August von Kotzebue

August von Kotzebue (1761-1819), German opera librettist and playwright of the popular stage, born in Weimar. A prolific writer, Kotzebue wrote superficial and often sensational melodramas and comedies noted for their portrayals of provincial life. Menschenhass und Reue (The Stranger, 1789-1790) and Die Spanier in Peru (The Spaniards in Peru, 1796) are among his greatest successes. His two comedies Die beiden Klingsberg (1801) and Die deutschen Kleinstädter were performed well into the 20th century. As a political activist, Kotzebue was exiled from the court at Weimar and entered government service in Russia, from which, at a later time, he was exiled briefly to Siberia. As an emissary to Germany of Tsar Alexander I, he expounded reactionary political views that led to his assassination by an over-zealous nationalist, the student Kare Ludwig Sand.