Josef Wenzig

Josef Wenzig (18 January 1807 – 28 August 1876) was a Bohemian writer and author of librettos.

Josef Wenzig, drawing by Jan Vilímek
Wenzig's grave in Prague

Life

Born in Prague, Empire of Austria, Wenzig was an educator in noble families, rector of the Czech Realschule in Prague and from 1833, professor of German language and geography. During his teaching he also contributed to the equalisation of the Czech language with German in schools (Wenzig law). He was the director of the Artists' Association (Umělecká beseda) where he met Bedřich Smetana.

Wenzig died in Turnov, Austria-Hungary aged 69 and was buried at the Olšany Cemetery.

Work

Wenzig tried his hand as a writer and wrote a play that was positively reviewed by Jan Neruda. However, as a playwright he was insignificant for his time. Better known are his librettos, which he first wrote in German and then had translated into Czech, Dalibor and Libuše, both set to music by Smetana. Many of his poems were set to music by Johannes Brahms.[1]

He also translated Czech/Slovak lieder, poems, fairy tales and sagas into German – including the Slovak folk tale Westslawischer Märchenschatz, which was filmed several times.

Further reading
  • Constantin von Wurzbach: Wenzig, Joseph. In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich (Biographical Lexicon of the Empire of Austria).  Part 55 Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1887, p. 25–31 (digitalised).
  • Adolf Hauffen (1896), "Wenzig, Josef", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 41, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 739–740

References
  1. The LiederNet Archive: Author: Josef Wenzig (1807–1876) – There can be found titles and beginnings of texts as well as further settings by other composers; the texts, some of them in several languages, can be opened from there.
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