Carl Maria von Weber – Life Milestones

Portrait of Carl Maria von Weber, German Romantic composer.

Carl Maria von Weber, a central figure in the emergence of German Romantic opera.

Carl Maria von Weber was born on November 18, 1786, in Eutin, near Lübeck in northern Germany. A restless childhood, shaped by travel and theatre life, would profoundly influence both his artistic identity and his pioneering role in German Romantic opera.

1786 – Born in Eutin, near Lübeck.
1787–1796 – Receives his first musical instruction from his brother; his father forms the Weber Troupe, and the family begins touring.
1796 – Apprentices with Johann Peter Heuschkel; his mother falls ill in Hildburghausen.
1797 – Settles in Salzburg and studies with Michael Haydn.
1798 – Publishes his first compositions, Six Fughettas; his mother dies of tuberculosis.
1804 – Appointed Music Director of the Breslau Theatre.
1806–1807 – Serves as private secretary, first to Duke Eugen of Württemberg and later to Duke Ludwig of Stuttgart.
1810 – Expelled from Württemberg due to scandals involving his father.
1810–1813 – Travels extensively throughout Germany; composes two clarinet concertos.
1813 – Becomes Director of the Prague Opera, initiating major reforms.
1816 – Takes over leadership of the Dresden Opera.
1817 – Marries the singer Caroline Brandt.
1821 – Triumphant Berlin premiere of Der Freischütz, establishing Weber as the founder of German Romantic opera.
1823 – Visits Vienna and meets Beethoven; symptoms of tuberculosis intensify.
1826 – Major success in London with the premiere of Oberon in April; dies there on June 5 at the age of 39.

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A striking episode occurred in 1806: after work in his office, Weber accidentally drank from a glass he believed contained wine. It was, in fact, filled with sulfuric acid. Although he survived after weeks of recovery, the incident permanently destroyed his singing voice—a loss that redirected his energies entirely toward composition and conducting.

Weber’s life, marked by instability, illness, and relentless travel, mirrors the dramatic intensity of his music. In a short span of years, he laid the foundations for a distinctly German operatic tradition that would deeply influence later composers, including Wagner.

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