The first grand opera of international fame to be staged at the Opera House was "The Magic Flute" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was premiered in 30 May 1812. (Between that date and 5 December 1862 it was performed 179 times). Productions of that dimension obviously cost a lot of money, but funds were available. His Majesty had ceded part of the income from the Swedish colony St. Barthelemy in the West Indies, to be precise 45,750 thaler per annum, to keep the theatre going. After three years the coffers were empty and the King asked the members of Parliament at a treasury meeting in 1818 to grant an allowance for the theatre. There was some reluctance to do this, but finally it was agreed that the Royal Theatre would receive 6.750 thaler in addition to 200 cords of firewood, but only for one year at the time. Also, the surplus tax on certain luxury commodities, such as wine, tea, coffee, silk, expensive furniture, playing cards, tobacco and clocks should be increased by 5%. It was hoped that this tax increase would cover the expenditure of the theatre.
As though economic difficulties were not enough, some other theatres
also suffered heavy losses through accidents. In the evening of 24th November
1825 the Arsenal (so called because the building had previously been an
armoury) caught fire during a performance of "The Victory of Uprightness
over Calumny" by August Friedrich Kotzebue66.
Between the fourth and the fifth act a fire had started under the stage
and it had spread rapidly. There had been a reek of smoke and soon threatening
clouds began to billow. First actor Lars Hjortsberg67
stepped forward and gave the announcement so calmly that the audience removed
itself in an orderly fashion.
The building was completely gutted and three of the dressers were burned
to death. Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie had inherited the palace Peerless,
built in 1647; this grand edifice built on 18.000 piles. There he kept
his glittering court and Queen Christina was a frequent guest. But the
magnificent palace soon fell into disrepair, it was requisitioned by the
Crown for the King Carolus XI and was converted in 1690 into an arsenal.
Then it was converted again, this time into a dramatic theater in 1793;
the inauguration took place on the birthday of King Gustavus Adolphus IV,
when "The jealous Neapolitan" and the opera "Alcides" were performed.
An eyewitness tells it so well, that we shall leave it to him to describe
the event:
"Regard, how magnificently it burns, this old unforgettable palace
with its aged foundations and its four proud towers, this embellishment
in the background of the incomparable harbor of Stockholm! Regard how the
crackling sparks float in the air like stars, torn asunder from the dark
vault of heaven, in the immense remoteness millions scintillate in the
dark November night! Regard, how the white snow everywhere in the neighborhood
glistens like diamonds in the red glow! Regard, how the flames rage inside,
how their glowing tongues greedily lick the gray walls on the outside!
Regard, how a throne, a town, a mountain, a sun in a thrice dwindles into
ashes ... how the fire devours silk and velvet, laces and veils, how costumes
of all periods, all corners of the earth, for all ages, for all classes
of society, second by second perish: the tigerskin of the savage, the robe
of the king, the habit of the monk, the armor of the squire, the trinkets
of the courtier, the rags of the beggar, all consumed by the hungry flames,
and their hunger, instead of abating is magnified, the more they devour!
Now they wrap their flaming arms around the proud towers. But treachery,
destruction, annihilation are in their embrace. And what sights within...Can
you see this female apparition in the north-east tower? Can you see how
she wrings her hands in anguish, how despair cries from her features while
the smoke stifles her voice. It is Christina, that matchless woman, who
mourns the devastation of the peerless castle of her favorite, this castle,
where she so many times had added to the lustre of his splendid banquets
and clandestinely whiled away time in many a voluptuous interlude. And
in the north-west tower, do you see this phantom, who from a window on
the third floor desperately measures the distance to the ground and appears
to hesitate between being burnt or being crushed? It is Carolus XI, who
through confiscation robbed this palace from his aunt, princess Euphrosyne,
married to Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie... And the apparition, who moves
with lightning speed, light as a feather in the south-east tower... who
can it be, but Gustavus III! Maybe the political perjuries and the block
of the executioner have marred the long slumber of the King Charming there
in his burial vault. Maybe the tolling of the bells have awakened him.
