Fredrique Löwen
Encyclopedia
Fredrica Löf, also known as Fredrique Löwen (née
Johanna Fredrika Löf) (Stockholm October 1760 – Torsåker, Södermanland, 17 July 1813) was a Swedish stage actress. She was the first female star at the newly founded national stage Royal Dramatic Theater, which was founded the year of her debut.
, munskänk and taffeltäckare
at the royal court, and had earlier been a footman of Lovisa Meijerfeldt. Originally named Löwe, he changed his name to Löf. Her date of birth is usually given as 4 December, but as she was baptized 7 October, she is believed to have been born in October shortly before her baptism. She was the godchild of the nobles Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie
, Hans Henrik von Liewen and Hans Fredrik Ramel. The family was poor and lived and Fredrica had seven sisters and one brother. Fredrica Löf and her sisters was early on, under the name "The Löven girls", known to be a part of "The more refined Stockholm demimonde"; high class prostitutes. Her sisters Charlotta and Lovisa both married Baron Axel Adam Hierta, and Lovisa later married Baron Victor von Stedingk. Fredrica Löf had her first illegitimate child in 1779, and the year after she is registered as living alone in her own residence with her daughter Johanna Fredrika.
Likely from about 1780, Fredrica Löf was educated as a student in the French Theatre at Bollhuset
in Stockholm under Jacques Marie Boutet de Monvel. Anne Marie Milan Desguillons
was likely also a mentor of hers. She probably performed in smaller parts, like other Swedish students, such as Lars Hjortsberg
did. It was common for French actors of this period to adopt a stage name. This was not as common in Sweden, but Fredrica Löf, who was educated in the French Theatre, adopted the French version of her first name as a stage name and changed her surname to her father's original name, and called herself "Fredrique Löwen". Commonly however, she was still referred to as Fredrica Löf, and this is also the most common name by which she is referred to in literature.
In 1787, she was given a position at the Swedish language theatre of Adolf Fredrik Ristell in Bollhuset. In 1788, she was given a position at the Royal Dramatic Theatre.
Fredrica Löf did not like to be compared to actresses with a reputation for being courtisans. There was an incident when she found her reserved box at the Opera occupied by the actor Louise Götz-Rémy, who had such a reputation.
. Her debut was a success.
Marianne Ehrenström
compared her with Marguerite Georges
, and she was famed for "her well sounding vocal organ as well as for her beautious Grecian shaped face and her well shaped figure, by which she, alongside much natural warmth in her play, enruptured her audience withouth effort" Her way of acting was described as "noble", with a sense of feeling and soul suitable for "tenderness, nobility and fierté"; her voice was described as clear and soft. She received much praise for her costume, a recommendation which is seen in contemporary sources; during this period, an actor was expected to design and finance their costumes themselwes. She was also widely recommended by various critics for her elegance and good sense of costume.
Fredrica Löf was made premier actress in 1788 and celebrated her greatest successes during the regency years of 1792-1796. She was a high-ranked member of the theatre and called: "actress at the r. theatre of the first class". She was given an allowance of $600 from the Royal Opera in addition to her salary at the Royal Theatre.
Fredrica Löf was also an elective member of the actors bord of directors. The Royal Dramatic Theatre was ruled by votings in board meetings every 14th day, managed by a board of eight elective actors under the authority of the Royal Swedish Academy of Art and the formall directory of the Royal Opera from 1788 until 1803, supervised by an officiall appointed by the Royal Opera. This made the actors staff of the royal court and obligated to perform for the royal court when summoned. In contrast to the staff of the Royal Opera and the French Theatre, the actors at the Royal Dramatic Theatre was not paid by the royal court but by shares in the theatre.
Fredrica Löf could not read text, and was forced to learn her part by having others reading her the scripts. Gustav Mauritz Armfelt, in his capacity of a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Art, who supervised the theatre, wrote to the monarch in 1788 and asked if someone else could perform the part of Siri Brahe, and recommended the actress Gertrud Elisabeth Forsselius
instead of Fredrika Löf. Officially because of health reasons, but the actual fact was that Fredrika Löf "Could not read texts, but had to learn her parts by having others read them to her", and added that the writer Carl Gustav af Leopold had to spend three hours with her to teach her the part because of this.
