FERDINAND

See also:

• FERDINAND RAIMUND (1990-1836)

RAIMUND (1990-1836)  , Austrian actor and dramatist, was born on the 1st of June 1790, in Vienna . In 181'4 he acted at the Josefstadter Theater, and in 1817 at the Leopoldstadter Theater . In 1823 he produced his first play, Der Barometermacher auf der Zauberinsel, which was followed by Der Diamant des Geisterkonigs (1824) and the still popular Bauer als Milliondr . The last-mentioned play, which appeared in 1826, Der Alpenkonig and der Menschenfeind (1828) and Der Verschwender (1833) are Raimund's masterpieces . He committed suicide on the 5th of September 1836, owing to the fear that he had been bitten by a mad dog . Raimund was a master of the Viennese Posse or farce; his rich humour is seen to best advantage in his realistic portraits of his fellow-citizens . Raimund's Sdmtliche Werke (with biography by J . N . Vogl) appeared in 4 vols . (1837); they have been also edited by K . Glossy and A . Sauer (4 vols., 1881; 2nd ed., 1891), and a selection by E .

Castle (1903) . See E . Schmidt in Charakteristiken, vol. i . (1886); A . Farinelli, Grillparzer and Raimund (1897) ; L . A . Frankl, Zur Biographic F . Raimondo (1884); and especially A . Sauer's article in the Allgem . Deutsche Biographic .