Theodor Hell

Who was Theodor Hell?

Theodor Hell was the pseudonym of Karl Gottfried Theodor Winkler, a court councillor in Dresden from 1824, who was the centre of literary life through his work as editor, translator and critic. He was the theatrical secretary from 1815.

He is mostly remembered for his friendships with the composers Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer — for example, he wrote the words to Schubert's "Das Heimweh" and the libretto for Weber's opera Die Drei Pintos. He was the editor for many years of the literary magazine Penelope, and of the Dresdner Abendzeitung in association with Friedrich Kind. Dresden appointed him honorary citizen in 1851.