Bollhuset, also called , , and at various times, was the name of the first theater in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater building in the whole of Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

. The name "" means "The Ball House", and it was built in 1627 for ball sports and used in this way for forty years. The name Lejonkulan

Lejonkulan

Lejonkulan , was a historical theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, active 1667-89. It is mentioned in history as the first theatre in Sweden. In 1686, it was the place of the first Swedish Theatre.- History :...

, however, was in fact the name of a different building, which was also used by the same theater in the 17th century.

Bollhuset was the scene of a long series of most important events in the history of the theater in the city and in the history of Swedish theater. Between 1667 and 1792 it was used as a theater until it was demolished in 1793; between 1737 and 1754, the first national theater was located here, in 1773-1782 the Royal Swedish Opera

Royal Swedish Opera

Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...

 (and thereby also the Royal Swedish Ballet

Royal Swedish Ballet

The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this field; he also founded the Royal Swedish Opera and the...

) was located here, in 1783-1792 the French theater of Stockholm was housed here, in 1787 the second national theater was re-founded in the building, and from 1788 it was the home of the Royal Dramatic Theatre

Royal Dramatic Theatre

The Royal Dramatic Theatre is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's eight running stages....

.

History

The building was located on Slottsbacken

Slottsbacken

Slottsbacken is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.It stretches east from the Stockholm Cathedral and the Royal Palace down to the street Skeppsbron which passes along the eastern waterfront of the old town...

 near the Royal palace Tre Kronor

Tre kronor (castle)

Tre Kronor or Three Crowns was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century...

. It was described as a large, but simple rectangular building of white bricks with a hip roof

Hip roof

A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...

. During the 17th century, foreign travelling theater companies often visited Stockholm, especially from Germany and the Netherlands, but they performed in temporary locals; the German theater troop of Christian Theun l. Thum (or Thaumb) performed in the city from 1628 to 1655, but it is not known if they ever performed in . An English troupe, the troupe of Joris Jollifoot, played in the city in 1648-1649.

Already, during the reign of Queen Christina of Sweden

Christina of Sweden

Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...

, ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

s and concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

s had ben performed in , the first time in 1649 by an Italian company led by Vincenzo Albrici

Vincenzo Albrici

Vincenzo Albrici was an Italian composer.Vincenzo was born as the son of singer who settled from Marche in Rome. In 1641 he became a student on Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum under Giacomo Carissimi. In 1647 he was paid as an organist in the Santa Maria in Vallicella...

, and a Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 theater company acted there in 1652 which counted Ariana Nozeman

Ariana Nozeman

Ariana Nozeman : born Ariana van den Bergh , was the first actress in The Netherlands...

 among its members, but this was temporary. From 1648, they were two Bollhuset, after a smaller one, Little Bollhuset, was built. There was also a third building near the palace, which was occasionally used for theatre, commonly known as "" ("The Lion's Den"), because two lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

s, tributes from the Thirty Years War, was kept there during the reign of Christina.

Court theater and foreign theater

In 1667, when the mourning period for the Queen Dowager-regnant Hedwig Eleonora had ended and the Swedish court exploded with parties and a search for amusement, a permanent theatre was inaugurated. Lejonkulan and was used as localities, turned into a theaters and decorated as such and foreign theater companies were hired to perform for the court, often from France, Germany and the Netherlands, as Sweden did not have any theater tradition and therefore no native actors. Plays had been performed at the universities by students long before this, though, and in 1686–1691, a group of students from Uppsala University

Uppsala University

Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...

 played at the theater. In history, the buildings of Bollhuset and Lejonkulan have often been confused, as they were both used as stages by the theater in the 17th century. In 1689, however, the theater was permanently moved to Bollhuset.

The foreign actors at Bollhuset did play for the public occasionally, but as most people could not understand foreign languages, it remained mostly a theater for the court, and for those within society who had learned foreign languages. An illustrating example of this is that the foreign troupe that seems to have been most popular among the public, the German troupe of the 1730s, was a troupe with displayed acrobatics

Acrobatics

Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...

, fireworks, tightrope-walking

Tightrope walking

Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...

 and pantomime

Pantomime

Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

 and thus, with their more visual way of acting, was more easy to understand for those who could not understand the language spoken. During its history, the building was used not only by formally hired troupes, but also by travelling theater companies passing through town.

