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140-596: During the time Lessing wrote the Hamburg Dramaturgy, there was a new movement of German theatre, based on self-reflection. Actors were beginning to perform the inner and outer lives of their characters at the same time. One of Lessing's most famous and renowned quotes from the compilation considers the responsibilities of the actor and the playwright: “The great discernment of the drama critic lies in his ability to distinguish, whenever he feels pleasure or displeasure, to what extent that feeling should be credited to

280-529: A French Invasion of Hanover . The convention removed Hanover from the war, leaving the western approach to Prussian territory extremely vulnerable. Frederick sent urgent requests to Britain for more substantial assistance, as he was now without any outside military support for his forces in Germany. Things were looking grim for Prussia now, with the Austrians mobilising to attack Prussian-controlled soil and

420-436: A "man of perception and insight." After his death his daughter Sophie Leisewitz, the wife of the poet Johann Anton Leisewitz , wrote: "It was my happy fortune, out of childish duty, to worship the man whom thousands can only admire." Seyler mostly focused on the artistic, economic and administrative management of his theatrical company; his own lack of a background as an actor, his patrician family and his former profession as

560-555: A Russian army of 43,000 commanded by Count William Fermor . Both sides suffered heavy casualties—the Prussians 12,800, the Russians 18,000—but the Russians withdrew, and Frederick claimed victory. The American historian Daniel Marston described Zorndorf as a "draw" as both sides were too exhausted and had taken such losses that neither wished to fight another battle with the other. In the undecided Battle of Tornow on 25 September,

700-435: A background as an actor and his former profession as a merchant banker, made him stand out among the theatre principals of his era in a profession that was just starting to gain respectability. His wife's 1789 Singspiel Huon and Amanda (or Oberon ) was a major influence on The Magic Flute . The principal founder of biochemistry and molecular biology, Felix Hoppe-Seyler , was an adopted son of his grandson. Abel Seyler

840-526: A battle, Russian generals did not wish to risk another battle knowing resupply would be a long time coming. This long-standing weakness was evident in the Russian-Ottoman War of 1735–1739, where Russian battle victories led to only modest war gains due to problems supplying their armies. The Russian quartermasters department had not improved, so the same problems reoccurred in Prussia. Still,

980-546: A combined French and Reichsarmee force under Prince Soubise approaching from the west. The Reichsarmee was a collection of armies from the smaller German states that had banded together to heed the appeal of the Holy Roman Emperor Franz I of Austria against Frederick. However, in November and December 1757, the whole situation in Germany was reversed. First, Frederick devastated Soubise's forces at

1120-699: A commander in the Prussian Army), regrouped his army and launched a series of offensives that drove the French back across the River Rhine . Ferdinand's forces kept Prussia's western flank secure for the rest of the war. The British had suffered further defeats in North America, particularly at Fort William Henry . At home, however, stability had been established. Since 1756, successive governments led by Newcastle and Pitt had fallen. In August 1757,

1260-447: A fixed income but presumably lived off payments for church services, gifts and occasional government contributions. It was only when he retired in 1763 that his father received a fixed income, a pension of 600 pounds. As a young man, Seyler left Basel first for London and then for Hamburg , where he was active as a merchant banker until 1766. At the time Hamburg was emerging as one of the world's foremost centres of trade and finance,

1400-481: A lifelong friend and collaborator of Seyler. The Hamburg National Theatre was immortalized by Lessing's influential book Hamburg Dramaturgy , a collection of essays that reflected on the Hamburg National Theatre's efforts, and which defined the field of dramaturgy and gave it its name. The idea of a journal with Lessing as a dramatic critic was conceived by Löwen, and Seyler, "the power behind

1540-475: A merchant banker, made him stand out among the theatre principals of his era, in a profession that was just starting to gain respectability. John Warrack noted that: The Danish critic Knud Lyne Rahbek highlighted the fact that while he had never been an actor himself, he demonstrated a great enthusiasm for and refined knowledge of the arts. The actor August Wilhelm Iffland who worked under Seyler's direction said: His theatrical legacy eventually overshadowed

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1680-580: A national theatre in the tradition of Ludvig Holberg , the Sturm und Drang playwrights, and the development of a serious German opera tradition. Already in his lifetime, he was described as "one of German art's most meritorious men." Ludwig Wollrabe called him "a man who made an immortal contribution to Germany's theater and its improvement." He was lauded by contemporaries such as Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Christoph Martin Wieland , who described him as

1820-614: A new form of capitalism. After the bankruptcy of his bank, Seyler devoted himself to theatre and became the main shareholder, benefactor and effective leader of the Hamburg National Theatre , an idealistic attempt to establish a national theatre based on the ideas of Ludvig Holberg . The theatre was owned by "a consortium of twelve businessmen of the city, with a triumvirate of Seyler, Bubbers and Johann Martin Tillemann, Seyler's business partner. But in practice, it

1960-403: A new, complete, and fully annotated translation of the text; the essays are being published online at MediaCommons Press and will be published in print form by Routledge . Lessing's collection of essays are still being used as references today for the topic of dramaturgy, especially as a reference for art of theatre as an outlet for self-reflection, and how circumstances of the era during which

2100-464: A play was written affects how the audience perceives the work. Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen ) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker , who was regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. He played a pivotal role in the development of German theatre and opera, and was considered "the leading patron of German theatre" in his lifetime. He supported

2240-525: A playwright and secretary, and he remained with the company for two years. Klinger had followed Goethe to Weimar earlier in the same year, and at the time he joined the Seyler Company he had just broken with Goethe under unclear circumstances. He brought with him the manuscript of his recently finished play Sturm und Drang , which was first performed by the Seyler Company on 1 April 1777 in Leipzig;

2380-608: A poem by their friend and collaborator Christoph Martin Wieland . The play, with original music by Carl Hanke , became a success in Hamburg; Hanke had been recruited by Abel Seyler as music director at the Comödienhaus in Hamburg in 1783. A lightly adapted version of Seyler's opera with new music by Paul Wranitzky became the first opera performed by Emanuel Schikaneder 's troupe at the Theater auf der Wieden , and established

2520-515: A position it would retain until the end of the 18th century. With his business partners Johann Martin Tillemann and Edwin Müller, he founded the related companies Seyler & Tillemann and Müller & Seyler, which engaged in an ever-increasing and complex speculation with financial instruments during the Seven Years' War in the 1750s and early 1760s. Seyler & Tillemann had close ties to

