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Freiherr von Dingelstedt. Carte de Visite of this important Poet. Franz von Dingelstedt (1814 -1881) was a German poet, dramatist and theatre administrator.
Dingestedt was born at Halsdorf, Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), Germany, and later studied at the University of Marburg nearby.
In 1839 he wrote Unter der Erde ("Beneath the Earth"), a novel which obtained considerable success. In 1841, Lieder eines kosmopolitischen Nachtwaechters, the book by which he is best remembered, was published.
In 1845 he published a volume of poems dealing with then modern life, some of which possessed merit of a literary rather than strictly poetical nature.
A subsequent collection, published in 1852, attracted little attention. He attained the position of intendant at the court theatre in Munich as a result of the success of his tragedy Das Haus der Barneveldt (1850), and he soon became the center of literary society there. A similar position was offered to him at Weimar through the influence of Liszt, and he remained there until 1867. His administration was most successful, and he especially distinguished himself by presenting all Shakespeare's historical plays upon the stage in an unbroken cycle. In 1867 he became director of the court opera house in Vienna, and in 1872 of the Hofburgtheater, a position which he held until his death on May 15, 1881.
His other works include Muenchener Bilderbogen (1879), an autobiographical sketch of his Munich career, Die Amazone, an art novel of considerable merit (1869), translations of several of Shakespeare's comedies, and several writings dealing with questions of practical dramaturgy. He was ennobled in 1867 by the king of Bavaria and in 1876 was created Freiherr by the emperor of Austria.
Dingelstedt's Saemtliche Werke appeared in 12 vols. (1877-1878), but this edition is far from complete.
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