Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt was born Maximilian Goldmann on the 9th of September 1873 in Baden bei Wien. His parents were Rachel Lea Rosi Goldmann and Wilhelm Goldmann, a merchant from Stupava. He finished school and began an apprenticeship at a bank. Yet he already took acting lessons during that time. In 1890, he gave his debut on a private stage in Vienna with the stage name Max Reinhardt. This name possibly came after the protagonist Reinhard Werner in Theodor Storm's novella Immensee. One year later, Reinhardt relocated to Germany. He joined the Deutsches Theater ensemble under director Otto Brahm in Berlin.
On the 23rd of December 1917, Reinhardt presided over the world premiere of Der Bettler. This play by Reinhard Sorge had won the Kleist Prize. It changed the course of theatrical history with its revolutionary staging techniques. The play opens with an ingenious inversion where the Poet and Friend converse in front of a closed curtain. Behind that curtain voices can be heard. The audience realizes they are backstage while the voices belong to the imagined audience out front. Lighting apparatus behaves like the mind. It drowns in darkness what it wishes to forget and bathes in light what it wishes to recall. The entire stage becomes a universe of thought rather than physical reality. Newspapers in the United States published articles highly praising this production after the 1918 Armistice.
In 1920, Reinhardt established the Salzburg Festival with Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. He directed an open air production of Jedermann in the square before the Cathedral. The Alps served as a background for this performance. This remains an annual custom at the Salzburg Festival to this day. In 1918, Reinhardt purchased Schloss Leopoldskron castle in Salzburg. The castle was seized following Germany's Anschluss annexation of Austria in 1938. After the war, the castle was restored to Reinhardt's heirs. The grounds became famous as the filming site for early scenes of The Sound of Music.
In 1935, Reinhardt directed his first motion picture in the United States through Warner Brothers. The film was A Midsummer Night's Dream starring James Cagney, Olivia De Havilland, and Mickey Rooney. The Nazis banned the film because of the Jewish ancestry of both Reinhardt and Felix Mendelssohn. Erich Wolfgang Korngold arranged the soundtrack used throughout the film. Joseph Goebbels believed Expressionism was degenerate art. He also banned music by Mendelssohn as allegedly degenerate. The Ministry of Propaganda enforced this ban in Nazi Germany. Reinhardt had previously successfully directed a popular stage version of Shakespeare's play in 1927.
After the Anschluss of Austria to Nazi-governed Germany in 1938, he emigrated first to Britain. Then he moved to the United States. In 1940, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. At that time, he was married to his second wife, actress Helene Thimig. She was the daughter of actor Hugo Thimig and sister of actors Hans and Hermann Thimig. Reinhardt died of a stroke in New York City on the 30th of October 1943. He was 70 years old when he passed away. His papers and literary estate are housed at Binghamton University in the Max Reinhardt Archives and Library.
Reinhardt founded the highly influential drama schools Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch in Berlin. He also established the Max Reinhardt Seminar and the Max Reinhardt Workshop on Sunset Boulevard. The Max Reinhardt Junior Workshop trained Mala Powers. Students included Alan Ladd, Jack Carson, Robert Ryan, Gower Champion, Shirley Temple, Angie Dickinson, Frank Bonner, Anthony James, Greg Mullavey, Charlene Tilton, and Cliff Robertson. Edward G. Kuster worked as personal assistant for two years. Walden Philip Boyle later became founding faculty of the Department of Theater Arts at UCLA. Reinhardt won the school Ben Bard Drama from Ben Bard in a poker game. He opened the Reinhardt School of the Theatre in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When and where was Max Reinhardt born?
Max Reinhardt was born Maximilian Goldmann on the 9th of September 1873 in Baden bei Wien. His parents were Rachel Lea Rosi Goldmann and Wilhelm Goldmann, a merchant from Stupava.
What play did Max Reinhardt premiere on the 23rd of December 1917?
On the 23rd of December 1917, Max Reinhardt presided over the world premiere of Der Bettler by Reinhard Sorge. This production changed theatrical history with its revolutionary staging techniques that turned the stage into a universe of thought rather than physical reality.
How did Max Reinhardt establish the Salzburg Festival in 1920?
In 1920, Max Reinhardt established the Salzburg Festival with Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. He directed an open air production of Jedermann in the square before the Cathedral with the Alps serving as the background for this performance.
Why did Nazi Germany ban Max Reinhardt's film A Midsummer Night's Dream?
The Nazis banned the film because of the Jewish ancestry of both Max Reinhardt and Felix Mendelssohn. Joseph Goebbels believed Expressionism was degenerate art and enforced a ban on music by Mendelssohn through the Ministry of Propaganda.
When and where did Max Reinhardt die?
Max Reinhardt died of a stroke in New York City on the 30th of October 1943. He was 70 years old when he passed away after emigrating to the United States following the Anschluss of Austria to Nazi-governed Germany in 1938.