Genast, Eduard

Actor, Singer

born: 15.07.1797 in Weimar

died: 03.08.1866 in Wiesbaden

Genast, son of the Weimar court actor Anton Genast (1763-1831), first learned the confectioner's trade at his father's request, but was then allowed to take singing lessons with the Weimar music director Carl Eberwein due to his good baritone voice. He made his debut in Weimar as a 16-year-old stand-in in the role of Osmin in Mozart's singspiel "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" and was hired by theater director Goethe as a second bass. In 1816, he trained his voice further with Wilhelm Häser in Stuttgart. In 1817, Genast went to the stage in Dresden, and in 1818 he moved to Leipzig, where he was able to develop his admired versatility in both serious and comic roles, in older and younger roles. In 1828 he became director of the Magdeburg City Theater. In 1829, through Goethe's mediation, he was given a lifelong position at the Weimar court theater as an actor and baritone until 1851, and from 1833-51 also as an opera director.

After the death of his wife, who was also engaged in Weimar, he retired and from 1861 lived with his daughter Doris and his son-in-law, the composer Joachim Raff, in Wiesbaden. Here he wrote his autobiography "Aus dem Tagebuche eines alten Schauspielers" (1862-66), an important source on Weimar in Goethe's time and Goethe as a theater director. As an honorary member of the Weimar court theater, he continued to appear occasionally and celebrated his 50th stage anniversary in Weimar as Odoardo Galotti in 1864. He died in the Raffs' apartment at Stiftstraße 10 and was buried in Weimar.