2660-444: A slap in the face in response to repeated insolent remarks during theatre rehearsals. A report commissioned by Dalberg noted that Toscani belonged to "the weaker sex" and that Seyler was the director of a theatre company and should be held to a higher standard. In order to "restore the peace" of the theatre Dalberg decided to retire Seyler with a pension. The first performance of Friedrich Schiller 's The Robbers —itself inspired by

2800-451: A theatre for her, where she could reign undisputed without fearing any rivalry." Karl Mantzius noted: Nominally Johann Friedrich Löwen served as theatre director, but he had little influence, as Seyler as main shareholder and head of a three-member "administrative committee" ( Verwaltungsausschuß ) took all managerial decisions while Ekhof in practice assumed the artistic leadership. The new Seyler regime suited Ekhof well, and he became

2940-539: A tradition within Schikaneder's company of fairy-tale operas that was to culminate two years later in Mozart 's and Schikaneder's opera The Magic Flute ; Sophie Seyler's Oberon is regarded as one of the primary influences on the plot and characters of The Magic Flute . Musicologist Thomas Bauman describes Oberon as "an important impulse for the creation of a generation of popular spectacles trading in magic and

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3080-575: A young adult, and established himself as a merchant banker in the 1750s. During the Seven Years' War and its immediate aftermath his bank Seyler & Tillemann engaged in an ever-increasing and complex, "malicious" speculation with financial instruments and went spectacularly bankrupt with enormous debts in the wake of the Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763 , resulting in a decade of expansive litigation. Although they were wealthy bankers, Seyler and his business partner were "in no way representatives of

3220-566: Is regarded as the earliest starting point of Weimar Classicism . From 1779 to 1781 he was the founding artistic director of the Mannheim National Theatre . He commissioned works such as Sturm und Drang by Klinger (which gave its name to the era), Ariadne auf Naxos by Benda and Alceste by Schweitzer , considered "the first serious German opera." Seyler mostly focused on the artistic, economic and administrative management of his theatrical company; his own lack of

3360-406: The Sturm und Drang dramas. For most of its existence, the Seyler Company comprised around 60 members, and included an orchestra, a ballet, house dramatists and set designers. The company was one of the first theatre companies to maintain a permanent orchestra. Over the next ten years the company travelled extensively, and stayed for longer periods at several courts of Europe. Theatre companies of

3500-457: The Battle of Domstadtl that wiped out a supply convoy destined for Olmütz, Frederick broke off the siege and withdrew from Moravia. It marked the end of his final attempt to launch a major invasion of Austrian territory. In January 1758, the Russians invaded East Prussia , where the province, almost denuded of troops, put up little opposition. East Prussia had been occupied by Russian forces over

3640-519: The Battle of Rossbach on 5 November 1757 and then routed a vastly superior Austrian force at the Battle of Leuthen on 5 December 1757. Rossbach was the only battle between the French and the Prussians during the entire war. At Rossbach, the Prussians lost about 548 men killed while the Franco- Reichsarmee force under Soubise lost about 10,000 killed. Frederick always called Leuthen his greatest victory, an assessment shared by many at

3780-694: The Diplomatic Revolution . In the War of the Austrian Succession , which lasted from 1740 to 1748, Prussian King Frederick II , known as Frederick the Great, seized the prosperous province of Silesia from Austria. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria had signed the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 in order to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances. The War of

3920-511: The Duchy of Holstein , where he died on 25 April 1800 at the age of 69. He was interred in Rellingen on 1 May 1800. Seyler is widely regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe and has been described as "the leading patron of German theatre" in his lifetime. He is credited with introducing Shakespeare to a German language audience, and with promoting the concept of

4060-595: The Illuminati , and the Duke later offered that society's founder Adam Weishaupt asylum in Gotha. Abel Seyler was married in his first marriage from 1754 to Sophie Elisabeth Andreae (1730–1764), the daughter of the wealthy Hanoverian court pharmacist Leopold Andreae (1686–1730) and Katharina Elisabeth Rosenhagen (died 1752). Her parents were already deceased and her only close relative was her older brother and only sibling,

4200-583: The Merian and Faesch families. He was a matrilineal descendant of Justina Froben, daughter of the humanist Johann Froben ; he thus belonged to the same matriline as Anna Catharina Bischoff . He had a sister, Elisabeth Seiler (1715–1798), married to parish priest Daniel Merian. He was distantly related to Cardinal Joseph Fesch , Napoleon 's uncle; they were both descended from the Basel silk merchant, politician and diplomat Johann Rudolf Faesch (died 1659), who

4340-599: The early modern period was characterised by the widespread adoption of firearms in combination with more traditional bladed weapons . Eighteenth-century European armies were built around units of massed infantry armed with smoothbore flintlock muskets and bayonets . Cavalrymen were equipped with sabres and pistols or carbines ; light cavalry were used principally for reconnaissance , screening and tactical communications , while heavy cavalry were used as tactical reserves and deployed for shock attacks . Smoothbore artillery provided fire support and played

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4480-492: The idealistic Hamburg National Theatre , that became a leading cultural institution in Germany. His theatre employed Lessing as the world's first dramaturg , culminating in the work Hamburg Dramaturgy that defined the field and gave it its name. In 1769, Seyler founded the travelling Seyler Theatre Company , which became one of the most famous theatre companies of Europe during the period 1769–79 and regarded as "the best theatre company in Germany at that time." The company

4620-590: The 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War , and 1762 to 1763 Anglo-Spanish War . The War of the Austrian Succession ended in 1748, but failed to resolve ongoing tensions between the European powers. Continuing colonial disputes between Britain and France in North America resulted in the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754. Following the realignment of traditional alliances in the so-called 1756 Diplomatic Revolution , Prussia allied with Britain, while

4760-457: The Acadians . In July, British Major General Edward Braddock led about 2,000 army troops and provincial militia on an expedition to retake Fort Duquesne, but the expedition ended in disastrous defeat. In further action, Admiral Edward Boscawen fired on the French ship Alcide on 8 June 1755 , capturing it and two troop ships. In September 1755, British colonial and French troops met in

4900-467: The Andreae pharmacy from their uncle on his death in 1793. In 1772 Abel Seyler married the actress Friederike Sophie Seyler (formerly married Hensel). They had no children. The principal founder of biochemistry and molecular biology, Felix Hoppe-Seyler , was an adopted son of his grandson. Seyler was a godfather of Jacob Herzfeld (born 1763), known as the first Jewish stage actor in Germany, when

5040-426: The Austrian Succession had seen the belligerents aligned on a time-honoured basis. France's traditional enemies, Great Britain and Austria , had coalesced just as they had done against Louis XIV. Prussia , the leading anti-Austrian state in Germany, had been supported by France. Neither group, however, found much reason to be satisfied with its partnership: British subsidies to Austria produced nothing of much help to

