Freihaustheater
During Easter 1788, the troupe run by Johann Friedel and Eleonore Schikaneder had settled as the resident troupe at the Theater auf der Wieden, located in a suburb of Vienna. Friedel died on 31 March 1789, leaving his entire estate to Eleonore, and the theater was closed. Following this, Eleonore offered reconciliation to Schikaneder, who moved to Vienna in May to start a new company in the same theater in partnership with her. The new company was financed by Joseph von Bauernfeld, a Masonic brother of Mozart. With plans of an emphasis on opera, Schikaneder brought two singers with him from his old troupe, tenor Benedikt Schack and bass Franz Xaver Gerl. From his wife's company he retained soprano Josepha Hofer, actor Johann Joseph Nouseul, and Karl Ludwig Giesecke as librettist. New additions to the troupe included Anna Gottlieb and Jakob Haibel.