A theater is on fire, how could he resist this temptation... Still the
south-west tower battles against destruction. From its turrets the fiery
rain of Armida is sprayed over the surroundings. Red dragons fly in all
directions through the air. The elements are in combat. Masses of water,
thrown onto masses of fire, result in the roar of thunder and chase up
black mountains of smoke, which at times hide the scene from the eyes of
the spectators. The aristocratic towers have thus ceased to be a source
of envy. The most perfect equality reigns with the smoking ruins of the
charred palace - first the flames well in, then the smoke throws its thick
cape down... "When all is said and done, then it is done". The spectators,
high and low, return to castles and shacks. And night falls".
Stockholm was not a big city in those days. Apart from the Opera house and the dramatic theatre there were also a few other theatres where one could go to see a show. But these were smaller theatres, mainly performing vau-de-villes and comedies of the rustic type.
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ENGLISH ARTISTS
It is curious to note how many Englishmen have found their way to these faraway North Eastern shores during the centuries. Today, it is hard to imagine the hardships they endured, first voyaging by boat to the seaport of Gothenburg, then by horse and carriage to Stockholm. Yet, there is evidence that several English artists actually did appear in the Swedish capital. To name but a few, there was, very early on, a Mrs. Wild who is on record as having been a premier danseuse 1793-1794. She had been a pupil of D'Auberval and previously been a premiere danseuse at the Opera in London. She made her Stockholm debut "l'Isle déserté" 9 March 1793 and appeared for the last time in "Le Déserteur" 26 Nov. In 1794, the sisters Healey, Christine Mary and Agnes Isabella, who had been employed at the Italian Opera in London, arrived in Sweden. After having appeared on the Continent they were guest artists at the Royal Theatre in Stockholm in April and May 1860. They must have been rather successful because they signed a contract running from 1 Sept 1862 to 1 July 1864. But beginning with the season 1865 we find that they were employed at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. There was also a Miss Lydia Thompsson who was billed "First dancer at Drury Lane and St. James' Theatres in London". At the Royal Theatre she performed several character dances and the role of Fenella in "La Muette de Portici", altogether 15 performances from 9 Nov to 3 Dec 1857. In the year 1866 she was employed at Prince of Wales Theatre in Liverpool. Other English artists included the violinists Alfred and Henry Holmes who appeared at The Royal Theatre four times in 1863. There was also Ira Aldridge, he was born 1810 in Maryland, USA, and started his professionel career as manservant to the English actor Edmond Kean68while he was touring the USA. Kean brought Aldridge to England where the servant's talent for acting was discovered and he toured the provinces. In 1857 Aldridge appeared at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm as "Othello" and in "The Merchant of Venice". Later that same year he was employed at Covent Garden. This singer must in his days have been considered a real oddity, because Dahlgren in his index of performers, feels compelled to state bluntly thus: "Aldridge, Ira (Negro)". Much talked about in those days was also a scandal concerning a Mrs Anna Bishop, who was a singer, married to the conductor of the Drury Lane Theatre, Henry Rowley Bishop. In 1840 she gave recitals in Stockholm. There she sang together with the harpist Robert Nicolas Charles Bochsa, who was born in France 1789. The pair of them eloped together and we know that at least Bochsa died in Australia in 1856.
THE SUPERSTARS
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Jenny Lind 1820 - 1887 |
Two native Swedish singers, who both became world famous, emerged in the 19th century. They were Jenny Lind and Christina Nilsson. Lots have been written about both of them, but we are lucky to have first hand impressions of a contemporary. Pehr Christian Johansson wrote a letter to his mentor August Bournonville 9 April 1838.
"The darling opera of the audience "Der Freischutz" has once more been revived on the stage in a slightly renewed staging. Mlle Jenny Lind, one of the pupils with remarkably musical talent, and with a naive and lively acting which has singled her out from childhood, appeared as Agatha. The way, in which she performed this rather difficult role was probably the most interesting surprise which the Royal Theatre has had to offer the audience lately. As she has previously only appeared in very insignificant parts, the audience has never had the opportunity to acquaint themselves with her talent, therefore it was even more surprising for the public that, before they had any inkling, to watch her perform as, one could almost say a fully trained singer. She really made a furore. Her highest notes have a peculiar strength and resonance. The excellent virtues of her singing are to a very high degree pure intonation, and an unusual mastery of voice, so that she from the fullest and strongest forte is able in a moment to descend to a whispering piano. It is being said that no one has ever heard any singer with such a perfect voice. Her performance is simple and free of mannerisms, but full of feeling and verve, it electrifies and delights. Jenny has the great advantage of being at the same time both singer and actress. She is full of enthusiasm for her art, with the pure devotion she possesses, and with her seriousness in the endeavour to fulfill the expectations of the general public, she will go very far. She is seventeen years of age, not beautiful, but she has something gentle and sincere in her demeanour and looks good on stage. A young man in his twenties appeared in the role of Max and had success, he will probably be a great singer in time".
