Karl Ludwig Costenoble

Born in Herford, Costenoble was the son of a Reformed cathedral preacher.

He joined several travelling stages as an actor before he got firm engagements in Bayreuth, Salzburg and finally Hamburg, where he made his debut on 10 March 1801 [1] and played until 1818 as audience favourite, occupying different fields from singer to character actor and comedian.

Among his most famous roles were Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and the monk in Lessings' Nathan the Wise.

Costenoble died on one of his numerous tours on his way home to Prague from a guest performance in Hamburg.

He also wrote Almanac dramatischer Spiele (1810-16) and diaries, which were published in 1889 under the title Aus dem Burgtheater (1818-37).