The building possibly (but this is disputed) burnt down with the royal palace in 1697, but if so it was very quickly rebuilt; it was a large, but simple structure. It is now believed, that it was the building of Lejonkulan which burnt down, as the thwo theater buildings have often been confused in history. In the 18th century, it was called "" (Great Bollhuset), as they were also the "", (Little Bollhuset), built in 1648, or simply "", (The Bollhus Theater). The theater was closed in fifteen years during the Great Northern War

Great Northern War

The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

 when the economy made it impossible to pay the actors' wages.

The first national theater; Kungliga svenska skådeplatsen

During the Age of Liberty, the first national theater was to be founded at Bollhuset, then officially called Kungliga Svenska Skådeplatsen (Royal Swedish Stage). In the 1720s and 1730s, the interest for amateur theater was great in Stockholm and a lot of temporary amateur troupes performed among the aristocraty, the most known one "Count De la Gardie

Magnus Julius De la Gardie

Magnus Julius De la Gardie , son of Axel Julius De la Gardie, was a Swedish general and statesman, member of the Swedish Hats Party....

s comedients", made by noble youths. After the amateur-performance Tobias by a couple of idealistic studen'ts at the birthday of king Frederick I of Sweden

Frederick I of Sweden

Frederick I, , was a prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and a King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730...

 in 1737, during a period when the building was empty after the last foreign troupe had left, the opinion wanted a theater in the own language. This was granted by the Riksdag

Parliament of Sweden

The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...

, who encouraged the establishment of the first native troupe of actors. One of the arguments taken up in the parliament was the large costs of the expensive foreign troupes. The first Swedish comedy performed on a public stage, , was performed in October 1737 with Johan Palmberg and Beata Sabina Straas in the leading parts, and during the 1740s, the plays in was performed by native actors, in the native language, which made it accessible for the public for the first time. At this point, the theater had eight hundred seats. Sweden now saw theater, opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 and ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 performed in the native language by native artists for the first time. It was temporary closed by regent queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden

Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden

Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor , also known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen regnant of Sweden from 5 December 1718 to 29 February 1720, and then Queen consort until her death....

 in 1738 because of the clerical opposition, but soon reopened.

The theater was first under the rule of the state; its first play was a political one. This did not last long and from 1740 it was ruled by the theater troupe themselves and entirely depended on the audience after the loss of government support. This first attempt to start a native Swedish theater was interrupted. Though the Swedish theatre was popular among the public, the aristocracy, who were French-influenced, was less enthusiastic. After the 1753-54 season, the Swedish theatre was expelled from theor localities in Bollhuset by queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was Queen of Sweden between 1751 and 1771 as the spouse of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden.-Background:...

, who hired a French theater company instead. The Swedish troop split in two; one, the Stenborg Troupe

Stenborg Troupe

The Stenborg troupe was a Swedish Theatre Comedy troupe, active in Sweden and Finland in the 18th century. It was also called Stenborgska skådebanorna , Svenska komeditruppen and Svenska Comedien or Svenska Teatern...

 under Petter Stenborg

Petter Stenborg

Petter Stenborg was a Swedish actor and theater director who played an important role of the continuation of the native speaking theater in Sweden...

, performed in smaller houses, "touring" around the city of Stockholm and in Finland, and the other toured in the countryside under Johan Bergholtz and Peter Lindahl. During the period of 1754-71, Swedish plays where only performed in the city stage of Bollhuset two times; Syrinx (1761) and Herkules på skiljovägen (1762), by the Stenborg Troupe, to the benefict of musician Petter Lillström, spouse of the Swedish actress Elisabeth Lillström

Elisabeth Lillström

Lisa or Elise Lillström, née Söderman was a Swedish stage actor and opera singer, one of the first professional native female actors in Sweden, mother of Elisabeth Olin, née Lillström...

.

The French Du Londel Troupe

Du Londel Troupe

The Du Londel Troupe was a French 18th-century theatre troupe. From 1753 to 1771, it was active as the French Theatre of Sweden, where it played a great part in that country's theatre history....

 followed the court and they stayed in only in winter. The French troupe held a high class and performed the latest plays from Paris, but as the public in general did not speak French, it was foremost a pleasure for the upper-classes, though the public seems to have enjoyed the visual effects. The building was also used for public masquerade ball

Masquerade ball

A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...

s; the first was organized already in 1701 by the French troupe of Rosidor, and the 1763 year carneval on Bollhuset attracted 600 guests and gave profit of §6000.