Johansson has indeed managed to capture the essence of Jenny Lind. Perhaps he felt affinity with her, they had both sprung from obscure beginnings, and had against all odds become stars. Jenny had been accepted as a pupil at the Opera School 1 Sept. 1830, and already in November that same year she was given the small role of Angela in a play called "Edvinsky and Floreska or the Polish Mine", (Les Mines de Pologne), a play with divertissement by Pixérécourt. She was a popular straight actress and she made her debut as a singer as Alice in "Robert of Normandie" when only the fourth act of this opera was performed 9 Dec. 1837. The following year she made her offical debut in "Der FreischÜtz" which is the event which P.C. Johansson has described. In 1841 she left for Paris where she spent almost a year studying with Professor Manuel Garcia. During the years 1844-1852 she toured Europe and North America and after having settled in London in 1856, she concentrated on singing oratorio. When she retired from the stage, she devoted herself to teaching at Royal College of Music in London.
A Jenny Lind scholarship is still being given annually to a promising young soprano.
A complete list of Jenny Lind's performances at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm:
"Edvinsky and Floreska or The Polish Mine" (role Angela) 1830
"Le Testament" (Johanna) 1831
"Johanna de Montfaucon" (Otto) 1831
"Le Pacha de Suresne, ou l'Amité" (Jeanette) 1831
Le Pélerin blanc" (Paul) 1832 "Marton et Frontin, ou Assaut
de valets" (Marton) 1832
Jenny Mortimer" (Betty) 1832
"Frederic and Christine" (Christine) 1833
The Students in Smaland" (Louise) 1833
"Trente ans, ou La Vie d'un joueur" (Georgette) 1833
"Die Schuldt" (Otto) 1833
"Le Cousin Fréderic, ou La Correspendance" (Toinette) 1834
"La fausse Agnès, ou le Poëte campagnard" (Louise) 1834
"Louise and Walborn or The Daughter of Nature" (Lotta) 1834
"Les Maures d'Espagne, ou Le Pouvoir de l'Enfance" (Zora) 1835
"Il y s seize ans" (Pierette) 1835
"The Rebels" (Georgette) 1835
Singing role "Oedipe à Colone" A Girl 1836,
"La Somnambula" (Marie) 1837
"Angelo Malipieri" (Daphne) 1837
The magic Flute" (Second geni) 1837 [From this date on, J.L. mostly
had singing roles]
"Zoë ou l'Amant prèté" (Title role) 1837
Les Vendangeurs, ou Les deux Baillis" (Lovisa) 1837
Toberne, ou le Pécheur suédois" (Erik) 1837
"La Dame Blanche" (Anna) 1837
"Adèle de Senanges" (Marie) 1837
Die Braut aus der Residenz" (Rosa) 1837
Clementine or The two letters" (Julie) 1837
"Marie de Sivry" (Fanny) 1837
"The Constable or Love and Sacrifice" (Greta) 1837
"Les Enfants d'Edouard" (Emma) 1837
"La Femme Jalouse" (Justine) 1837
"Das Kind der Liebe" (Carolina) 1837
Die Grabesbraut" (Clara) 1837
La Prison militaire, ou Les trois Prisonniers" (Fanchette) 1837
"Wallensteins Tod" (Miss Neubrunn) 1837
Robert of Normandie" (Alice) 1838
Marie or The Wedding Feast" Title role 1838
Der FreischÜtz" (Agatha) 1838
"Des Adlers Horst" (Rosa) 1838
"Queen Christina" (Victory) 1838
"Les Rendez-vous Bourgeois" (Lovisa) 1838
"Ferdinand Cortez" (Amazili) 1838
"La Famille Suisse" (Emmelina) 1838
"Euryanthe" (Title role) 1838
"The Magic Flute" (Pamina) 1838
"Léon, ou le Chateau de Montenero" (Laura) 1838
"Robert le Diable" [in its entirity] (Alice) 1838
"La Vestale" (Julia) 1838
"Domi, der amerikansiche Affe, oder der Kampf mit der Schlange" (Hyacinthe)
1838
"A bouquet of Roses" (Leonie) 1839
"Les deux Journées, ou le Porteur d'eau" (Constance) 1839
"Don Giovanni" (Anna) 1839
"Lucia di Lammermoor" (Title role) 1840
"La Straniera" (Alaide) 1841
"Norma" (Title role) 1841
"La Somnambula" (Amina) 1843
"Hommage a King Carolus John XIV" 1843
"The Marriage of Figaro" (Countess) 1843
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The other great Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson69was the daughter of a crofter. At nine she started playing the violin and singing at market places. In 1858 she was noticed by District Judge, F. Tornérhjelm, who saw to it that she got proper instruction in the hands of the singer Adelaide Leuhusen. In 1860, when she was seventeen, she came to Stockholm where Frans Berwald became her teacher for a short time. Later she went to Paris and after studying there with Professors Garcia and Masset, she made her debut as Violetta in "La Traviata". She sang at the Paris Opera, in London, did two tours of the US and returned to her native country as a guest artist a couple of times. Towards the end of her career she preferred to sing oratorio. She had amassed a great fortune which she bequeathed to the Swedish Academy of Music for the purpose of giving yearly scholarships - a tradition which is still maintained today.
