Maximilian Steiner was an Austrian actor and theater director and manager. He is known particularly for his leadership of Vienna's Theater an der Wien from 1869 to 1880, a period during which the theater reduced the importance of folk plays and was prominent in developing and promoting the fashion of a Viennese style of operetta.
Steiner in 1875
Cartoon of Maximilian Steiner (bottom left) with his boss Friedrich Strampfer (top). By Karel Klíč, 1869.
Marie Charlotte Cäcilie Geistinger (1836–1903) was an Austrian actress and operatic soprano, known as the "Queen of Operetta". She frequently appeared in works by Jacques Offenbach, Johann Strauss II and Franz von Suppé. She achieved particular acclaim for performing Rosalinda in the première of Die Fledermaus at the Theater an der Wien in 1874. In 1881, her debut at the Thalia Theatre in New York was well received.
Marie Geistinger as Boulotte (1866)
Portrait of Marie Geistinger by August Wilhelm Rösler