The second national theater and Opera

In 1771, king Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....

 fired the French theater company

Du Londel Troupe

The Du Londel Troupe was a French 18th-century theatre troupe. From 1753 to 1771, it was active as the French Theatre of Sweden, where it played a great part in that country's theatre history....

, and the Swedish actors, led by Petter Stenborg, then saw their chance and asked to perform a play at the opening of the parliament of 1772. At the opening of parliament in 1772, the troupe of Petter Stenborg appeared before King Gustav III

Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....

 and all the public in Bollhuset after the French troupe had left it, and after this, the monarch decided to found a native speaking opera and theatre.

The 18 January 1773, the opera Thetis and Phelée, performed by Carl Stenborg and the concert-singer Elisabeth Olin

Elisabeth Olin

Elisabeth Olin was a Swedish opera singer and a music composer. She is referred to as the first Swedish Opera prima donna. She was a court-singer . She was the first female member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music...

 in the leading roles, inaugurated the Royal Swedish Opera

Royal Swedish Opera

Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...

, which was a great success. This was an opera, not a theater, and the attempts to perform speaking drama was not very successful. At the inauguration, the building had been redecorated; the walls where painted in greyish-yellow, the boxes in red, except for the Royal box, which was painted in blue and gold and the sealing a sky in white and gold.

In 1781 the king, in his effort to establish a Swedish theater, hired a group of French actors, led by Jacques Marie Boutet de Monvel

Jacques Marie Boutet

Jacques Marie Boutet was a French actor and comic dramatist from Lunéville. His pseudonym was Monvel. He was a small, thin man without good looks or voice, and yet he became one of the greatest comedians of his time....

, to educate and perform with the first generation of new Swedish-speaking actors at Bollhuset. The opera was the year after, in 1782, moved to the new building of the Swedish Royal Opera and separated from the talking-part actors, and this is considered the beginning of the Swedish theater. The French troupe first performed at court, but begun to perform for the public in Bollhuset in 1783; in the absence of an organised theatre School, the future Swedish actors became students of the French troupe, which educated several of the later famous Swedich actors of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, such as Lars Hjortsberg, Maria Franck and Inga Åberg, and in 1787, an independent Swedish theatre troupe was founded under the leadership of Fredrik Ristell. The two troupes, the French and the Swedish, shared the same building but performed separately, was ruled independently and was considered two separate "Theatres", the French Theatre and the Swedish Theatre.

In 1788, Fredrik Ristell fled the country to escape his creditors, and the actors formed a company and asked for the king's protection; he became the formal director, placed the theater under Royal protection, thus creating the Royal Dramatic Theatre

Royal Dramatic Theatre

The Royal Dramatic Theatre is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's eight running stages....

. The Swedish theatre was to be ruled by the actors themselves by votes every fourteenth day under the supervision of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts

The Royal Swedish Academy of Arts or Kungl. Akademien för de fria konsterna, founded in 1773 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...

; according to the reports made by the academy, this rule was quite chaotic, and the votings is described as capricious and temperamental; " The male actors arguing with each other, one of the ladies voting yes because another lady voted no, other of them counting their buttons and letting fate decide", and in 1803, the actors themselves asked the system to be replaced by a director.

In 1792, was deemed to be too old and decayed, and it was torn down 1793; in the actors moved to the palace Makalös

Makalös

Makalös was the colloquial name for the grand mansion, or palace, of the Swedish noble family de la Gardie...

, (also called The Arsenal), where the Royal Dramatic Theater was to reside until 1825, after which it again was reunited with the Opera. In 1798–1842, the theaters and operas of Stockholm were united by a royal monopoly.

Actors and companies in the Theater of Bollhuset

Until 1689, the theater was also located at the stage of Lejonkulan

Lejonkulan

Lejonkulan , was a historical theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, active 1667-89. It is mentioned in history as the first theatre in Sweden. In 1686, it was the place of the first Swedish Theatre.- History :...

.

The Dutch troupe 1667-1674

This troupe opened the Theater at the stage of Lejonkulan

Lejonkulan

Lejonkulan , was a historical theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, active 1667-89. It is mentioned in history as the first theatre in Sweden. In 1686, it was the place of the first Swedish Theatre.- History :...

 with the play Orontes en Satira by Magnon in February 1667.

