Biography

Born Emanuel Johann Joseph Schikaneder to domestic servants, he was educated in Regensburg (where his mother had moved the family after her husband's death), and earned money for the family as a street musician. In 1773, he joined a traveling theatrical troupe, where he learned the ropes as an actor, singer, composer, producer, and playwright. In 1775, he debuted his first work "Singspiel Die Lyranten" in Innsbruck, which was a success. Not a year after he and his wife Eleonore, an actress, joined another troupe, Schikaneder bought the troupe for 2,000 Gulden, and befriended the Mozart family soon after arriving in Salzburg in 1780.

In May 1789, he arrived at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna at the invite of his wife, whose troupe, which she ran with her now-deceased lover, was in residence at the Theater (not exactly above reproach, either, Schikaneder fathered at least two children by two different women during his marriage). The couple combined their two companies (hers included Mozart's sister-in-law), and enjoyed a string of successes. As implied in the film Amadeus (1984), Schikaneder staged grand productions geared toward the general public, but the film ignores that he was one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's best friends and the librettist of "Die Zauberflöte", in which he played Papageno 223 times.

On June 13, 1801, Schikaneder opened the Theater an der Wien, which still stands. On November 20, 1805, he debuted Ludwig van Beethoven's first and only opera, "Fidelio". However, his audiences became increasingly sophisticated, and he was unable to duplicate the success of "Die Zauberflöte". He died on September 21, 1812 in Vienna.

In 2016, Stephen Schwartz's and Christian Struppeck's musical "Schikaneder", directed by Trevor Nunn - based on the premise that "Die Zauberflöte" sprang from Schikaneder's tumultuous relationship with Eleonore - debuted in Vienna.
- IMDb mini biography by: ldavis-2

Librettist, opera singer, actor, composer and impresario. He wrote the libretto for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera, "Die Zauberflote" (The Magic Flute), in which he sang and acted the role of Papageno.

Portrayed by Simon Callow in Amadeus (1984) and by Uwe Ochsenknecht in Vergeßt Mozart (1985).