Laura Gundersen
Encyclopedia
Laura Sofie Coucheron Gundersen (née Svendsen) (27 May 1832–1898) was a Norwegian actor, counted as the first native-born tragedienne, and also, in some aspect, as her country's first professional native actress and prima donna.
to make her dream come true.
In 1849, Norwegian actors was not employed at the official theatres in Oslo; the greatest theater in the 1840s, the Christiania Theatre
, was founded by Danes and only employed Danish actors, and the language of the stage was Danish. The reason given was that the Norwegian actors lacked education, as there were no acting school in Norway. This year, however, Laura Gundersen was employed as the first and only Norwegian actor to play at the Christiania Theatre in Oslo, and became as such historical.
She starred as Svanhild (alongside her husband Sigvard as Falk) in the premiere of Henrik Ibsen
's Love's Comedy
at the Christiania Theatre in 1873.
Gundersen spent most of her time there, where she became the first native prima donna in Norway and counted as one of the greatest artists in her country. She played a long row of tragedies; one of the most famous was the premier of the melodrama Bergljot by Grieg in 1885. She played according to the Danish romantic tradition.
Her employment was the start of a new age in the cultural history of Norway, and towards the end of the 19th century, the Danish and foreign dominance were broken; from 1872, Norwegian was the language of the stage, and the Norwegian stage was taken over by Norwegian actors, who also favoured a more realistic way to play, a development that led to fewer parts for Gundersen in the end of the century.
Laura Gundersen married the actor Sigvard Gundersen
and is buried with him at Vår Frelsers gravlund
.
Biography
Laura Gundersen had firm ambition to be an actor from her early years. In 1849, at the age of seventeen, she borrowed money from a relative and traveled to OsloOslo
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...
to make her dream come true.
In 1849, Norwegian actors was not employed at the official theatres in Oslo; the greatest theater in the 1840s, the Christiania Theatre
Christiania Theatre
Christiania Theatre, or Kristiania Theatre, was Norway's finest stage for the spoken drama between October 4, 1836 - September 1, 1899. It was located at Bankplassen by the Akershus Fortress in central Christiania, in Norway...
, was founded by Danes and only employed Danish actors, and the language of the stage was Danish. The reason given was that the Norwegian actors lacked education, as there were no acting school in Norway. This year, however, Laura Gundersen was employed as the first and only Norwegian actor to play at the Christiania Theatre in Oslo, and became as such historical.
She starred as Svanhild (alongside her husband Sigvard as Falk) in the premiere of Henrik 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 Love's Comedy
Love's Comedy
Love's Comedy is a comedy by Henrik Ibsen. It was first published on 31 December 1862. As a result of being branded an "immoral" work in the press, the Christiania Theatre would not dare to stage it at first...
at the Christiania Theatre in 1873.
Gundersen spent most of her time there, where she became the first native prima donna in Norway and counted as one of the greatest artists in her country. She played a long row of tragedies; one of the most famous was the premier of the melodrama Bergljot by Grieg in 1885. She played according to the Danish romantic tradition.
Her employment was the start of a new age in the cultural history of Norway, and towards the end of the 19th century, the Danish and foreign dominance were broken; from 1872, Norwegian was the language of the stage, and the Norwegian stage was taken over by Norwegian actors, who also favoured a more realistic way to play, a development that led to fewer parts for Gundersen in the end of the century.
Laura Gundersen married the actor Sigvard Gundersen
Sigvard Gundersen
Sigvard Gundersen was a Norwegian actor. He was married to actress Laura Gundersen. He made his stage début at Christiania Theater in 1862, and worked for this theatre most of his career, until 1899.-References:...
and is buried with him at Vår Frelsers gravlund
Vår Frelsers gravlund
Vår Frelsers gravlund is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It was created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. Its grounds were extended in 1911. The cemetery has been full since 1952...
.
Sources
- http://magicposition.weblogg.no/1186694334_laura_gundersen.html
- Meyer, Michael. 1974. Ibsen: A Biography. Abridged edition. Pelican Biographies ser. Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN 014021772X.