Freihaustheater
Schikaneder and his new partner Zitterbarth planned together to construct a grand new theater for the company. Zitterbarth purchased the land for the new theater on the other side of the Wien River, in another suburb only a few hundred meters away from the Theater auf der Wieden. Schikaneder still had in his possession a document from the late Emperor Joseph II permitting him to construct a new theater. In 1800, he had an audience with the now-reigning Franz, which resulted in a renewal of the license—over the protests of Peter von Braun, who directed the Burgtheater. In retaliation, Braun mounted a new production of "The Magic Flute" at the Burgtheater, which did not mention Schikaneder as the author.