Gerhard Knoop
Encyclopedia
Gerhard Herman Knoop was a Norwegian actor, stage producer and theatre director.
, as the son of Herman Waldemar Knoop (1887–1961) and Ellen Caroline Sontum (1897–1962). He made his stage debut in a school revue while studying at the gymnasium
. He took his examen artium
(university entrance exam.) in 1939. During World War II
he was involved in resistance
work, and had to flee to Sweden in 1942, where he joined the police troops. After the war, he studied at the University of Oslo
and at the University of Denver
. He married Eva Cecilie Julsrud in September 1948 in Denver
.
from 1949, first as actor and later as stage producer. Among his productions were adaptions of Arnold and Bach's farce
Die spanische Fliege, and of Ibsen
's play A Doll's House
, and of Willner
and Reichert's operetta Das Dreimäderlhaus
. He worked as a free-lance producer from 1952, for Riksteatret
, the National Theatre
, Det Norske Teatret
, Det Nye Teater
, Fjernsynsteatret
and Radioteatret
. Among his productions were adaptions of Beckett
's play Waiting for Godot
, Chekhov
's comedy Uncle Vanya
and Ibsen's play Rosmersholm
. He produced Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler
for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland in 1963. He has also produced Ibsen's plays Ghosts
and The Wild Duck
, Strindberg
's Easter
and Miss Julie
, and Ionesco
's The Chairs.
He headed the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
from 1964 to 1970. From 1973 to 1984 he was employed at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation as head of Radioteatret
. He started the independent theatre group Intimteatret in 1991, together with Merete Skavlan
. He died in October 2009.
Early and personal life
Knoop was born in KristianiaOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, as the son of Herman Waldemar Knoop (1887–1961) and Ellen Caroline Sontum (1897–1962). He made his stage debut in a school revue while studying at the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. He took his examen artium
Examen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...
(university entrance exam.) in 1939. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was involved in resistance
Norwegian resistance movement
The Norwegian resistance to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms:...
work, and had to flee to Sweden in 1942, where he joined the police troops. After the war, he studied at the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
and at the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
. He married Eva Cecilie Julsrud in September 1948 in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
.
Theatre career
Knoop was employed at Rogaland TeaterRogaland Teater
Rogaland Teater is a theatre in Stavanger, Norway.-Background:The theatre building was built in 1883, on a parcel of Kannik prestegård. It was designed by architect Hartvig Sverdrup Eckhoff, and had initially almost 500 seats. The building housed Stavanger Faste Scene from 1914 to 1921, and...
from 1949, first as actor and later as stage producer. Among his productions were adaptions of Arnold and Bach's farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
Die spanische Fliege, and of Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's play A Doll's House
A Doll's House
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
, and of Willner
A. M. Willner
Alfred Maria Willner was an Austrian writer, philosopher, musicologist, composer and librettist. He began composing mostly music for the piano before making a career writing librettos for ballets, operas and operettas...
and Reichert's operetta Das Dreimäderlhaus
Das Dreimäderlhaus
Das Dreimäderlhaus , adapted into English language versions as Blossom Time and Lilac Time, is a Viennese pastiche 'operetta' with music by Franz Schubert, rearranged by Hungarian Heinrich Berté , and a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
. He worked as a free-lance producer from 1952, for Riksteatret
Riksteatret
Riksteatret is a Norwegian touring theatre. It was established by law in 1948. Its first performance was in Kirkenes in 1949, with Sigurd Christiansen's play En reise i natten. The theatre plays on about 200 different stages throughout the country. Its first theatre director was Fritz von der...
, the National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
The National Theatre in Oslo is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts.The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiania Theatre, which was founded in 1829...
, Det Norske Teatret
Det Norske Teatret
Det Norske Teatret is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabløs. It opened in 1913, touring with two plays, Ervingen by Ivar Aasen and Rationelt Fjøsstell by Hulda Garborg...
, Det Nye Teater
Det Nye Teater
Det Nye Teater was a theatre that opened in Oslo in 1929, and ended as an independent theatre in 1959, when it merged with Folketeatret to form Oslo Nye Teater. The theatre's original purpose was to support contemporary Norwegian drama.-History:...
, Fjernsynsteatret
Fjernsynsteatret
Fjernsynsteatret was a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which produced plays for television broadcasting. It opened in 1960 , and operated until 1990, when a major reorganisation of NRK took place.Its first leader was Arild Brinchmann, who headed the theatre from its start...
and Radioteatret
Radioteatret
Radioteatret is a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which produces audio plays for radio broadcasting. It was established in 1927.-Directors:...
. Among his productions were adaptions of Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
's play Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
, Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's comedy Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
and Ibsen's play Rosmersholm
Rosmersholm
Rosmersholm is a play written in 1886 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. In the estimation of many critics the piece is Ibsen's masterwork, only equalled by The Wild Duck of 1884...
. He produced Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland in 1963. He has also produced Ibsen's plays Ghosts
Ghosts (play)
Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882.Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th century morality....
and The Wild Duck
The Wild Duck
The Wild Duck is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.-Plot:The first act opens with a dinner party hosted by Håkon Werle, a wealthy merchant and industrialist. The gathering is attended by his son, Gregers Werle, who has just returned to his father's home following a self-imposed...
, Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
's Easter
Easter (play)
Easter is a symbolic religious drama from 1901 by Swedish playwright August Strindberg.The play was produced by the Stockholm ensemble Intima Teatern, which also toured other Scandinavian countries, including performances of Påsk in Kristiania. It was the first of Strindberg's plays that was...
and Miss Julie
Miss Julie
Miss Julie is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg dealing with class, love, lust, the battle of the sexes, and the interaction among them...
, and Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
's The Chairs.
He headed the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
The Norwegian National Academy of Theatre was established as a three-year theater-education in 1953, under the name of Statens teaterskole.The school was given collegiate status in 1982...
from 1964 to 1970. From 1973 to 1984 he was employed at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation as head of Radioteatret
Radioteatret
Radioteatret is a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which produces audio plays for radio broadcasting. It was established in 1927.-Directors:...
. He started the independent theatre group Intimteatret in 1991, together with Merete Skavlan
Merete Skavlan
Merete Skavlan is a Norwegian actress, theatre instructor and director.She was the daughter of newspaper editor and theatre director Einar Skavlan and music educator Margrethe Bartholdy....
. He died in October 2009.