5180-743: The British settlers wanted access to the fertile land of the Ohio River Valley for the new settlers that were flooding into the British colonies seeking farmland. The most important French fort planned was intended to occupy a position at "the Forks", where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio River in present-day Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. Peaceful British attempts to halt this fort construction were unsuccessful, and

5320-577: The British, while the British military effort had not saved Silesia for Austria. Prussia, having secured Silesia, came to terms with Austria in disregard of French interests. Even so, France concluded a defensive alliance with Prussia in 1747, and the maintenance of the Anglo-Austrian alignment after 1748 was deemed essential by the Duke of Newcastle , British secretary of state in the ministry of his brother Henry Pelham . The collapse of that system and

5460-604: The Danish royal family, to produce debased coins in the final years of the Seven Years' War. Seyler & Tillemann went bankrupt in the wake of the Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763 with 3–4 million Mark Banco in debts, an enormous sum. Expansive civil litigation relating to the bankruptcy was initiated in 1763 and went on until 1773, and the case reached the Imperial Cameral Tribunal . Much criticism

5600-459: The Duchess invited Christoph Martin Wieland to Weimar to educate her two sons. Wieland had just published his modern and ironic mirror-for-princes work, Der goldne Spiegel oder die Könige von Scheschian . Wieland became an important friend and collaborator of both Seyler, and later Goethe. Adam Shoaff notes, In 1772 he reunited with his love interest Friederike Sophie Hensel, who had stayed at

5740-586: The Duke of Bavaria in 1777, he moved his court from the Palatine capital of Mannheim to Munich and brought the theatre company of Theobald Marchand with him. In 1778 he instructed the courtier Wolfgang Heribert von Dalberg —the brother of Prince-Elector and Grand Duke Karl Theodor von Dalberg —to establish a new theatre in Mannheim. At first Dalberg contracted Abel Seyler's theatre company with performing in Mannheim on an occasional basis from 1778 to 1779. In

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5880-644: The Dutch wished to remain fully neutral. Despite the huge disparity in numbers, the year had been successful for the Prussian-led forces on the continent, in contrast to the British campaigns in North America. On 18 April 1757, Frederick II again took the initiative by marching into the Kingdom of Bohemia , hoping to inflict a decisive defeat on Austrian forces. After winning the bloody Battle of Prague on 6 May 1757, in which both forces suffered major casualties,

6020-569: The Elder , who entered the cabinet in 1756, had a grand vision for the war that made it entirely different from previous wars with France. As prime minister, Pitt committed Britain to a grand strategy of seizing the entire French Empire, especially its possessions in North America and India. Britain's main weapon was the Royal Navy, which could control the seas and bring as many invasion troops as were needed. He also planned to use colonial forces from

6160-605: The European powers was centred on the desire of Austria to recover Silesia from Prussia. The Treaty of Hubertusburg ended the war between Saxony, Austria, and Prussia in 1763. France's supremacy in Europe was halted, while Prussia confirmed its status as a great power, challenging Austria for dominance within the Holy Roman Empire , thus altering the European balance of power . In the historiography of some countries,

6300-439: The European war went well, by its end France had few counterbalancing European successes. The British—by inclination as well as for practical reasons—had tended to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on the continent. They sought to offset the disadvantage of this in Europe by allying themselves with one or more continental powers whose interests were antithetical to those of their enemies, particularly France. By subsidising

6440-610: The French began constructing a chain of forts in the Ohio River Valley to assert their claim and shield the Native American population from increasing British influence. The British settlers along the coast were upset that French troops would now be close to the western borders of their colonies. They felt the French would encourage their tribal allies among the North American natives to attack them. Also,

6580-509: The French proceeded to build the fort they named Fort Duquesne . British colonial militia from Virginia accompanied by Chief Tanacharison and a small number of Mingo warriors were sent to drive them out. Led by George Washington , they ambushed a small French force at Jumonville Glen on 28 May 1754 killing ten, including commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville . The French retaliated by attacking Washington's army at Fort Necessity on 3 July 1754 and forced Washington to surrender. These were

6720-642: The Gasthof Zum Mohren, on the occasion of the Nativity of St John the Baptist , and Ekhof became the first Worshipful Master and Seyler the First Warden . The lodge was originally named Cosmopolit , but was renamed Zum Rautenkranz in honour of the ducal family shortly after. Its members included several members of the Seyler Company, such as Seyler, Ekhof and the composer Georg Anton Benda ;

6860-414: The Hamburg bourgeoisie, but were rather seen with suspicion for different reasons" by the local Hamburg elite. In strictly Lutheran Hamburg, Calvinists such as Seyler were viewed with as much suspicion as Catholics at the time. Seyler and his friends were also self-made men, immigrants to Hamburg and showed little regard for the values and conventions of the conservative Hamburg bourgeoisie; they symbolized

7000-425: The Hamburg bourgeoisie." A flamboyant bon vivant who was regarded with suspicion in Hamburg, Seyler symbolized a new and more aggressive form of capitalism. Seyler's admiration for the tragic actress Sophie Hensel (Seyler) , who later became his second wife, led him to devote himself entirely to theatre from 1767 onwards. He used his remaining funds to become the main shareholder, benefactor and effective leader of

7140-473: The Imperial Russian Army was a new threat to Prussia. Not only was Frederick forced to break off his invasion of Bohemia, he was also now forced to withdraw further into Prussian-controlled territory. His defeats on the battlefield brought still more opportunistic nations into the war. Sweden declared war on Prussia and invaded Pomerania with 17,000 men. Sweden felt this small army was all that

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7280-466: The Ottoman Empire. They also agreed to a secret clause that promised the restoration of Silesia and the countship of Glatz (now Kłodzko , Poland) to Austria in the event of hostilities with Prussia. Their real desire, however, was to destroy Frederick's power altogether, reducing his sway to his electorate of Brandenburg and giving East Prussia to Poland, an exchange that would be accompanied by

7420-525: The Prussians forced the Austrians back into the fortifications of Prague. The Prussian army then laid siege to the city . In response, Austrian commander Leopold von Daun collected a force of 30,000 men to come to the relief of Prague. Following the battle at Prague, Frederick took 5,000 troops from the siege at Prague and sent them to reinforce the 19,000-man army under the Duke of Brunswick-Bevern at Kolín in Bohemia. Daun arrived too late to participate in

7560-459: The Russians under Field Marshal Apraksin besieged Memel with 75,000 troops. Memel had one of the strongest fortresses in Prussia. However, after five days of artillery bombardment, the Russian army was able to storm it. The Russians then used Memel as a base to invade East Prussia and defeated a smaller Prussian force in the fiercely contested Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf on 30 August 1757. In

