Stephanie Johann Gottlieb, *19 February 1741 Wrocław, †23 January 1800 Vienna, Austrian librettist and composer, known as “der Jüngere” [the younger] to distinguish him from his half-brother, Christian Gottlob Stephanie der Altere [the elder] (1734–1798), an actor and playwright. Stephanie began studying law in Halle, but interrupted his studies due to being called up for military service during the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763). He initially served in the Prussian army, and from 1761 in the Austrian army; he ended his military service in 1765. From 1769, together with his brother, he worked at the National-Schaubühne in Vienna as an actor, director and playwright. In 1776, he was appointed by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, as one of five inspectors at the Burgtheater in Vienna; he collaborated with the National-Singspiel company, which operated at that theatre between 1778 and 1783, serving as its director from 1779 (or 1781).
Thanks to his privileged position at the imperial court, Stephanie exerted considerable influence over the shaping of the theatrical repertoire in Vienna; as a playwright and director, he favoured the comedy genre, supplying the Burgtheater and the Kärntnertortheater with librettos for Singspiels and musical comedies. These included librettos of his own composition, but the majority were adaptations of librettos by other German, French and Italian writers, translated by himself and adjusted to the tastes of the Viennese public. Stephanie intervened extensively in the original texts, altering them, shortening them or adding new passages; this provoked fierce criticism from Ch. F. Bretzner following the premiere of W. A. Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782), for which Stephanie had adapted the libretto from Bretzner’s Belmont und Constanze. Stephanie’s close relationship with Mozart is evidenced by their joint work on Der Schauspieldirektor (staged in 1786). Leading Singspiel composers wrote music to Stephanie’s librettos: K. Dittersdorf (Doktor und Apotheker, staged in 1786), I. Umlauf (Die schöne Schusterin oder Die pucefarbenen Schuhe, staged in 1779, Das Irrlicht, after Ch. F. Bretzner’s Der Irrwisch, staged 1782, Die glücklichen Jäger, staged in 1786), J. Mederitsch (Rose oder Pflicht und Liebe im Streit, staged in 1783), F. Süssmayr (Die Freywilligen, staged in 1796). His adaptations of Italian and French librettos helped bring the operas of A.-E.-M. Grétry (including Richard Coeur-de-Lion in 1788, staged as Richard Löwenherz), P.A. Monsigny (Le déserteur, 1779, staged as Der Deserteur), N. Piccini (Gli stravaganti, ossia La schiava riconsciuta, 1781, staged as Die Sklavin und der grossmütige Seefahrer), G. Paisiello (I filosofi immaginari, 1781, staged as Die eingebildeten Philosophen, 1787, La grotta di Trofonio staged as Die Trofonius-Höhle). Stephanie skilfully overcame the difficulties posed by adapting the German language to the musical expression of the original composition. He enjoyed popularity among his contemporaries. Between 1771 and 1774, Sämmtliche Lustspiele was published in Vienna, between 1774 and 1787 Sämmtliche Schauspiele, and in 1792 in Legnica, Sämmtliche Singspiele by Stephanie. He wrote mainly plays; some of his original librettos were used by other authors for further adaptations (particularly Doktor und Apotheker).
Literature: A. Einstein Mozart, New York 1945, revised ed. 1962, Polish edition, translated by A. Rieger, Kraków 1975, 2nd ed. 1983; S. Hochstöger Gottlieb Stephanie der Jüngere, “Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für Wiener Theaterforschung” XII, 1960; W. Sulzer Ch.F. Bretzner. Sein Anteil an Mozarts “Entführung aus dem Serail”, “Mitteilungen der Internationalen Stiftung Mozarteum” XXXVIII, 1990.