, where she was admired for her "majestic" interpretation; the title roles in
"Athalie" by Racine
and "Drottning Christina" (1790) by Gustav III, as Mrs Ferval in "Den förtroliga aftonmåltiden" and as Susanna in "The Marriage of Figaro
" by Beaumarchais
(1799). She made many parts in plays by August von Kotzebue
, Racine
, Voltaire
and Favart
.
On 30 June 1791, she played the role of Amalia in "Den okände eller världsförakt och ånger" (English: "The stranger or Worldcontempt and anxiety") by August von Kotzebue, which was a great success for her. She was said to have performed the part with "a sensitivity beyond limits" which made "everyone cry", even the actresses from the French Theatre, who did not understand the language.
While Maria Franck
and Sofia Frodelius performed tragedy and comedy respectively, and Ebba Morman
took care of the "demonic" female parts such as witches and murderers, Fredrika Löf played the romantic parts of mistress and heroine, parts for which she was recommended for at least until 1801. She retired from stage after the 1808-09 season.
and the poet and journalist Johan Henric Kellgren
.
Fredrica Löf resided in a residence with expensive furniture at Gustav Adolfs torg, Stockholm, where she entertained the cultural elite, such as Carl Michael Bellman
, Tobias Sergel and Louis Masreliez
and her colleagues. She had her own carriage to take her to and from the theatre.
Fredrica Löf never married, but she had three children: two daughters and a son. Her daughter, Jeanette Fredrique Fredrisen (1779–1854) married the opera singer Carl Magnus Craelius, singing master and teacher of Jenny Lind
, and Fredrika Theresia Fredrisen (1780–1864) married major
Anders Andersson (1767–1818) and the tenant farmer Jonas Peter Rundlöf (1787–1861). She also had a son, Johan Davidson, who became a sailor in 1802. Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden
has been pointed out as the father of her daughter, but it has never been confirmed that Fredrica Löf and Fredrick Adolf had a relationship, only that the prince and her sister Euphrosyne had one. Euphrosyne Löf
became the official mistress of the Prince after Sophie Hagman
in 1795.
At the time of her death, Fredrica Löf lived at the farm of her brother-in-law, Sörby, in Torsåker in Södermanland. According to Sergel, she was insane at the time of her death. According to her colleague Johan Fredrik Wikström she : "died of some sort of disorder in the brain in about the age of fifty"
They are several images of Fredrica Löf kept at Nationalmuseum, many of them made by Sergel, usually during her last years at the stage.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Johanna Fredrika Löf) (Stockholm October 1760 – Torsåker, Södermanland, 17 July 1813) was a Swedish stage actress. She was the first female star at the newly founded national stage Royal Dramatic Theater, which was founded the year of her debut.
Background
Fredrica Löf was the daughter of Johan Gottfrid Löf and Catharina Charlotta Stålhammar (or Stålhand). Her father was employed as a löpareLopare
Lopare is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Majevica region of the Republika Srpska entity.-Demographics:...
, munskänk and taffeltäckare
Taffeltäckare
Taffeltäckare is a designation for court employees in the Royal Court of Sweden with responsibility for laying out the royal table for meals and banquets....
at the royal court, and had earlier been a footman of Lovisa Meijerfeldt. Originally named Löwe, he changed his name to Löf. Her date of birth is usually given as 4 December, but as she was baptized 7 October, she is believed to have been born in October shortly before her baptism. She was the godchild of the nobles Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie
Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie
Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie was a Swedish noblewoman of the French-descent De la Gardie family. She was the daughter of the General and statesman Magnus Julius De la Gardie and the political salonist Hedvig Catharina Lilje, and sister of scientist Eva Ekeblad.She married Axel von Fersen the...
, Hans Henrik von Liewen and Hans Fredrik Ramel. The family was poor and lived and Fredrica had seven sisters and one brother. Fredrica Löf and her sisters was early on, under the name "The Löven girls", known to be a part of "The more refined Stockholm demimonde"; high class prostitutes. Her sisters Charlotta and Lovisa both married Baron Axel Adam Hierta, and Lovisa later married Baron Victor von Stedingk. Fredrica Löf had her first illegitimate child in 1779, and the year after she is registered as living alone in her own residence with her daughter Johanna Fredrika.