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REPERTORY
But what about the repertory - was it comprised of the great classics or only lighter comedies -well, all kinds of tastes were catered to. In the list of repertory F.A. Dahlgren has meticulously accounted for what was being performed, how many performances, the date of the premiere and the names of the principal actors and so on. If one quickly skims through the chapter on "plays", one is struck by some frequently recurring words. From this perhaps, one could gather the general taste during the 19th century. The twelve most frequent words occurring in the titles are: Brigand - Cousin - Devil - Foundling - Ghost -Jealousy - Love - Monkey - Ridiculous - Unfaithful - Unknown - Wife - .
"Die Entführung aus dem Serail" or "Belmonte und Constanze" by Mozart was first staged as a comedy with songs and ballet. It did not do too well, between the years 1814-1846 it was only performed 19 times. But "The Marriage of Figaro" was at first also staged as a comedy with the subtitle "The Foolish Day". Without Mozart's music it was performed 121 times. As a comic opera with music it fared even better and was given 124 times between 1821 and 1863. We can understand that this must have been a formidable success if we compare it with something called "The Lost Cat" - a farce in one act by Carmontelle70 (The title of the original was "Le chat perdu"). It was only performed twice.
One play which caused a great uproar was "The seduced youth", which originally was called "The London Merchant or the History of George Barnwell" by George Lillo71. In Theater-Almanach for 1821 one could read: "The stalls nearly came to blows for the sake of this play, while one part of the audience demanded that it ought not to be performed as they found it lampooning certain classes of society, while the other half could not have enough, as in their view it was a morally superior piece and, as though that was not enough, even from the pulpits the seduced youth was either condemned or forgiven. After about six months clamouring for or against, the intoxication with this poor youth abated and he sank into oblivion".
Good taste was not always in evidence. In one paper there was the following advertisement when a comedy in five acts called "Blank Date or The Usurer" had its premiere. The play in question was "dedicated to all gentlemen usurers, principals, as well as commission-agents and collectors of debts". A booklet with the dialogue of the play was also being offered, with 50% rebate for usurers. The above play only enjoyed nineteen performances, whereas a farce with an even more silly title: "Mumbo-Gumbo-Gonggong the Great" was performed a grand total of 113 times. This particular work was a Swedish rehash of two plays, the French farce Le Mandarin Hoang-Pouf ou l`Horoscope by Caignez and de Bilderbeck plus Schahabaham II by Leuven and Carré. French farces must have been rather popular, there is for instance one titled thus: Une femme qui a une jambe de bois.
August Bournonville expressed himself very scathingly about Theodore Martin's ballet phantasy "Flowers and bees". From this we can gather to what grotesque depths both drama and the ballet had sunk.
