, dramatist, and librettist. He was born in Annaburg, Germany, in 1726 to Christian Heinrich Weisse, rector of the Latin school in Annaburg and a teacher of languages, and Chrisiane Elizabeth Weisse. At nineteen, Weisse traveled to the university at Leipzig with the intention of studying philology and theology. He stayed there permanently. There he studied the works of writers Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Friederike Caroline Neuber, Gottlieb Wilhelm Rabener, and Heinrich von Kleist.
After graduation in 1750, he accepted a position with the family of Count von Geyersberg. While there, he began developing his reputation as a playwright and poet, writing German versions of two English operas. In 1759, he assumed the editor’s position of Bibliothek der schönen Wissenschaften, but because of the Seven Years’ War he went with Geyersberg to Paris, staying from 1759 through 1760. In Paris, Weisse met Jean Jacques Rousseau and was exposed to the popular comic operas of C. S. Favart. Back in Leipzig, Weisse took a job as a tax collector.
The bulk of Weisse’s work is lyric writing for the stage, particularly libretti for operas. Set to the music of Johann Adam Hiller, Weisse’s dramas found immediate popular success in Germany, but Weisse’s work did not find favor with the critics. His libretti tended to center on the tension between the rustic innocence of country life and the jaded corruption of the urban court. Often sentimental and farcical, his libretti relied so little on the musical setting that they were often performed without the music as plays, and these plays were equally successful with the public. Weisse later published his libretti as stand-alone texts.
His most popular work, the libretto for Die Jagd, successfully combines the elements of comedy, praise for the pastoral life, and multiple happy marriages. Unlike his other works that were presented without music, this libretto was eventually restructured and reset to music for performance in Vienna in 1799. The original version found an audience well into the 1900’s. By 1772, Weisse had succumbed to the will of the critics and stopped writing for public performance. He began editing a children’s periodical, thought to be perhaps the first of its kind, called Der Kinderfreud. He wrote short, instructive operas for inclusion in that publication. In 1790, he inherited the Stoetteritz Manor in Leipzig. He died in Leipzig in 1804.