Likely from about 1780, Fredrica Löf was educated as a student in the French Theatre at Bollhuset
Bollhuset
Bollhuset, also called ', ', and ' at various times, was the name of the first theater in Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater building in the whole of Scandinavia. The name "" means "The Ball House", and it was built in 1627 for ball sports and used in...
in Stockholm under Jacques Marie Boutet de Monvel. 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...
was likely also a mentor of hers. She probably performed in smaller parts, like other Swedish students, such as 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 :...
did. It was common for French actors of this period to adopt a stage name. This was not as common in Sweden, but Fredrica Löf, who was educated in the French Theatre, adopted the French version of her first name as a stage name and changed her surname to her father's original name, and called herself "Fredrique Löwen". Commonly however, she was still referred to as Fredrica Löf, and this is also the most common name by which she is referred to in literature.
In 1787, she was given a position at the Swedish language theatre of Adolf Fredrik Ristell in Bollhuset. In 1788, she was given a position at the Royal Dramatic Theatre.
Fredrica Löf did not like to be compared to actresses with a reputation for being courtisans. There was an incident when she found her reserved box at the Opera occupied by the actor Louise Götz-Rémy, who had such a reputation.
Career
Fredrica Löf made her debut at the Royal Dramatich Theatre of Stockholm the 6 May 1788 as Siri Brahe in "Siri Brahe and Johan Gyllenstierna" by king Gustav III of SwedenGustav 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....
. Her debut was a success.
Marianne Ehrenström
Marianne Ehrenström
Marianne Ehrenström, née Pollet , was a Swedish writer, singer, painter, pianist, culture personality, memorialist, principal and lady-in-waiting...
compared her with Marguerite Georges
Marguerite Georges
Marguerite Georges was a French stage actor. She belonged to the most famous French actors of her time. She is also known for her affair with Napoleon.- Biography :...
, and she was famed for "her well sounding vocal organ as well as for her beautious Grecian shaped face and her well shaped figure, by which she, alongside much natural warmth in her play, enruptured her audience withouth effort" Her way of acting was described as "noble", with a sense of feeling and soul suitable for "tenderness, nobility and fierté"; her voice was described as clear and soft. She received much praise for her costume, a recommendation which is seen in contemporary sources; during this period, an actor was expected to design and finance their costumes themselwes. She was also widely recommended by various critics for her elegance and good sense of costume.
Fredrica Löf was made premier actress in 1788 and celebrated her greatest successes during the regency years of 1792-1796. She was a high-ranked member of the theatre and called: "actress at the r. theatre of the first class". She was given an allowance of $600 from the Royal Opera in addition to her salary at the Royal Theatre.
Fredrica Löf was also an elective member of the actors bord of directors. The Royal Dramatic Theatre was ruled by votings in board meetings every 14th day, managed by a board of eight elective actors under the authority of the Royal Swedish Academy of Art and the formall directory of the Royal Opera from 1788 until 1803, supervised by an officiall appointed by the Royal Opera. This made the actors staff of the royal court and obligated to perform for the royal court when summoned. In contrast to the staff of the Royal Opera and the French Theatre, the actors at the Royal Dramatic Theatre was not paid by the royal court but by shares in the theatre.
Fredrica Löf could not read text, and was forced to learn her part by having others reading her the scripts. Gustav Mauritz Armfelt, in his capacity of a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Art, who supervised the theatre, wrote to the monarch in 1788 and asked if someone else could perform the part of Siri Brahe, and recommended the actress Gertrud 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...
instead of Fredrika Löf. Officially because of health reasons, but the actual fact was that Fredrika Löf "Could not read texts, but had to learn her parts by having others read them to her", and added that the writer Carl Gustav af Leopold had to spend three hours with her to teach her the part because of this.
Roles
Among her parts where the title role in "Semiramis" by VoltaireVoltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, where she was admired for her "majestic" interpretation; the title roles in
"Athalie" by Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
and "Drottning Christina" (1790) by Gustav III, as Mrs Ferval in "Den förtroliga aftonmåltiden" and as Susanna in "The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
The Marriage of Figaro ) is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second installment in the Figaro Trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother. The Barber begins the story with a simple love triangle in which the Count has...