"It was not meant as a joke, but to be taken quite seriously, that a group of dancers in flesh-coloured tights and bumbling crinolines should impersonate honeyseeking insects, in effect white clad nymphs furnished with silver antennae, goldembroidered bees on chest and back and - for the sake of decency - the sharp sting was placed at the fingertips... After twenty-four minutes of dancing, which seemed undescribably long, because it was so monotonous - an enormous bee-hive rolls out. It opens up in slices, rather like a melon and begins to move round like a treadmill. From all sides happy insects swarm forth... This may seem to some to be rather jolly, yes, even ingenious, but in the middle of this babble a Shepherd, a live male person, becomes enamoured with the Queen Bee and after having been stung by pert swarming bees and having danced a strenous pas de deux, they celebrate their wedding - this in my opinion is the very height of madness... If the fable can be justified and can permit a squire to die of love for a Sylphide, elf or mermaid, the fantasy is taken too far when it permits a shawmplaying shepherd to be happily betrothed to an INSECT!" (From a letter by Bournonville)
From the preceding we can gather that it was hardly the most lofty works which were most popular. It was rather the reverse and among the most popular writers there was one who outshone all the others.
The French playwright Augustin Scribe72 churned out comedies by the dozen and most of them found their way to the Stockholm stages. During the last century no less than 116 works by Scribe were staged - of those were 88 comedies and seventeen so called opera comiques, the remaining eleven were tragedies. In all, his plays totalled 2.394 performances in Stockholm alone before 1866. The German playwright Friedrich August Kotzebue was if possible even more productive with 2807 performances. Exactly one hundred of his plays were performed, of which 61 were comedies.
Both these playwrights are completely forgotten today and we may well ask what they have achieved. Those familiar with the streets of Paris may know that there is a Rue Scribe there, but that is probably as far as our knowledge goes. Therefore, it might be appropriate to say a few words about these two playwrights. Scribe, who was born in 1791, had started his career by writing vaudevilles without success. Only after the fall of the Empire in France his triumphal march started from Paris to the rest of European stages. In all he wrote 460 plays, of these were 60 opera librettoes. If someone would like a closer acquaintance he would do well to read Scribes complete works in French in 76 tomes.
The other author, August Friedrich Kotzebue, actually had a more interesting life than Scribe, but his plays were in a similar vein. He led an extremely active life, travelled widely, married a number of times and fathered numerous children. It was rumoured that he was a spy, but he certainly wrote many political pamphlets. He was finally murdered by a young radical student. By coincidence, the victim and his assailant are buried only a few metres apart in the cemetry at Mannheim. Kotzebue's works are published as "Sämtliche dramatische Werke" in 44 tomes.
But the great classic authors? Were they popular in 19th century. One could hardly say so. Schiller, Goethe, Voltaire and Shakespeare got a few performances each, but one could hardly speak of box office successes. Schiller got his "Maria Stuart" staged, as well as "William Tell" which was performed 11 times. After adding the lively music by Rossini it became more popular and was then performed 54 times. "Faust" by Goethe shared the same fate, it was played only once as a tragedy. As an opera with music by Gounod it was performed 19 times. Voltaire had two tragedies which were withdrawn from the repertory after one and three performances respectively. Surprisingly enough, his tragic drama in five acts called "Mahomet or the fanaticism" was played 22 times. His comedy "Nanine" which was based on Samuel Richardson's73 novel "Pamela" also failed to please, after four performances it was withdrawn. Shakespeare was an entirely different matter. Here we can really speak about success. "Hamlet or the Prince of Denmark" was performed 97 times, "A Midsummer nights dream, "Romeo and Juliet", "The taming of the shrew" and "The merry wives of Windsor" were all performed about 20 times each. Though, "The merchant of Venice", "King Lear" and "Henry IV" apparently were considered rather heavy going and were only performed a few times. "A comedy of errors" came to Sweden via Germany, where it had been translated by a Herr von Holtei. It was this German translation that F.A. Dahlgren subsequently offered the Swedish audience in a rather free form. It did not enjoy much success and was only performed eight times. "She stoops to conquer" was rewritten by the nobleman C.H. von Platen who used the pseudonym Dora Flink.
In the last century the general public was not particularly interested in Scandinavian works either. The only playwright of note was the Dane Ludvig Holberg74 who managed to get some of his plays performed. Though, one notes with a certain amount of surprise that a romantic play in four acts titled "Preciosa", which was an adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes75"Gitanilla Preciosa" was performed 116 times. To the original stage play both choruses and dances had been added, the music was by Carl Maria von Weber76 with extra music for ballet by Franz Berwald77. It is quite possible that this was only playing to the galleries and appealing to the needs of exoticism.
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