7700-525: The Saxons. At the Battle of Lobositz on 1 October 1756, Frederick stumbled into one of the embarrassments of his career. Severely underestimating a reformed Austrian army under General Maximilian Ulysses Browne, he found himself outmanoeuvred and outgunned, and at one point in the confusion even ordered his troops to fire on retreating Prussian cavalry. Frederick actually fled the field of battle, leaving Field Marshall Keith in command. Browne, however, also left

7840-559: The Seyler Company by the assumption of all debts before the impending ruin; Andreae however demanded that Ekhof replaced his brother-in-law as head of the company. In 1771 the Seyler Company was invited to the ducal court in Weimar by Duchess Anna Amalia , the composer and noted patron of the arts, and Seyler again became the company's principal. They were warmly welcomed by Anna Amalia and her court in October 1771, and were generously paid;

7980-660: The Seyler Company’s final stop. Reinhard Frost writes that the Seyler Company, with its literarily ambitious program, did not reach the broad audience in Frankfurt, which was accustomed to more popular entertainment. Seyler is nevertheless regarded as the founder of a serious theater tradition in Frankfurt. When Charles Theodore , the Prince-Elector of the Electoral Palatinate , additionally became

8120-730: The Swedish invasion. In short order, the Prussian army drove the Swedes back, occupied most of Swedish Pomerania , and blockaded its capital Stralsund . George II of Great Britain , on the advice of his British ministers after the battle of Rossbach, revoked the Convention of Klosterzeven, and Hanover reentered the war. Over the winter the new commander of the Hanoverian forces, Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick (until immediately before

8260-726: The Vienna Burgtheater for the past year, and they finally married in November 1772 in Oßmannstedt just outside Weimar. After the palace fire in Weimar in May 1774, Anna Amalia was forced to dismiss the Seyler Company, and they left with a quarter year's wages and a letter of recommendation to Duke Ernest II in Gotha . Seyler thus missed Goethe 's arrival at the Weimar court a year later. The Seyler Company remained for one year at

8400-453: The actor must all be taken into account. When Lessing published his essays, numerous actors from Hamburg plays were upset with Lessing's carelessness and disregard of their talents in his essay. In 1890, Helen Zimmern published an English translation of the text, which was re-published by Dover in 1962. Zimmern's translation omits nearly 30% of the original text. Translators Wendy Arons and Sara Figal, with editor Natalya Baldyga, are producing

8540-468: The actors who worked under Seyler's direction at Mannheim were August Wilhelm Iffland , Johann David Beil and Heinrich Beck . At Mannheim Seyler directed several Shakespeare productions, and left a lasting legacy. His "repertoire in the early Mannheim years still shows the influence of his Hamburg period as well as the legacy of the Weimar/Gotha years." In cooperation with Dalberg he developed

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8680-428: The aligning of France with Austria and of Great Britain with Prussia constituted what is known as the " Diplomatic Revolution " or the "reversal of alliances". In 1756 Austria was making military preparations for war with Prussia and pursuing an alliance with Russia for this purpose. On 2 June 1756, Austria and Russia concluded a defensive alliance that covered their own territory and Poland against attack by Prussia or

8820-467: The almost continuous level of worldwide conflict between France and Great Britain during the entire 18th century, reminiscent of the Hundred Years' War of the 14th and 15th centuries. The boundary between British and French possessions in North America was largely undefined in the 1750s. France had long claimed the entire Mississippi River basin. This was disputed by Britain. In the early 1750s

8960-598: The armies of continental allies, Britain could turn London's enormous financial power to military advantage . In the Seven Years' War, the British chose as their principal partner the most brilliant general of the day, Frederick the Great of Prussia, then the rising power in central Europe, and paid Frederick substantial subsidies for his campaigns. This was accomplished in the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, in which Britain ended its long-standing alliance with Austria in favour of Prussia, leaving Austria to side with France. In marked contrast to France, Britain strove to prosecute

9100-600: The attempt to satisfy Austria at the time, Britain gave their electoral vote in Hanover for the candidacy of Maria Theresa's son, Joseph II , as the Holy Roman Emperor, much to the dismay of Frederick and Prussia. Not only that, Britain would soon join the Austro-Russian alliance, but complications arose. Britain's basic framework for the alliance itself was to protect Hanover's interests against France. At

9240-408: The audience often felt confused or left out; Lessing’s development of the Hamburg Dramaturgy was in part a reaction to this. Topics covered by Lessing in the series of essays include Aristotle's theory of tragedy, acting theory, the role of theater in society, the means by which theater achieves its emotional effects, criticism of the actor and the play, issues of translation, and a nascent theory of

9380-441: The author of Julius of Taranto . After the death of his first wife in 1764, their children were raised in Hanover by their maternal uncle. By several accounts J.G.R. Andreae was a highly erudite, generous and kind man who became a loving father figure to his sister's children; he had no children of his own. The children since had limited or no contact with their father, and all lived more conventional lives than him. They inherited

9520-490: The autumn of 1779 Seyler moved permanently to Mannheim with the remaining members of his theatre company. Several actors who had been affiliated with the Gotha Court Theatre under Konrad Ekhof's direction in the past few years—essentially an offshoot of the Seyler Theatre Company—also joined him; Ekhof himself had died the previous year. The Mannheim National Theatre opened in October 1779 with Seyler as its first artistic director and Dalberg as its general administrator. Some of

9660-407: The bank of the brothers De Neufville in Amsterdam, and has been considered one of the most speculative and immoral banks of the era. In 1761 Seyler & Tillemann, acting as agents for their close business associate Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann , leased the mint factory in Rethwisch from the impoverished Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön , a member of a cadet branch of

9800-453: The battle of Prague, but picked up 16,000 men who had escaped from the battle. With this army he slowly moved to relieve Prague. The Prussian army was too weak to simultaneously besiege Prague and keep Daun away, and Frederick was forced to attack prepared positions. The resulting Battle of Kolín was a sharp defeat for Frederick, his first. His losses further forced him to lift the siege and withdraw from Bohemia altogether. Later that summer,

9940-517: The border of Saxony, one of the small German states in league with Austria. He intended this as a bold pre-emption of an anticipated Austro-French invasion of Silesia. He had three goals in his new war on Austria. First, he would seize Saxony and eliminate it as a threat to Prussia, then use the Saxon army and treasury to aid the Prussian war effort. His second goal was to advance into Bohemia, where he might set up winter quarters at Austria's expense. Thirdly, he wanted to invade Moravia from Silesia, seize