" by Beaumarchais
Pierre Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary ....
(1799). She made many parts in plays by August von Kotzebue
August von Kotzebue
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue was a German dramatist.One of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival in 1817. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a militant member of the Burschenschaften...
, Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
, Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
and Favart
Charles Simon Favart
Charles Simon Favart was a French dramatist.Born in Paris, the son of a pastry-cook, he was educated at the college of Louis-le-Grand, and after his father's death he carried on the business for a time...
.
On 30 June 1791, she played the role of Amalia in "Den okände eller världsförakt och ånger" (English: "The stranger or Worldcontempt and anxiety") by August von Kotzebue, which was a great success for her. She was said to have performed the part with "a sensitivity beyond limits" which made "everyone cry", even the actresses from the French Theatre, who did not understand the language.
While 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...
and Sofia Frodelius performed tragedy and comedy respectively, and 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...
took care of the "demonic" female parts such as witches and murderers, Fredrika Löf played the romantic parts of mistress and heroine, parts for which she was recommended for at least until 1801. She retired from stage after the 1808-09 season.
Private life and family
Fredrica Löf was much talked about for her private life. Among her lovers was the Sculptor Johan Tobias SergelJohan Tobias Sergel
Johan Tobias Sergel , Swedish sculptor, was born in Stockholm.-Biography:After studying for some time in Paris he went to Rome, where he remained for twelve years and sculpted a number of groups in marble, including, besides subjects from classical mythology, a colossal representation of "History,"...
and the poet and journalist Johan Henric Kellgren
Johan Henric Kellgren
Johan Henrik Kellgren was a Swedish poet and critic.-Biography:He was born at Floby in Västergötland...
.
Fredrica Löf resided in a residence with expensive furniture at Gustav Adolfs torg, Stockholm, where she entertained the cultural elite, such as Carl Michael Bellman
Carl Michael Bellman
was a Swedish poet and composer. Bellman is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a very important influence in Swedish music, as well as in Scandinavian literature in general, to this day....
, Tobias Sergel and Louis Masreliez
Louis Masreliez
Louis Masreliez , born Adrien Louis Masreliez, was a Swedish painter and interior designer.Masreliez was born in Paris and came to Sweden in 1753. He began his education at Ritakademien at the age of 10. Since the academy did not teach painting, he studied at Lorens Gottman's workshop...
and her colleagues. She had her own carriage to take her to and from the theatre.
Fredrica Löf never married, but she had three children: two daughters and a son. Her daughter, Jeanette Fredrique Fredrisen (1779–1854) married the opera singer Carl Magnus Craelius, singing master and teacher of Jenny Lind
Jenny Lind
Johanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...
, and Fredrika Theresia Fredrisen (1780–1864) married major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Anders Andersson (1767–1818) and the tenant farmer Jonas Peter Rundlöf (1787–1861). She also had a son, Johan Davidson, who became a sailor in 1802. Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden
Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden
Prince Fredrick Adolf of Sweden , was a Swedish Prince, youngest son of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, a sister Frederick the Great, King of Prussia...
has been pointed out as the father of her daughter, but it has never been confirmed that Fredrica Löf and Fredrick Adolf had a relationship, only that the prince and her sister Euphrosyne had one. Euphrosyne Löf
Euphrosyne Löf
Euphrosyne Löf was a Swedish ballet dancer and stage actress, best known for her affair with Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden from 1797 to 1801, after his relationship with Sophie Hagman - Euphrosyne acted as his hostess at Tullgarn....
became the official mistress of the Prince after Sophie Hagman
Sophie Hagman
Sophie Hagman née Anna Stina Hagman or Anna Sophia Hagman, , was a Swedish ballet dancer...
in 1795.
At the time of her death, Fredrica Löf lived at the farm of her brother-in-law, Sörby, in Torsåker in Södermanland. According to Sergel, she was insane at the time of her death. According to her colleague Johan Fredrik Wikström she : "died of some sort of disorder in the brain in about the age of fifty"
They are several images of Fredrica Löf kept at Nationalmuseum, many of them made by Sergel, usually during her last years at the stage.