Róza Laborfalvi Hungarian actress, wife of novelist Mór Jókai

Mór Jókai

Mór Jókai , born Móric Jókay de Ásva , outside Hungary also known as Maurus Jokai, was a Hungarian dramatist and novelist.-Early life:...

.

She was the daughter of the actor and theatre director József Benke. Her father was a Székely noble. She started her career in the Castle Theatre of Buda

Buda

For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...

 in 1833. From 1837 she played in the National Theatre of Pest

Pest (city)

Pest is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two thirds of the city's territory. It is divided from Buda, the other part of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable parts are the Inner City, including the Hungarian Parliament, Heroes' Square and...

. Many have praised her beautiful alto voice, her looks, her talent for recitation and her expressive glance.

On March 15, 1848 she met the writer Mór Jókai at a performance of József Katona

József Katona

József Katona was a Hungarian playwright and poet, creator of the Hungarian drama: author of the legendary historical tragedy: Bánk bán.-Biography:...

's The Viceroy. They married in the same year. Their marriage caused a scandal; several of the writer's friends (among them Sándor Petőfi

Sándor Petofi

Sándor Petőfi , was a Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary. He is considered as Hungary's national poet and he was one of the key figures of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848...

) were against the marriage, mostly because she had a 12-year-old illegitimate daughter, Róza Benke, whose father was the actor Márton Lendvay. The opponents of the marriage were reconciled when Laborfalvi saved Jókai's life during the revolution of 1848/49. (Róza Benke later had an illegitimate daughter herself, Róza the youngest, who later married the painter Árpád Feszty

Árpád Feszty

Árpád Feszty was a Hungarian painter.He was born in the town of Ógyalla . His ancestors were German settlers . He was the fifth child of Silvester Rehrenbeck , an affluent landowner at Ógyalla, and his wife Jozefa...

).

Until her retirement in 1859 Laborfalvi was the most successful actress of the era. On September 3, 1857 the newly built National Theatre of Miskolc

National Theatre of Miskolc

The National Theatre of Miskolc is the main theatre of Miskolc, and the oldest theatre company of Hungary. Its current Classicist and Neo-baroque building built between 1847–1857, standing in downtown Széchenyi street is home to not only theatrical plays, but events like the International Opera...

 opened with her guest performance and Jókai's speech. She later appeared on the same stage in 1883, as her last performance.

Her most important roles

Gertrudis (The Viceroy); Volumina (Shakespeare: Coriolanus); Mary, Queen of Scots (Schiller); Lady Macbeth (Macbeth

Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...

); Goneril (King Lear

King Lear

King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...

); Orsina (Lessing

Lessing

Lessing - German family of writers and artists*Johann Gottfried Lessing pastor primarus in Kamenz, well respected, published theologian, translator and father of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Karl Gotthelf Lessing...

: Emilia Galotti

Emilia Galotti

Emilia Galotti is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Brunswick . The work is a classic example of German bürgerliches Trauerspiel . Other works in this category include Schiller's Kabale und Liebe and Hebbel's Maria Magdalene...

); Lady Milford (Schiller: Intrigue and Love

Intrigue and Love

Intrigue and Love , , is a five-act play, written by the German dramatist and writer Friedrich Schiller...

).