DEVRIENT, EDUARD

(1801-1877)

   Actor, historian. With a career as an orchestra bassist well established by 1820, Devrient's parents hoped their son could avoid the acting trade, which they felt had plagued their family since the rise of uncle Ludwig Devrient to stardom in Berlin. To their shock and horror, Eduard abandoned instrumental music at age 43 and began acting in Dresden. By 1852 he had become director of the Karlsruhe Court Theater. Devrient's true success, however, lay in his probity as a theater historian. His five-volume Geschichte der deutschen Schauspielkunst (History of German Dramatic Art), published between 1848 and 1874, was the first of its kind: a detailed account of the German theater's history, often recounted from the standpoint of the actor. Eduard Devrient was the brother of Carl Devrient and Emil Devrient and the father of Otto Devrient.