• Salomon Fino
• Jan Baptista van Fornenberg, 1624–1697, director of the troupe.
• Helena Heusen, 1622-1680.
• Daniel Loodewicx
• Anna Parkar-Boonefaes
• Geertruyt Rijndorp-Boonefaes
• Dorotea van Fornenbergh
  Dorotea van Fornenbergh
  Dorotea van Fornenbergh , was a Dutch stage actor. Born to theatre director Jan Baptist van Fornenbergh and actor Helena Heusen , married in 1696 to Johan Hauman Gal...
  
  

The Dutch troupe 1680-1684

This troupe performed the play Disa for the public in 1684, and thus, the theater is known to be more than a court theater from this point forward.

• Gillis Nozeman, husband of Ariana Nozeman
  Ariana Nozeman
  Ariana Nozeman : born Ariana van den Bergh , was the first actress in The Netherlands...
  
  
• Trial Parkar
• Jacob Sammers, 1632-1689.

The Swedish student troupe from Uppsala 1686–1691

This troupe was made up of idealistic students, all male. It had played in Uppsala 1682-86. The theater was permanently moved to Bollhuset in 1689.

• O. Rudbeck
• Isak Börk
• Carl Johan Ollieqvisth
• Andreas Strömbergh
• Georg Törnqvist-Adlercreutz

The German Theatre 1691–1697

• Fraulein Denner, primadonna
• Denner the older
• Denner the younger, Harlquin.
• Dorseus
• Big Müller
• Small Müller
• Ferdinand Egidius Paulusen
• Johann Speigelberg
• Johann Velthen, director
• Anna Cathrina Velthen, later director

The French Theatre 1699–1706

• Marie Anne Aubert, singer.
• Jean François Bénard, dancer
• J.B. de Crous, musician.
• Gillette Boutelvier-Duchemin, d. 1765.
• Jean Pierre Duchemin, 1674-1754.
• Antoine Dupré, musician.
• Francoise Fabe-Picard, dancer
• Claude Ferdinand Guillemay du Chesnay de Rosidor, (ca 1660, d.after 1718), director
  Director (colonial)
  The title director has been used in colonial administrations not only as a bureaucratic rank and for the members of a board of directors, but also specifically, as in this article, for the head of the colonial administration of a territory The title director has been used in colonial...
  
   of the troupe.
• Marianne Guillemay du Chesnay Bérge de Rosidor
• Robert Lemoine de la France, musician
• Henri de la Motte, musician.
• Louis Picard, dancer.
• Jacques Rénot, musician.
• Marie Trouche-du Chesnay-de Rosidor, d.1705.

The French Opera Theatre 1723–1727

This troupe performed opera 1723-24 and then spoken drama.

• Jeanne Perrette le Chevalier, 1688-1774.
• Charles Langlois (actor)
  Charles Langlois (actor)
  Charles Langlois was a French actor who spent a large part of his career in Sweden, where he was to play an important part in Swedish theatre history as the originator of the first national theatre in Sweden, and its first director...
  
  , actor, later director of the Bollhus Theater in 1737-1739 and 1740-1754.
• Jean-Baptiste Landé
  Jean-Baptiste Landé
  Jean-Baptiste Landé was a French ballet dancer, active in Sweden, Denmark and Russia. He is the founder of the Russian Ballet Mariinsky Ballet....
  
  , dancer, director, later founder of the Imperial Russian Ballet http://www.vaganova.ru/eng/hist_eng.html.
• Madame Landé, opera singer and dancer, wife of Jean-Baptiste.
• Bourgoin Le Romain

The German Theatre 1731–1737

This is described as using a very visual way of acting, with fireworks, acrobatics, pantomime and Harlequin-performances.

• J.C. Kreutzer
• Martin Müller

The first Swedish national Opera Theatre 1737–1754

This was the first Swedish troupe; it performed both opera and drama, and it also contained the first Swedish dancers, though the names are sadly often missing.

• Johan Bergholtz (d. 1774)
• Christian Berner, (1702–1773), dancer.
• Johanna Catharina Embeck
  Johanna Löfblad
  Johanna Catharina Löfblad , also known as Madame Gentschein and Madame Löfblad, was a Swedish actor...
  
  
• Margareta Maria Fabritz, (1716–1800), one of the first Swedish-speaking actresses, mother of Margareta Seuerling
  Margareta Seuerling
  Margareta Seuerling, née Lindahl, , was a Swedish actress and Theatre director in a travelling theatre company, perhaps the most known travelling actress of her time in Scandinavia, active in both Sweden and Finland...
  
