(b Eisenstadt, 28 March 1766; d Vienna, 3 Feb 1846). Austrian composer. A son of the cellist Joseph (Franz) Weigl (1740-1820), who played under Haydn at the Esterházy court before becoming famous in Vienna, he was a pupil of Albrechtsberger; he had contact with Mozart and conducted his operas in Vienna. By 1790 he was deputy Kapellmeister at the court theatre and in 1792 he became Kapellmeister and composer. Up to 1823 he composed over 40 Italian operas, German operas and ballets, most of them for Vienna; later he wrote mainly sacred music. In 1827-38 he was court vice-Kapellmeister. His dramatic works are based on the Viennese Classical tradition, but those after 1800 move towards more emotional and domestic subject matter and more Romantic orchestral colours. The highly successful Singspiel Die Schweizerfamilie (1809, after The Swiss Family Robinson) is the prototype of a German lyrical folk opera. Weigl also composed cantatas, lieder and instrumental pieces.
His brother Thaddäus (1776-1844) conducted at the court theatre and composed stage works; he was also a publisher.