10080-605: The brief occupation of Düsseldorf , he was compelled by the successful manoeuvering of larger French forces to withdraw across the Rhine. By this point Frederick was increasingly concerned by the Russian advance from the east and marched to counter it. Just east of the Oder in Brandenburg- Neumark , at the Battle of Zorndorf (now Sarbinowo, Poland), a Prussian army of 35,000 men under Frederick on 25 August 1758, fought

10220-462: The cession of the Polish Duchy of Courland to Russia. Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin , grand chancellor of Russia under Empress Elizabeth , was hostile to both France and Prussia, but he could not persuade Austrian statesman Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz to commit to offensive designs against Prussia so long as Prussia was able to rely on French support. The Hanoverian King George II of Great Britain

10360-443: The cold season, resuming their campaigns with the return of spring. For much of the eighteenth century, France approached its wars in the same way. It would let colonies defend themselves or would offer only minimal help (sending them limited numbers of troops or inexperienced soldiers), anticipating that fights for the colonies would most likely be lost anyway. This strategy was to a degree forced upon France: geography, coupled with

10500-543: The company performed three times a week for select guests at the Weimar ducal court. In 1771 Anna Amalia was a 32-year old widow who reigned as regent on behalf of her young son. The Seyler Company's arrival in Weimar marked the infancy of the cultural era known as the Weimar Classicism , when the Duchess invited many of the most eminent men in Germany to her court in Weimar, including Herder , Goethe and Schiller . The year after Seyler's company arrived in Weimar,

10640-464: The concept of a national theatre in the tradition of Ludvig Holberg , the Sturm und Drang playwrights, and serious German opera , becoming the "primary agent for change in the German opera scene" in the late 18th century. Already in his lifetime, he was described as "one of German art's most meritorious men." The son of a Basel Reformed priest, Seyler moved to London and then to Hamburg as

10780-426: The continent, hoping for victories closer to home. The plan was to fight to the end of hostilities and then, in treaty negotiations, to trade territorial acquisitions in Europe to regain lost overseas possessions (as had happened in, e.g. , the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ). This approach did not serve France well in the war, as the colonies were indeed lost, and although much of

10920-594: The court pharmacist J.G.R. Andreae , who became a noted Enlightenment natural scientist. The wedding took place in Hanover and Abel and Sophie Elisabeth had two sons and a daughter: Abel Seyler (the Younger) , who became court pharmacist in Celle and who was a member of the Illuminati ; L.E. Seyler , a prominent Hamburg banker and politician; and Sophie Seyler, who married the Sturm und Drang poet Johann Anton Leisewitz ,

11060-407: The development of new works and experimental productions, helping to establish Hamburg as a center of theatrical innovation and to establish a publicly funded theater system in Germany. Working with some of Germany's foremost actors and playwrights of his era, he is credited with pioneering a new more realist style of acting, introducing Shakespeare to a German language audience, and with promoting

11200-562: The dubious reputation he had earned as a banker in his younger years. Like many of his collaborators, Seyler was a freemason . He joined freemasonry in London in 1753, became a member of the Absalom lodge in Hamburg in May 1755, and was involved with freemasonry until his death. Abel Seyler and Konrad Ekhof , along with other members of the Seyler Company, founded the first masonic lodge in Gotha . The founding took place on 25 June 1774 in

11340-493: The ducal court in Gotha, where Seyler and other of the troupe's members also involved themselves in the broader cultural and social life, and in freemasonry. In Gotha Seyler met the Bohemian composer Georg Anton Benda and commissioned him to write several successful operas, including Ariadne auf Naxos , Medea and Pygmalion . At its debut in 1775, Ariadne auf Naxos received enthusiastic reviews in Germany and afterwards, in

11480-775: The era, especially travelling ones, thought of themselves as extended "families." George III of Hanover and the United Kingdom contracted Seyler in 1769 with performing at Hanover and other cities of the Electorate of Hanover , appointing him as "Director of the Royal and Electoral German Court Actors," a privilege he held until relinquishing it in 1772. During the Hanover years the company performed in Hanover itself and in Lüneburg , Celle , Osnabrück , Hildesheim und Wetzlar between September 1769 and October 1771. Initially

11620-546: The existence of the Secret du Roi —a system of private diplomacy conducted by King Louis XV. Unbeknownst to his foreign minister, Louis had established a network of agents throughout Europe with the goal of pursuing personal political objectives that were often at odds with France's publicly stated policies. Louis's goals for le Secret du roi included the Polish crown for his kinsman Louis François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti , and

11760-485: The exotic. Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute] in particular shares many features with Oberon, musical as well as textual." In 1792 Abel Seyler retired with a pension from Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel , the royal governor of the twin duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. From 1798 he lived as a guest on the estate of the actor, his long-time friend and fellow prominent freemason Friedrich Ludwig Schröder in Rellingen in

11900-534: The field, in a vain attempt to meet up with an isolated Saxon army holed up in the fortress at Pirna. As the Prussians technically remained in control of the field of battle, Frederick, in a masterful coverup, claimed Lobositz as a Prussian victory. The Prussians then occupied Saxony; after the siege of Pirna , the Saxon army surrendered in October 1756, and was forcibly incorporated into the Prussian army. The attack on neutral Saxony caused outrage across Europe and led to

12040-527: The first British troop commitment on the continent and a reversal in the policy of Pitt. Ferdinand's Hanoverian army, supplemented by some Prussian troops, had succeeded in driving the French from Hanover and Westphalia and re-captured the port of Emden in March 1758 before crossing the Rhine with his own forces, which caused alarm in France. Despite Ferdinand's victory over the French at the Battle of Krefeld and

12180-420: The first engagements of what would become the worldwide Seven Years' War. Britain and France failed to negotiate a solution after receiving news about this in Europe. The two countries eventually sent regular troops to North America to enforce their claims. The first British action was the assault on Acadia on 16 June 1755 in the Battle of Fort Beauséjour , which was immediately followed by their expulsion of

12320-541: The fortress at Olmütz, and advance on Vienna to force an end to the war. Accordingly, leaving Field Marshal Count Kurt von Schwerin in Silesia with 25,000 soldiers to guard against incursions from Moravia and Hungary, and leaving Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt in East Prussia to guard against Russian invasion from the east, Frederick set off with his army for Saxony. The Prussian army marched in three columns. On

12460-613: The inconclusive Battle of Lake George . The British also harassed French shipping beginning in August 1755, seizing hundreds of ships and capturing thousands of merchant seamen while the two nations were nominally at peace. Incensed, France prepared to attack Hanover, whose prince-elector was also the King of Great Britain and Menorca . Britain concluded a treaty whereby Prussia agreed to protect Hanover. In response France concluded an alliance with its long-time enemy Austria, an event known as