  .
• Nils Flodell, (1714–1759).
• Anna Maria Göttling
• Anders Hallberg, (b. 1722)
• Kristian Knöppel, (1717–1800), dramatic.
• Peter Lindahl
  Peter Lindahl
  Peter Lindahl , was a Swedish stage actor and theatre director. He belonged to the most known of the pioneer generation of actors at the first Swedish theatre....
  
  , (1712–1792), comic and director.
• Johan Ohl, (1704–1766), singer and musician.
• Johan Palmberg, (1713–1781)
• Brita Christina Schenbom
• Petter Stenborg
  Petter Stenborg
  Petter Stenborg was a Swedish actor and theater director who played an important role of the continuation of the native speaking theater in Sweden...
  
  , (1719–1781), one of the first Swedish-speaking actors, star.
• Beata Sabina Straas
  Beata Sabina Straas
  Beata Sabina Straas , known also as Madame Åberg following her marriage, was the first professional native actress in Sweden and a member of the first pioneer troupe in the first Swedish national theatre of 1737.-Life and career:When the first national theatre was founded in the old premises at...
  
  , (d.1773), the first native actress in Sweden.
• Elisabeth Lillström
  Elisabeth Lillström
  Lisa or Elise Lillström, née Söderman was a Swedish stage actor and opera singer, one of the first professional native female actors in Sweden, mother of Elisabeth Olin, née Lillström...
  
  , (born 1717), one of Sweden's first professional actresses, prima donna
  Prima donna
  Originally used in opera or Commedia dell'arte companies, "prima donna" is Italian for "first lady." The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. The prima donna was normally, but not necessarily, a soprano...
  
  , mother of Elisabeth Olin
  Elisabeth Olin
  Elisabeth Olin was a Swedish opera singer and a music composer. She is referred to as the first Swedish Opera prima donna. She was a court-singer . She was the first female member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music...
  
  .

The French Theater

Du Londel Troupe

The Du Londel Troupe was a French 18th-century theatre troupe. From 1753 to 1771, it was active as the French Theatre of Sweden, where it played a great part in that country's theatre history....

 1753–1771

• Marie Baptiste
  Marie Baptiste
  Marie Baptiste née Dumont, , also known as Mademoiselle le Prévost , was a French actor and singer...
  
  , singer, prima donna, mother of Marie Louise Marcadet
  Marie Louise Marcadet
  Marie Louise Marcadet was a Swedish opera singer and a dramatic stage actor. She was active in both the Royal Swedish Opera, and at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. She is regarded as the greatest tragedienne in Sweden during the 1780s decade, before the first noted native tragedienne, Maria Franck...
  
  
• Angélique Madeleine Cénas, child actress (born 1757)
• Gaspard Cénas, dancer, father of Angélique Madeleine Cénas.
• Thérèse Antoinette Cénas, sister of Angélique Madeleine Cénas
• François Antoine Joseph Rousseau-Châtillon, 1729–1802
• Barbe Marguerite Henry-Coudurier, comedienne, mother of Angélique Madeleine Cénas
• Ninon Dubois le Clerc, dancer, employed until 1779
• Marie Jeanne Chateauneuf-Dulondel
  Jeanne Du Londel
  Marie Jeanne Du Londel also called 'du Londel' and 'Dulondel', née Chateauneuf was a French actor and theatre director. She was the leader of the Du Londel Troupe....
  
  , 1706–1772, director
• Monsieur Compani-Despiervière
• Madame Desroches, singer
• Jeanne Louise Dulondel, (b. 1740), child of Marie Jeanne Chateauneuf-Dulondel
• Louis Dulondel, (b. 1728), director 1756, dancing master of the Crown Prince
• Louis Gallodier
  Louis Gallodier
  Louis Gallodier was a French ballet dancer and choreographer who spent the majority of his career in Sweden, were he was to have a great importance for the development of the ballet in Sweden as the ballet master of the Royal Swedish Ballet.- Biography and career:Louis Gallodier was born in France...
  
  , (1733–1803), dancing master
• Marguerite Morel
  Marguerite Morel
  Marguerite Morel as married Marguerite Du Londel, was a French ballerina, and actress and opera singer. She was active in Sweden 1755-1771 and at that time counted as the perhaps notable star in the ballet in Sweden...
  
