Premiere of Schiller's Wilhelm Tell at Weimar

Background. Schiller began collecting sources for Wilhelm Tell after Goethe returned from his second journey to the Lake of Lucerne in 1779. The play was written between 1803 and 1804 and published in a first edition of 7000 copies. Goethe, who had resided in Weimar since 1775, became the managing director of the theatre in 1791. He began a friendship with Schiller in 1794, which lasted until Schiller's death in 1805.

Production. The first public performance of Schiller's Wilhelm Tell was staged in Weimar under the direction of Johann Wolfgang Goethe on 17 March 1804. Goethe, a poet, playwright, and theatre-director, had premiered Schiller's plays since their friendship began in 1794. The event took place in Weimar, where Goethe had lived since 1775 under the patronage of Duchess Anna Amalia.

Context. Schiller was ennobled in 1802 by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, adding the nobiliary particle 'von' to his name. He remained in Weimar until his death in 1805. Goethe had been invited to the court of Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, in 1775. The collaborative friendship between Goethe and Schiller, which began in 1794, lasted until Schiller's death in 1805.