Anton Emil Titl

Titl was born in Nedvědice in Moravia, at that time part of the Austrian Empire; it is the location of Pernštejn Castle, where his father served as burgrave for Count Wilhelm Mitrovský. After his father's death when he was 14, the Count sent him to Frankstadt (now Nový Malín) to be trained as a teacher. At age 17 he moved to Brǜnn (Brno) to continue his training, but preferred to attend music classes of Gottfried Rieger; he also played in the orchestra of the civic theatre in the town.

He composed an overture to Goethe's play Torquato Tasso, and a symphony, which were well received in Brǜnn and Vienna. Antonín Boček of Olmütz (Olomouc) wrote for him the libretto for an opera Die Burgfrau auf dem Schlosse Pernstein (1829), the first opera on a Moravian subject. It was performed successfully in Olmütz and Brǜnn. He wrote a mass in 1832 for the enthronement of prince-bishop Ferdinand Maria Chotek von Chotkow at Olmütz, which was performed in Prague and Vienna. For a few years he was a teacher in Olmütz, also composing songs and piano pieces, which were published; his "Gondellied" ("Gondola song") became popular.

• Illustration — Lithograph by Josef Kriehuber depicting Anton M. Storch, Carl Binder (composer), Anton Emil Titl, Franz von Suppé and Heinrich Proch (1852) In 1835 Titl was appointed conductor of a military band in Prague. In 1840 he succeeded Heinrich Proch as Kapellmeister at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna, which was under the management of Franz Pokorny. He composed music for the stage works performed there, including many singspiels by Franz Xaver Told, of which Der Zauberschleier, oder Maler, Fee und Wirtin (1842) was very successful. His biographer in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1894) wrote: "Often enough, he was obliged to save the life of weak farces with 'appealing' music...." Other singspiel he created music for with libretti by Told included Wastl, oder Die böhmischen Amazonen (1841) and Der Todtentanz (1843). Told also wrote the libretto for his two act opera Das Wolkenkind (1845). From 1850 he was Kapellmeister at the Hofburgtheater in Vienna, and composer of music for plays performed there, writing incidental music and about 50 overtures. He retired from the Hofburgtheater in 1870. Soon afterwards he wrote music for Franz Grillparzer's trilogy of plays Das goldene Vlies. Titl died in Vienna in 1882.