  , dancer, wife of Louis Dulondel
• Pierre-Claude Senisseler-Soligny
• Elisabeth Le Clerc Soligny
  Elisabeth Soligny
  Jeanne-Elisabeth Le Clerc Soligny known also under her stage name Elisabeth Le Clerc, was a French ballet mistress and ballerina. She was a premier dancer at the French Ballet of the Du Londel Troupe in Sweden and of the Royal Swedish Ballet.Le Clerc was employed at the Ballet of the French...
  
  , prima ballerina and ballet mistress

The Italian Opera 1754–1757

This was an opera troupe, meant to complement the French theater troupe. It consisted of members from the company of Pietro Mingotti

Pietro Mingotti

Pietro Mingotti was an Italian impresario active across continental Europe. His brother, Angelo, formed an opera company in Prague around 1732, consisting of 3 male singers and 5 females; Pietro quickly followed suit, and the two troupes achieved Europe-wide success , sometimes performing together...

. They also performed in concerts in Riddarhuset.

• Gaspera Beccaroni, soprano
• Giovanni Coci/Croce, tenor, (1723–1764)
• Elena Fabrice, alto
• Mariana Galeotti, soprano
• Rosa Scarlatti
  Rosa Scarlatti
  Rosa Scarlatti was an Italian opera singer.Rosa Scarlatti was active in the Italian Opera in Sweden from 1754 to 1757. She also performed at Public concerts at the Swedish House of Lords....
  
  , (1727–1775)
• Domenico Scogli, castrato
• Francesco Uttini
  Francesco Uttini
  Francesco Antonio Baldassare Uttini was an Italian composer and conductor who was active mostly in Sweden....
  
  , 1723–1795, conductor of the Royal orchestra
  Kungliga Hovkapellet
  Kungliga Hovkapellet , is a Swedish orchestra and was located at the Royal Court in Sweden's capital Stockholm. It was first recorded in 1526. Since 1773 it is part of the Royal Swedish Opera's company....
  
   1767-1788, composer of the orchestra in Bollhuset from 1772

The (second) Swedish Opera 1773–1782

This was an opera troupe, not a theatrical troupe.

• Nils Magnus Annerstedt
• Lovisa Augusti
  Lovisa Augusti
  Lovisa Sofia Augusti, , was a Swedish opera singer. She was a court singer and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.- Biography :...
  
  , (1756–1790), opera singer.
• Hans Björkman
• Charlotte Eckerman
  Charlotte Eckerman
  Charlotte Eckerman , was a Swedish opera singer and actress. She was also a very well known courtesan during the Gustavian era, and the official royal mistress of Charles XIII of Sweden from 1779 to 1781...
  
  , (1759–1790), dramatic, (this actress was immortalized in a painting by Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller
  Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller
  Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller was a Swedish painter whose notable works include Danaë receiving Jupiter in a Shower of Gold....
  
  ).
• Anna Sophia Holmstedt
  Anna Sophia Holmstedt
  Anna Sophia Holmstedt as married Anna Sophia Bleumortier, was a Swedish ballet dancer and translator.Sophia Holmstedt belonged to the pioneer-troupe of Swedish ballet dancers employed at the Royal Swedish Ballet upon its foundation in Bollhuset 1773...
  
  , (1759–1807)
• Christoffer Christian Karsten
  Christoffer Christian Karsten
  Christoffer Christian Karsten was a Swedish opera singer, sometimes called the greatest male opera singer in Swedish history...
  
  , (1756–1827), singer, maternal grandfather of Marie Taglioni
  Marie Taglioni
  Marie Taglioni was a famous Italian/Swedish ballerina of the Romantic ballet era, a central figure in the history of European dance.-Biography:...
  
  .
• Lars Samuel Lalin, 1729–1785, singing-master.
• Anders Nordén
• Elisabeth Olin
  Elisabeth Olin
  Elisabeth Olin was a Swedish opera singer and a music composer. She is referred to as the first Swedish Opera prima donna. She was a court-singer . She was the first female member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music...
  
  , (1740–1828), daughter of Elisabeth Lillström
  Elisabeth Lillström
  Lisa or Elise Lillström, née Söderman was a Swedish stage actor and opera singer, one of the first professional native female actors in Sweden, mother of Elisabeth Olin, née Lillström...
  