12600-460: The island was captured on 28 June (for which Admiral Byng was court-martialed and executed). Britain formally declared war on France on 17 May, nearly two years after fighting had broken out in the Ohio Country . Frederick II of Prussia had received reports of the clashes in North America and had formed an alliance with Great Britain . On 29 August 1756, he led Prussian troops across

12740-545: The latter converted to Christianity in 1796. Seven Years%27 War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict involving most of the European great powers , fought primarily in Europe and the Americas . One of the opposing alliances was led by Great Britain and Prussia . The other alliance was led by France and Austria , backed by Spain , Saxony , Sweden , and Russia . Related conflicts include

12880-465: The leading role in siege warfare . Strategic warfare in this period centred around control of key fortifications positioned so as to command the surrounding regions and roads, with lengthy sieges a common feature of armed conflict. Decisive field battles were relatively rare. The Seven Years' War, like most European wars of the eighteenth century, was fought as a so-called cabinet war in which disciplined regular armies were equipped and supplied by

13020-611: The long running French–Habsburg rivalry ended when Austria signed a treaty with France. Spain entered the war on the French side in 1762, unsuccessfully attempting to invade Britain's ally Portugal in what became known as the Fantastic War . Spain lost Havana in Cuba and Manila in the Philippines to Britain, but they were returned in the 1763 Treaty of Paris . In Europe, the large-scale conflict that drew in most of

13160-473: The maintenance of Poland, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire as French allies in opposition to Russian and Austrian interests. Frederick saw Saxony and Polish west Prussia as potential fields for expansion, but could not expect French support if he started an aggressive war for them. If he joined the French against the British in the hope of annexing Hanover, he might fall victim to an Austro-Russian attack. The hereditary elector of Saxony, Frederick Augustus II ,

13300-487: The most. The Seyler company is here—I expect you already know them by reputation Abel Seyler was forced to leave his position as director of the Mannheim National Theatre in 1781, "after his wife's jealousy had provoked an unfortunate incident;" during a quarrel with his wife's "scheming" student, the 20-year old actress Elisabeth Toscani , the usually level-headed Seyler lost his temper and gave her

13440-638: The name Pommerska kriget (the Pomeranian War ), as the Sweden–Prussia conflict between 1757 and 1762 was limited to Pomerania in northern central Germany. The Third Silesian War involved Prussia and Austria (1756–1763). On the Indian subcontinent, the conflict is called the Third Carnatic War (1757–1763). The term " Second Hundred Years' War " has been used in order to describe

13580-439: The new company struggled and Seyler failed to replicate the old success of the Hamburg National Theatre. The lack of public interest in Hanover led to financial problems and when Ekhof in May 1770 also became seriously ill and unable to perform for some time, the situation worsened dramatically. Seyler's brother-in-law, the court pharmacist J.G.R. Andreae from Hanover, who also raised Seyler's children from his first marriage, saved

13720-515: The new threat on their doorstep, and Austria was anxious to regain Silesia , lost to Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession . Along with France, Russia and Austria agreed in 1756 to mutual defence and an attack by Austria and Russia on Prussia, subsidized by France. Westphalia, Hesse and Lower Saxony Electoral Saxony Brandenburg Silesia East Prussia Pomerania Iberian Peninsula Naval Operations William Pitt

13860-552: The next five years. Between 10 and 17 October 1757, a Hungarian general, Count András Hadik , serving in the Austrian army, executed what may be the most famous hussar action in history. When the Prussian king, Frederick, was marching south with his powerful armies, the Hungarian general unexpectedly swung his force of 5,000, mostly hussars, around the Prussians and occupied part of their capital, Berlin, for one night. The city

14000-415: The noted Burckhardt family , that was considered the most powerful family in the canton of Basel during the 17th and early 18th century. He was a paternal grandson of the theologian Friedrich Seyler and Elisabeth Socin , a member of an Italian-origined noble family, and he was named for his great-grandfather, the Basel judge and envoy to the French court Abel Socin (1632–1695). He was also descended from

14140-481: The parties hoped to achieve lasting peace and stability in Europe. The carefully coded word in the agreement proved no less catalytic for the other European powers. The results were absolute chaos. Empress Elizabeth of Russia was outraged at the duplicity of Britain's position. Not only that, but France was enraged and terrified by the sudden betrayal of its only ally, Prussia. Austria, particularly Kaunitz, used this situation to their utmost advantage. Now-isolated France

14280-454: The peace table, but she was determined not to negotiate until she had re-taken Silesia. Maria Theresa also improved the Austrians' command after Leuthen by replacing her incompetent brother-in-law, Charles of Lorraine , with Daun, who was now a field marshal. Calculating that no further Russian advance was likely until 1758, Frederick moved the bulk of his eastern forces to Pomerania under the command of Marshal Lehwaldt, where they were to repel

14420-466: The period 1769–79 and was regarded as "the best theatre company in Germany at that time." While the National Theatre had avoided musical theatre, Seyler appointed Anton Schweitzer as music director, charged with adding opera to the spoken repertory, and the Seyler Company came to play a major role both in the development of a German opera tradition and in the promotion and popularisation of

14560-594: The play Julius of Taranto by Seyler's son-in-law Johann Anton Leisewitz —took place at the Mannheim National Theatre the year after Seyler left as director. From 1781 to 1783 Seyler was artistic director of the Schleswig Court Theatre, which also performed in Flensburg , Husum and Kiel . In 1783 he established his own troupe based in Altona near Hamburg. From 1 September 1783 to Easter 1784 he

14700-709: The play gave its name to the artistic movement Sturm und Drang . In 1777 Seyler relinquished the Electoral Saxon privilege and his company took to the road again. Over the next two years the Seyler Company was primarily based in Frankfurt and Mainz and travelled extensively to Cologne , Hanau , Mannheim , Heidelberg and Bonn . On 17 June 1777 Seyler became director of the electoral Komödienhaus at Große Bleiche in Mainz; his ensemble then consisted of around 200 members, including his wife Sophie. Frankfurt became

14840-476: The preparation was directed against Prussia, was more than happy to obey the request of the British. Unbeknownst to the other powers, King George II also made overtures to the Prussian king, Frederick, who, fearing the Austro-Russian intentions, was also desirous of a rapprochement with Britain. On 16 January 1756, the Convention of Westminster was signed, whereby Britain and Prussia promised to aid one another;

