The Iffland-Ring is a diamond-studded ring with a picture of August Wilhelm Iffland, a prominent German actor, dramatist and theatre director of the late 18th and early 19th century. The holder, or bearer, of the Iffland-Ring is considered to be the "most significant and most worthy actor of the German-speaking theatre", in the opinion of the previous holder who has passed it to him by will.
One exception to this rule came in 1954, when Werner Krauß was not determined by the previous holder Albert Bassermann but by a committee of German-speaking actors. Three times Bassermann had chosen a successor, and on each occasion the actor chosen had died shortly thereafter. Bassermann considered the ring cursed, and declined to choose a fourth successor.[1] Since his death, the Iffland-Ring has been earmarked as the state property of the Republic of Austria, although the holder retains it until his death.
The origins of the ring are shrouded in some mystery. The apocryphal story is that it was indeed worn by Iffland, but its established history only begins a century later with its supposed fifth holder, Friedrich Haase, who has been suspected of commissioning it for himself and inventing the story.
The current bearer of the ring is Jens Harzer, having been named by Bruno Ganz as his successor.
By tradition, the ring is only passed from one male actor to another. Since 1977, it has had a counterpart for female actors in the Alma-Seidler-Ring, named after the actress Alma Seidler. She had been considered as a successor for the Iffland-Ring by Krauß, who held it from 1954 to 1959.
History
Origins
The origins of the Iffland-Ring are shrouded in some mystery, and the current ring is said to have been the most precious of a set of seven, of which only two appear to have survived: the Iffland-Ring itself and a less valuable similar ring which in the 1950s was in the private possession of Wilhelm Burckhardsberg, but that may now also be lost.[2][3][4]
Iffland, a leading actor in his time in Germany, was inspired by Romanticism and is claimed to have commissioned the ring, to be carried by the leading German-speaking actor of his time.[5] If so, Iffland's inspiration was most likely the play Nathan the Wise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.[3]
Ludwig Devrient
The circumstances of where and when Iffland passed on the ring to Ludwig Devrient are uncertain; according to Albert Bassermann, Iffland handed the ring to Devrient in 1814, after his last performance in Breslau. Shortly after, in September 1814, Iffland died in Berlin.[5]
Devrient, a close friend of E. T. A. Hoffmann, whose death in 1822 he never got over, was one of the most gifted actors Germany ever produced, but also a drunkard. He collapsed while performing King Lear and died on 29 December 1832. His choice as his successor to the ring fell on his nephew Emil Devrient.[6]
Emil Devrient and Theodor Döring
Much of the history of the ring during this period remains lost. Emil Devrient, and after him Theodor Döring, were gifted but not outstanding actors in Berlin.[7]
Friedrich Haase
From Friedrich Haase onwards, the history of the ring is much better known.
Haase was born in Berlin, as the son of the personal servant of the then crown prince of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Rumor had it that he was the illegitimate son of a member of the house of Hohenzollern, something Haase used to his advantage.[8]
Neither Haase nor Döring were ever actually seen with the ring, despite both being known to have been rather vain, and one theory concerning the ring's origins has it that Haase himself had the ring made and invented its history. The now-known history of the ring in any case begins with Haase.[3] Certain discrepancies in the wording of a note, found in the case in which the ring was kept, point in this direction, but they can also be quite easily explained otherwise. In particular, the date Haase gives for his receipt of the ring from Döring's widow, 1875, appears wrong as Döring died in 1878.[3]
He left the ring to Albert Bassermann upon his death in 1911.[8] Together with the ring, Haase left a note for Bassermann, dated Berlin, Christmas 1908, in which he declares his regret at their not having known each other much better. He also gives the history of the ring, and that letter became the prime source for future research into its history.[9]
Albert Bassermann
Bassermann never wore the ring himself and named three successors during his lifetime, all of whom he survived.[10]
He outlived his first two choices, Alexander Girardi and Max Pallenberg and upon the death of his third choice, Alexander Moissi, Bassermann placed the ring on top of Moissi's coffin, to cremate the ring alongside his last choice. The director of the Burgtheater, Hermann Röbbeling[de], saved the ring by taking it off the coffin, declaring that it belonged to a living actor, not a dead one.[11] Bassermann considered the ring cursed after all three actors died shortly after he named them as his successors.[1]
After this incident, Bassermann gave the ring to the Austrian National Library in Vienna, where it remained almost forgotten. In 1946, when Bassermann visited Vienna, Egon Hilbert, director of the Austrian theatre administration, had two meetings with the actor. Bassermann refused to take the ring back and, at the second meeting, declared that Hilbert could do with the ring as he pleased.[12]
Hilbert asked Werner Krauss to take the ring after Bassermann died in 1952 but Krauss refused.
Werner Krauss
In October 1954, after an extraordinary meeting of the actors' guild, the ring was awarded to Werner Krauss and this time he accepted. Despite protests, especially from the Swiss actors' guild and the fact that the ring was now in private possession of Egon Hilbert, Krauss eventually received the ring. To prevent a repeat of the interregnum, laws were passed, requiring the ring bearer to always nominate a successor.[13]
Krauss received the ring on 28 November 1954 and handed a sealed envelope to the Austrian theatre administration on 12 December, stating his choice of succession.