  .
• Ulrica Rosenlund, (1761–1779).
• Charlotte Slottsberg
  Charlotte Slottsberg
  Charlotte Slottsberg , was a Swedish ballerina-dancer, one of the first native dancers in the Royal Swedish Ballet at the Royal Swedish Opera and one of the most successful ones...
  
  , (1760–1800), the first Swedish ballerina
  Ballerina
  A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
  
  , also a royal mistress of Charles XIII of Sweden
  Charles XIII of Sweden
  Charles XIII & II also Carl, , was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 until his death...
  
  .
• Franziska Stading
  Franziska Stading
  Sofia "Franziska" Stading was a opera singer and actor; originally from Germany, she became one of the most popular stars in Sweden in the 18th century...
  
  , (1763–1836).
• Carl Stenborg
  Carl Stenborg
  Carl Stenborg was a Swedish opera singer, actor, composer and theatre director. He is considered the first great male opera singer in Sweden and one of the pioneers of the Royal Swedish Opera.- Biography :...
  
   (1752–1813), considered founder of the Swedish-speaking theater and opera.
• Diedrich Tellerstedt, singer.
• Hedvig Wigert
  Hedvig Wigert
  Hedvig Christina Wigert was a Swedish opera singer. She belonged to the famous pioneer group of performers of the Royal Swedish Opera....
  
  , (1748–1780).

The French Comédie Française Theater 1783–1792

The French troupe was a separate and autonomous troupe within the building called "The French Theater". They came to Sweden in 1781 and performed in Drottningholm until 1783. They acted as instructors to the Swedish actors until Dramatens elevskola

Dramatens elevskola

Dramatens elevskola, i.e. Kungliga Dramatiska Teaterns Elevskola, or in Eng: The Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school, was the acting school of Sweden's national stage, The Royal Dramatic Theatre, and for many years seen as the foremost theatre school and drama education for Swedish stage actors...

 was founded. They were sent home after the death of King Gustav III

Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....

.

• Mademoiselle Baron
• Monsieur Delaroche (director 1786)
• Monsieur de La Tour
• Madame Dutillier
• François Marie Moussé Félix
• Monsieur Feuillet
• Louis Frossard
• Sophie Hus (1758-182?)
• Jean Marcadet
• Marie Louise Marcadet
  Marie Louise Marcadet
  Marie Louise Marcadet was a Swedish opera singer and a dramatic stage actor. She was active in both the Royal Swedish Opera, and at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. She is regarded as the greatest tragedienne in Sweden during the 1780s decade, before the first noted native tragedienne, Maria Franck...
  
  , (1758–1804), singer and tragedienne.
• Anne Marie Milan Desguillons
  Anne Marie Milan Desguillons
  Anne Marie Milan Desguillons was a French stage actress, active in Sweden. She was also active as an instructor and director of the theatre school Dramatens elevskola jointly with her spouse, and as such had a great influence over the development of the Swedish theatre.-Biography and career:Anne...
  
  
• Jacques Marie Boutet de Monvel, director
• Monsieur Saint-Ange

The Swedish Dramatic Theatre 1787–1793

The first native troupe for spoken drama in Bollhuset since 1754. The actors were instructed by the French troupe, and formed its own theater under Fredrik Ristell in 1787. When it went bankrupt in 1788, it formed the Royal Dramatic Theatre.

• Samuel Ahlgren
  Samuel Ahlgren
  Johan Samuel Ahlgren was a Swedish actor. He belonged to the first pioneer troupe of the Royal Dramatic Theatre.Ahlgren worked as a clerk when he was employed by Fredric Ristell in the Swedish theatre in Bollhuset in 1787...
  
  , (1764–1816), often played the hero-parts
• Abraham de Broen, (1759–1804) one of the most prominent actors of his time in Sweden
• Louis Deland
  Louis Deland
  Louis Joseph Marie Deland was a Swedish ballet dancer, singer, actor, choreographer and ballet master in the Royal Swedish Ballet...
  
  , (1772–1823), dancer, singer, comedian
• Elisabeth Forsselius
  Elisabeth Forsselius
  Gertrud Elisabeth Forsselius , later Elisabet Haeffner and Elisabet Fahlgren, , was a Swedish opera singer and actor, married to the German-born Swedish composer Johann Christian Friedrich Haeffner, and the actor and singer Johan Jacob Fahlgren...
  