14980-522: The psychology of emotions. Lessing's writings were influential for many German theater artists who came after, notably Bertolt Brecht . The analysis of the actor, according to Lessing, is grey area for a dramaturge. It is important to know that with an actor's performance, the circumstances are a large factor to the performance, whereas, for example, the text itself is easier to judge because it simply involves literary analysis. When analyzing an actor's performance, current events, environment, and mentality of

15120-435: The reigning Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and the Duke's brother, Prince August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg joined shortly after its establishment, as did many members of the nobility and local elite of Gotha. The lodge became a centre of the spiritual and cultural life of Gotha, and a stronghold of enlightenment and philanthropy . Many members of Seyler's lodge, notably the Duke and his brother, also became members of

15260-646: The right was a column of about 15,000 men under the command of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick . On the left was a column of 18,000 men under the command of the Duke of Brunswick-Bevern . In the centre was Frederick II, himself with Field Marshal James Keith commanding a corps of 30,000 troops. Ferdinand of Brunswick was to close in on the town of Chemnitz . The Duke of Brunswick-Bevern was to traverse Lusatia to close in on Bautzen . Meanwhile, Frederick and Keith would make for Dresden . The Saxon and Austrian armies were unprepared, and their forces were scattered. Frederick occupied Dresden with little or no opposition from

15400-531: The same time, Kaunitz kept approaching the French in the hope of establishing just such an alliance with Austria. Not only that, France had no intention to ally with Russia, who, years earlier, had meddled in France's affairs during Austria's succession war. France also saw the dismemberment of Prussia as threatening to the stability of Central Europe. Years later, Kaunitz kept trying to establish France's alliance with Austria. He tried as hard as he could to avoid Austrian entanglement in Hanover's political affairs, and

15540-677: The state to conduct warfare on behalf of the sovereign's interests. Occupied enemy territories were regularly taxed and extorted for funds, but large-scale atrocities against civilian populations were rare compared with conflicts in the previous century. Military logistics was the decisive factor in many wars, as armies had grown too large to support themselves on prolonged campaigns by foraging and plunder alone. Military supplies were stored in centralised magazines and distributed by baggage trains that were highly vulnerable to enemy raids. Armies were generally unable to sustain combat operations during winter and normally established winter quarters in

15680-441: The strengthening of the anti-Prussian coalition. The Austrians had succeeded in partially occupying Silesia and, more importantly, denying Frederick winter quarters in Bohemia. Frederick had proven to be overly confident to the point of arrogance and his errors were very costly for Prussia's smaller army. This led him to remark that he did not fight the same Austrians as he had during the previous war. Britain had been surprised by

15820-467: The sudden Prussian offensive but now began shipping supplies and £670,000 (equivalent to £125.9 million in 2023) to its new ally. A combined force of allied German states was organised by the British to protect Hanover from French invasion, under the command of the Duke of Cumberland . The British attempted to persuade the Dutch Republic to join the alliance, but the request was rejected, as

15960-461: The superiority of the British navy, made it difficult for the French navy to provide significant supplies and support to overseas colonies. Similarly, several long land borders made an effective domestic army imperative for any French ruler. Given these military necessities, the French government, unsurprisingly, based its strategy overwhelmingly on the army in Europe: it would keep most of its army on

16100-522: The theatre's characteristic style, based on a belief in the need to achieve a balance between a more natural style of playing and a certain nobility and idealisation. In 1778 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited the Mannheim theatre, where Dalberg asked him to write a duodrama for the Seyler company. Mozart wrote enthusiastically to his father Leopold Mozart : I may be able to earn 40 louis d'or here, though I'd have to remain here for 6 weeks, or 2 months at

16240-403: The thirteen American colonies, working under the command of British regulars, to invade New France. In order to tie the French army down he subsidized his European allies. Pitt was head of the government from 1756 to 1761, and even after that the British continued his strategy. It proved completely successful. Pitt had a clear appreciation of the enormous value of imperial possessions, and realized

16380-514: The throne," at first reluctantly agreed, but was eventually won over by the journal's success. The theatre had to close after two years after Seyler had spent the rest of his fortune on it. In 1769 Seyler founded the National Theatre's effective successor, the Seyler Theatre Company , together with Konrad Ekhof, Sophie Hensel and some other actors. The Seyler Company became one of the most famous theatre companies of Europe during

16520-493: The time as the Austrian Army was considered to be a highly professional force. With these victories, Frederick once again established himself as Europe's premier general and his men as Europe's most accomplished soldiers. However, Frederick missed an opportunity to completely destroy the Austrian army at Leuthen; although depleted, it escaped back into Bohemia. He hoped the two smashing victories would bring Maria Theresa to

16660-424: The two men agreed to a political partnership and formed a coalition government that gave new, firmer direction to the war effort. The new strategy emphasised both Newcastle's commitment to British involvement on the continent, particularly in defence of its German possessions, and Pitt's determination to use naval power to seize French colonies around the globe. This "dual strategy" would dominate British policy for

16800-550: The vulnerability of the French Empire. The British prime minister, the Duke of Newcastle , was optimistic that the new series of alliances could prevent war from breaking out in Europe. However, a large French force was assembled at Toulon , and the French opened the campaign against the British with an attack on Minorca in the Mediterranean. A British attempt at relief was foiled at the Battle of Minorca , and

16940-407: The war actively overseas, taking full advantage of its naval power . The British pursued a dual strategy—naval blockade and bombardment of enemy ports, and rapid movement of troops by sea. They harassed enemy shipping and attacked enemy colonies, frequently using colonists from nearby British colonies in the effort. The Russians and the Austrians were determined to reduce the power of Prussia,

17080-528: The war is named after combatants in its respective theatres. In the present-day United States, the conflict is known as the French and Indian War (1754–1763). In English-speaking Canada—the balance of Britain's former North American colonies—it is called the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). In French-speaking Canada, it is known as La guerre de la Conquête (the War of the Conquest ). Swedish historiography uses

17220-620: The whole of Europe, with music critics calling attention to its originality, sweetness, and ingenious execution. It is widely considered Benda's best work, and inspired Mozart . In 1775 Seyler received the Electoral Saxon privilege as theatre director and performed in Leipzig and Dresden , and in 1776 he opened a newly built summer theatre in Dresden. In 1776 Seyler also employed Goethe's close friend Friedrich Maximilian Klinger as

17360-649: The winter and would remain under their control until 1762, although it was far less strategically valuable to Prussia than Brandenburg or Silesia. In any case, Frederick did not see the Russians as an immediate threat and instead entertained hopes of first fighting a decisive battle against Austria that would knock them out of the war. In April 1758, the British concluded the Anglo-Prussian Convention with Frederick in which they committed to pay him an annual subsidy of £670,000. Britain also dispatched 9,000 troops to reinforce Ferdinand's Hanoverian army,

