Genée, (Franz Friedrich) Richard

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Genée, (Franz Friedrich) Richard

Genée, (Franz Friedrich) Richard, German conductor, composer, and librettist; b. Danzig, Feb. 7, 1823; d. Baden bei Wien, June 15, 1895. He received training from Stahlknecht in Berlin. In 1847 he began his career as a theater conductor in Danzig, and subsequently conducted in such cities as Mainz, Schwerin, and Amsterdam. In 1863 he became conductor at the Landestheater in Prague. He went to Vienna as conductor of the Theater an der Wien in 1868, where he displayed a gift for adapting foreign works for the Viennese stage. He also wrote librettos for Johann Strauss, Suppé, Millocker, and other composers, often in collaboration with F. Zell. Although Genée composed numerous stage works, only his operettas Der Seekadett (Vienna, Oct. 24, 1876) and Nanon, die Wirtin vom goldenen Lamm (Vienna, March 10, 1877) had much success. After retiring from the Theater an der Wien in 1878, he continued to compose and write librettos for the rest of his life.

Bibliography

B. Hiltner-Hennenberg, R. G.: Eine Bibliographic (Frankfurt am Main, 1998).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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