  , (1771–1850) comedienne and singer, married to Johann Christian Friedrich Haeffner in her first marriage
• Maria Franck
  Maria Franck
  Maria Kristina Franck, later Ruckman, , was a Swedish actor, also known as Kristina Ruckman, who later also became principal of the theatre school Dramatens elevskola...
  
  , (1769–1847), dramatic actress, later director of the theater school Dramatens elevskola
  Dramatens elevskola
  Dramatens elevskola, i.e. Kungliga Dramatiska Teaterns Elevskola, or in Eng: The Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school, was the acting school of Sweden's national stage, The Royal Dramatic Theatre, and for many years seen as the foremost theatre school and drama education for Swedish stage actors...
  
  
• Lars Hjortsberg
  Lars Hjortsberg
  Lars Hjortsberg was a Swedish actor. He is often called the greatest male actor in his country in the 19th century; he and Emilie Högquist are the best known Swedish actors from the first half of that century.- Biography :...
  
   (1772–1843), singer and dramatic comedian
• Fredrique Löwen
  Fredrique Löwen
  Fredrica Löf, also known as Fredrique Löwen was a Swedish stage actress...
  
  , (1760–1813) regarded as the most celebrated Swedish actress of her time
• Ebba Morman
  Ebba Morman
  -Career:Morman debuted at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 1791, and performed at the Royal Swedish Opera before she was contracted at the theatre in 1792, where she refused to be a replacement for any actors than the two stars, Fredrique Löwen and Marie Louise Marcadet...
  
   (1769–1802)
• Caroline Frederikke Müller
  Caroline Frederikke Müller
  Caroline Frederikke Müller , also known as Caroline Walther, was a Danish and later naturalized Swedish singer , dancer and actor and principal of the theatre academy Dramatens elevskola...
  
  , singer
• Louise Saint-Rémy, née Götz
• Carl Schylander
• Kjell Waltman (1758–1799), comedian
• Andreas Widerberg (1766–1810), dramatic
• Inga Åberg
  Inga Åberg
  Inga Åberg was a Swedish actress and opera singer, one of the most popular and well known actors of her time in Sweden...
  
  , (1773–1837)

See also

• Royal Swedish Opera
  Royal Swedish Opera
  Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
  
  
• Bjornegardteatern
• Bollhustäppan
  Bollhustäppan
  Bollhustäppan is a small public space in Gamla stan Is the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Named after Bollhuset, a historical theatre, it is located south of Slottsbacken just behind the Finnish Church, while two gates connects it to Trädgårdsgatan....
  
  
• Bollhusgränd
  Bollhusgränd
  Bollhusgränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Named after Bollhuset, a historical theatre, it connects Slottsbacken to Köpmantorget, and as Baggensgatan extends the alley further south beyond Köpmangatan, together they form a parallel street to Österlånggatan...
  
  
• Confidencen
  Confidencen
  Confidencen, or Ulriksdals slottsteater ; is a Swedish opera stage.Confidencen is Sweden's oldest rococo theatre situated in the National City Park, on the ground of the Ulriksdal Palace outside Stockholm. The building's original structure was built in 1671...
  
  
• Comediehuset
  Comediehuset
  Comediehuset or Sillgateteatern was a Swedish theatre, the first real Public theatre in Gothenburg. It was located at the corner of Sillgatan, the Herring-street and Nedre Kvarnbergsgatan and active from 1779 to the 1830s...
  
  
• Culture in Stockholm
  Culture in Stockholm
  Apart from being a large city with an active cultural life, Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, houses many national cultural institutions. There are two UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Stockholm County area: the Royal Palace Drottningholm and the Skogskyrkogården .Stockholm was the 1998 European...
  
  
• Drottningholm Palace Theatre
  Drottningholm Palace Theatre
  The Drottningholm Palace Theatre is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, which has been described by Per-Erik Öhrn, the theatre’s former artistic director, as "the Swedish jewel in our European cultural heritage crown of centuries-old theatres".Currently the...
  
  
• Finnish Church
• History of Stockholm
  History of Stockholm
  The history of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, for many centuries coincided with the development of what is today known as Gamla stan, the Stockholm Old Town...
  
  
• Stenborg theatre
  Stenborg Theatre
  The Stenborg theatre, also called Svenska Komiska Teatern, Komiska Teatern and Munkbroteatern, was a historical Swedish 18th century theatre, active between 1784 and 1799 in Gamla stan in Stockholm. It was the second theatre of Stockholm during the Gustavian age...