17500-461: The words of the American historian Daniel Marston , Gross-Jägersdorf left the Prussians with "a newfound respect for the fighting capabilities of the Russians that was reinforced in the later battles of Zorndorf and Kunersdorf". However, the Russians were not yet able to take Königsberg after using up their supplies of cannonballs at Memel, and Gross-Jägersdorf retreated soon afterwards. Logistics

17640-511: The writer or to the actor” The idea of a journal with Lessing as a dramatic critic to reflect on the Hamburg National Theater's efforts was conceived by the theatre's founder Johann Friedrich Löwen , and Abel Seyler , "the power behind the throne," who at first reluctantly agreed, but was eventually won over by the journal's success. Because the plays of the new German Bourgeoisie theatre became more detailed and complicated,

17780-411: Was Burgomaster of Basel and led the city's pro-French faction. Although his parents belonged to families that were highly respected in Basel, Abel Seyler grew up in rather modest material circumstances. His father's congregation was small, and the parish church and rectory were in poor condition. His father also failed in his attempt to have the church restored. As a parish priest, his father did not have

17920-540: Was a one man affair, as Seyler dominated all." It leased the Comödienhaus building and was largely a successor institution of Konrad Ernst Ackermann 's theatre company. The National Theatre employed Gotthold Ephraim Lessing as the world's first dramaturg , and attracted eminent actors such as Konrad Ekhof and Friedrich Ludwig Schröder ; Germany's most famous actress of the late 18th century Friederike Sophie Hensel (Seyler) , who later became Seyler's second wife,

18060-525: Was a recurring problem for the Russians throughout the war. The Russians lacked a quartermaster's department capable of keeping armies operating in Central Europe properly supplied over the primitive mud roads of eastern Europe. The tendency of Russian armies to break off operations after fighting a major battle, even when they were not defeated, was less about their casualties and more about their supply lines; after expending much of their munitions in

18200-466: Was again director of the Comödienhaus theatre in Hamburg; he continued to live in Hamburg until 1787 and was at times a prompter at the theatre, where his wife performed under the direction of Friedrich Ludwig Schröder . From 1787 to 1792 he was again artistic director of the Schleswig Court Theatre. His wife Sophie Seyler died in 1789. Earlier in that year she had published the romantic Singspiel or opera Huon and Amanda (or Oberon ), inspired by

18340-505: Was also elective King of Poland as Augustus III, but the two territories were physically separated by Brandenburg and Silesia. Neither state could pose as a great power. Saxony was merely a buffer between Prussia and Austrian Bohemia , whereas Poland, despite its union with the ancient lands of Lithuania, was prey to pro-French and pro-Russian factions. A Prussian scheme for compensating Frederick Augustus with Bohemia in exchange for Saxony obviously presupposed further spoliation of Austria. In

18480-704: Was born in 1730 in Liestal outside Basel in Switzerland . He was the son of the Reformed clergyman, Dr.theol. Abel Seyler (Seiler) (the elder) (1684–1767), who was parish priest of Frenkendorf-Munzach in Liestal from 1714 to 1763, and Anna Katharina Burckhardt (1694–1773). He grew up in a learned and pious Reformed family and was descended from or closely related to all of the most prominent patrician families of Basel on both his parents' sides. His mother belonged to

18620-517: Was directed at Seyler and Tillemann's business ethics and extravagant lifestyle. Mary Lindemann notes, quoting from the 1765–1773 Imperial Cameral Tribunal proceedings and the memoirs of John Parish: Seyler was described as "a handsome bon vivant ." Despite suffering "a sensational bankruptcy for an enormous sum [...] neither of them [Seyler and Tillemann] had lost his good humour or his taste for light living." Although they were wealthy bankers, Seyler and Tillemann were "in no way representatives of

18760-491: Was even willing to trade Austrian Netherlands for France's aid in recapturing Silesia. Frustrated by this decision and by the Dutch Republic 's insistence on neutrality, Britain soon turned to Russia. On 30 September 1755, Britain pledged financial aid to Russia in order to station 50,000 troops on the Livonian-Lithuanian border, so they could defend Britain's interests in Hanover immediately. Bestuzhev, assuming

18900-507: Was forced to accede to the Austro-Russian alliance or face ruin. Thereafter, on 1 May 1756, the First Treaty of Versailles was signed, in which both nations pledged 24,000 troops to defend each other in the case of an attack. This diplomatic revolution proved to be an important cause of the war; although both treaties were ostensibly defensive in nature, the actions of both coalitions made the war virtually inevitable. European warfare in

19040-410: Was needed to occupy Pomerania and felt the Swedish army would not need to engage with the Prussians because the Prussians were occupied on so many other fronts. This problem was compounded when the main Hanoverian army under Cumberland, which include Hesse-Kassel and Brunswick troops, was defeated at the Battle of Hastenbeck and forced to surrender entirely at the Convention of Klosterzeven following

19180-556: Was passionately devoted to his family's continental holdings, but his commitments in Germany were counterbalanced by the demands of the British colonies overseas. If war against France for colonial expansion was to be resumed, then Hanover had to be secured against Franco-Prussian attack. France was very much interested in colonial expansion and was willing to exploit the vulnerability of Hanover in war against Great Britain, but it had no desire to divert forces to Central Europe for Prussia's interest. French policy was, moreover, complicated by

19320-481: Was spared for a negotiated ransom of 200,000 thalers. When Frederick heard about this humiliating occupation, he immediately sent a larger force to free the city. Hadik, however, left the city with his hussars and safely reached the Austrian lines. Subsequently, Hadik was promoted to the rank of marshal in the Austrian Army. In early 1758, Frederick launched an invasion of Moravia and laid siege to Olmütz (now Olomouc , Czech Republic). Following an Austrian victory at

19460-437: Was the theatre's lead actress. She was regarded as "a very fine actress, as Lessing admitted, but she was a troublesome and tempestuous character," always at the centre of intrigue. It was largely Seyler's admiration for Friederike Sophie Hensel, by then 29, that led him to devote himself to theatre; as a result of Hensel's rivalry with Karoline Schulze, she was at the centre of an intrigue that led her admirer Seyler to "establish

19600-401: Was to a large degree centered around his would-be wife and his close collaborator Konrad Ekhof , Germany's most famous actress and actor at the time, respectively. He initially held the Hanoverian privilege as theatre director and his company later stayed for three years at the court of Duchess Anna Amalia in Weimar and for a year at the ducal court in Gotha . His company's arrival in Weimar

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