Like Ludwig Devrient, Krauss collapsed while performing King Lear and died on 20 October 1959, passing the ring to Josef Meinrad, his original choice in 1954.[14] However, his widow later declared that Krauss would have liked to leave the ring to Alma Seidler, but was prevented from doing so by the fact that the ring could only be passed to a male. A female equivalent of the Iffland-Ring, the Alma-Seidler-Ring, was created upon Seidler's death in 1977.
Josef Meinrad
Meinrad's original choice of successor is not known, but in 1984, he changed his will. Upon his death in 1996, rumors were rife as to which Austrian actor would receive the ring. To the disappointment of many actors at the Burgtheater, the ring was awarded to Switzerland; Meinrad had chosen Bruno Ganz.[15]
Bruno Ganz
The next holder of the Iffland-Ring was Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, who died 16 February 2019, aged 77.
Ganz's original choice of successor was Gert Voss, who died 13 July 2014 from leukemia, aged 72.[16]
Jens Harzer
The current holder of the ring is German actor Jens Harzer, having been named by Bruno Ganz as his successor.[17]
Note: until 1871, Germany did not exist as a country but instead was subdivided into a number of countries; citizenship before 1871 is shown as applicable.
↑ Albert Bassermann was considered to be the bearer of the ring until his death in 1952 but did not have the ring in his possession after 1935.
Laws governing the ring
In 1954, three basic laws were enacted concerning the possession of the ring:[3]
The holder of the ring has to determine a successor within three months of receiving the ring.
Should no successor have been appointed or the documents regarding succession be lost, the federal Austrian theatre administration will form a committee to decide on a successor.
The ring is the property of the Republic of Austria, but its future holder is determined by personal decision of the current holder.
Bruno Ganz was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Francis Ford Coppola, and Wim Wenders, earning widespread recognition with his roles as Jonathan Zimmerman in The American Friend (1977), Jonathan Harker in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) and Damiel the Angel in Wings of Desire (1987).
Paula Anna Maria Wessely was an Austrian theatre and film actress. Die Wessely, as she was affectionately called by her admirers and fans, was Austria's foremost popular postwar actress.
Josef Meinrad was an Austrian actor. From 1959 until his death in 1996, Meinrad held the Republic of Austria's Iffland-Ring, which passes from actor to actor — each bequeathing the ring to the next holder, judging that actor to be the "most significant and most worthy actor of the German-speaking theatre"
August Wilhelm Iffland was a German actor and dramatic author.
The Burgtheater, originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the national theater of Austria in Vienna. It is the most important German-language theater and one of the most important theatres in the world. The Burgtheater was opened in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the Viennese population; its theater company has created a traditional style and speech typical of Burgtheater performances.
Ludwig Devrient was a German actor, noted for his playing in the works of Shakespeare and Schiller.
Curt Haase was a German general (Generaloberst) in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He commanded the III Corps during the Invasion of Poland and France. He later commanded the 15th Army in German-occupied France from January 1941 to November 1942.
Friedrich Haase was a prominent German actor and theatre director. He was born in Berlin, the son of a valet to King Frederick William IV, who was his godfather.
Theodor Döring was a German actor.
Werner Johannes Krauss was a German stage and film actor. Krauss dominated the German stage of the early 20th century. However, his participation in the antisemitic propaganda film Jud Süß and his collaboration with the Nazis made him a controversial figure.
Albert Bassermann was a German stage and screen actor. He was considered to be one of the greatest German-speaking actors of his generation and received the famous Iffland-Ring. He was married to Elsa Schiff with whom he frequently performed.
Egon Hilbert was an Austrian opera/theatre director.
Dreyfus is a 1930 German drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Fritz Kortner, Grete Mosheim, and Heinrich George. It portrays the Dreyfus affair and is based on a novel by Bruno Weil. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Franz Schroedter and Hermann Warm. It premiered at the Gloria-Palast in Berlin. In the United States the film was released under the alternative title The Dreyfus Case.
Alma Seidler was an Austrian actress. She was member of the Burgtheater for over 50 years.
Gustav Emil Devrient was a German actor and an occasional operatic bass.
Jens Harzer is a German stage, film, and television actor. He began his career at the Munich Kammerspiele, and has been a member of the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg since 2009. He has appeared at the Salzburg Festival regularly since 2000. Harzer received prizes for roles on stage, in film and on television. He has been the bearer of the Iffland-Ring since March 2019.
Gert Voss was a German actor. He was known for his roles in Labyrinth of Lies (2014), Sometime in August (2009) and Ritter, Dene, Voss (1987). He was member of the ensemble of the Burgtheater, and a Kammerschauspieler.
Karl Ludwig Bruno Seidler-Winkler was a German conductor, pianist and music arranger.
The Alma-Seidler-Ring was created in 1978 by the Austrian government as the female counterpart of the Iffland-Ring. Similar to that ring, the holder, or bearer, of the Alma-Seidler-Ring is considered to be the "most significant and most worthy actress of the German-speaking theatre", in the opinion of the previous holder who has passed it to her by will.
Regina Fritsch is an Austrian actress. She has been a member of the Burgtheater ensemble since 1985 and has been the holder of the Alma-Seidler-Ring since 2014.
References
1 2 Time online published: 26 May 1952, accessed: 10 February 2009
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