Berger, Alfred Freiherr von#
b. Vienna, April 30, 1853, d. Vienna, Aug. 24, 1912, theatre director and author; husband of Stella von Hohenfels-Berger. 1887 lecturer in philosophy and aesthetics at the University of Vienna (1896 professor), 1899-1909 director of the newly established theatre Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, 1910-1912 director of the Vienna Burgtheater. While his own works remained largely unknown he gained acclaim as a theatre director. A champion of German classical drama, he nevertheless included plays by H. Ibsen, G. Hauptmann, F. Hebbel, O. Wilde, H. von Kleist, A. Schnitzler and G. B. Shaw in the Burgtheater programme.
Works#
Novels, poems; Ges. Schriften, ed. by A. Bettelheim and K. Glossy, 3 vols., 1913; Theater und Literatur. Ausgewaehlte dramaturgische und literaturkritische Schriften, 1992.Literature#
P. Schmidsberger, A. Frh. v. B., doctoral thesis, Vienna 1960; R. Muehlher, Oe. Dichter seit Grillparzer, 1973; R. Blahout, Baron B. und die Krise des Burgtheaters, doctoral thesis, Vienna 1975.