Johann Nepomuk Nestroy, known as the “Aristophanes of Vienna” and even the “Viennese Shakespeare”, began his theatrical career as a singer before acting in hundreds of roles both in Vienna and on stages across Europe. His plays were rooted in the theatrical traditions of folk comedy, Baroque opera, and Italian commedia dell'arte, and he borrowed plots from German, French and English texts. Beginning with routine plots, he often added unique characters, linguistic creativity, and social, political, even philosophical insights, as well as musical accompaniment composed by Adolf Müller. Nestroy wrote over eighty plays, although his heavy borrowing from other sources earns many of them the label “…
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Citation: Saur, Pamela S.. "Johann Nestroy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 July 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5947, accessed 21 November 2024.]
