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Bollhuset, also called by the names Stora Bollhuset, Bollhusteatern, and Lejonkulan during the centuries, was the name of the first theater of Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater building in Scandinavia. ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The name "Bollhuset" means "The Ball House", and it was originally built in 1627 for ball sports and used in this way for forty years.

The building of Bollhuset represents a long row of the most important events of the history of theatre in the city and country. Between 1667 and 1792 it was used as a theater until it was torn down in 1793; between 1737 and 1754, the first national theatre was located here, in 1773-1782 the Royal Swedish Opera (and thereby the Royal Swedish Ballet) was located here, in 1783-1792 the French theatre 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. The Kungliga Teatern ( "Royal Theatre") or Royal Swedish Opera is the national stage for Opera in Sweden. The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet troupes in Europe The Royal Dramatic Theatre or in Swedish Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially known in Sweden as Dramaten, is Sweden's national

Contents

History

The building was located on Slottsbacken near the Royal palace Tre Kronor. Slottsbacken ( Swedish: "Palace Slope" is a Street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Tre Kronor (Three Crowns is a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden It was described as a large, but simple rectangular building of white bricks with a 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 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. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Thum (or Thaumb) performed in the city from 1628 to 1655, but it is not known if they ever performed in Bollhuset. An English troupe, the troupe of Joris Jollifoot, also played in the city in 1648-1649.

Already, during the reign of Queen Christina of Sweden, ballets and concerts had ben performed in Bollhuset, the first time in 1649 by an Italian company led by Vincenzo Albrici, and a Dutch theater company acted there in 1652 which counted Ariana Nozeman among its members, but this was temporary. Christina (Kristina Augusta ( – 19 April 1689 later known as Christina Alexandra and sometimes Countess Dohna, was Ballet is a formalized form of Dance with its origins in the French court further developed in France and Russia as a Concert dance Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. Ariana Nozeman (alt A(driana Noseman/Nooseman born Ariana van den Bergh (1626/1628 in Middelburg – December 7, 1661 in Amsterdam) was In those days, it was commonly known as "Lejonkulan" ("The Lion's Den"), because a lion, a tribute from the Thirty Years War, was kept there during the reign of Christina. For the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War see Char Bouba war. For the band see The 30 Years War.

Court theater and foreign theater

In 1667, when the mourning period for the queen dowager-regent Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp had ended and the Swedish court exploded with parties and a search for amusement, Bollhuset was turned into a theater 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. Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (23 October 1636 &ndash 24 November 1715 was the queen consort of King Charles X of Sweden and Queen mother of Plays had been performed at the universities by students long before this, though, and in 1686–1691, a group of students from Uppsala University played at the theater. Uppsala University ( Swedish Uppsala universitet) is a world-class research University in Uppsala, Sweden.

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, fireworks, tightrope-walking and pantomime and thus, with their more visual way of acting, was more easy to understand for those who could not understand the language spoken. Events and trends The Great Awakening - A Protestant religious movement active in the British colonies of North America Acrobatics (from Greek Akros, high and bat, walking is one of the Performing arts, and is also practiced as a Sport. A firework is classified as a low explosive pyrotechnic device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes Pantomime (informally panto) (not to be confused with a Mime artist, referring to a theatrical performer of mime is a performance genre traditionally found 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. In the 18th century, it was called "Stora Bollhuset" (Big Bollhuset), as they were also the "Lilla Bollhuset", (Small Bollhuset), built in 1648, or simply "Bollhusteatern", (The Bollhus Theater). The theater was closed in fifteen years during the Great Northern War when the economy made it impossible to pay the actors' wages. The Great Northern War (1700-21 was fought between Russia and Sweden for supremacy in the Baltic Sea.

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). The Age of Liberty (Frihetstiden is the half a century long experiment with a Parliamentary system and increasing Civil Rights in the period from Charles 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 Gardies comedients", made by noble youths. Events and trends Manufacture of the earliest surviving Pianos World leaders Louis XV King of France Events and trends The Great Awakening - A Protestant religious movement active in the British colonies of North America Magnus Julius De la Gardie, ( April 14 1668 – April 28 1741) son of Axel Julius De la Gardie, was a Swedish general and statesman After the amateur-performance Tobias by a couple of idealistic studen'ts at the birthday of king Frederick I of Sweden 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. Frederick I (Fredrik I ( 23 April 1676 – 25 March 1751) was King of Sweden from 1720 and Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel This was granted by the Riksdag, who encouraged the establishment of the first native troupe of actors. The Riksdag is the official Swedish term of the Parliament of Sweden and the Parliament of Finland (in Finland alongside 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, Den Svenska Sprätthöken, was performed in October 1737 with Johan Palmberg and Beata Sabina Straas in the leading parts, and during the 1740s, the plays in Bollhuset 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 and ballet performed by native artists for the first time. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Ballet is a formalized form of Dance with its origins in the French court further developed in France and Russia as a Concert dance

The theater was first under the rule of the state; it's 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 actors were popular among the public, the native aristocracy, who were French-influenced, was less enthusiastic. In 1753, the Swedish actors were fired by queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, who hired a French theater company instead, and the Swedish troop split in two; one, the Stenborg Troupe under Petter Stenborg, 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. Louisa Ulrika of Prussia ( Swedish: Lovisa Ulrika; German: Luise Ulrike) (1720&mdash1782 was a Swedish Queen Queen consort of Sweden The Stenborg troupe was a Swedish Theatre Comedy troupe active in Sweden and Finland in the 18th century Petter Stenborg, (1719-1781 was a Swedish actor and theater director who played an important role of the continuation of the native speaking theater in Sweden 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, husband of the Swedish actress Elisabeth Lillström. Lisa or Elise (Elisabeth Lillström, née Söderman (b 1717- d

The French troupe followed the court and they stayed in Bollhuset 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. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The building was also used for public masquerade balls; the first was organized alredy in 1701 by the French troupe of Rosidor, and the 1763 year carneval on Bollhuset attracted 600 guests and gave profit of §6000. A masquerade ball (or bal masqué) is an event which the participants attend in Costume wearing a Mask.

The second national theater and Opera

In 1771, king Gustav III of Sweden fired the French theater company, and the Swedish actors, lead by Petter Stenborg, then saw their chance and asked to perform a play at the opening of the parliament of 1772. Gustav III ( – 29 March 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death At the opening of parliament in 1772, the troupe of Petter Stenborg appeared before King Gustav III 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. Year 1772 ( MDCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Gustav III ( – 29 March 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death

The 18 January 1773, the opera Thetis and Phelée, performed by Carl Stenborg and the concert-singer Elisabeth Olin in the leading roles, inagurated the Swedish Royal Opera, which was a great success. Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Elisabeth Olin, née Lillström, (born December 1740 dead 26 March 1828) was one of the first professional female Singers in Sweden This was an opera, not a theater, and the attempts to perform speaking drama was not very successful. At the inaguration, the building had ben redecorated; the walls where painted in greyish-yealow, the boxes in red, excpet 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, to educate and perform with the first generation of new Swedish-speaking actors at Bollhuset. Jacques Marie Boutet ( March 25, 1745 - 1812 was a French actor and comic Dramatist from Lunéville. 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 separetly, 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. The Royal Dramatic Theatre or in Swedish Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially known in Sweden as Dramaten, is Sweden's national 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; 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. 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 1792, Bollhuset was deemed to be too old and decayed, and it was torn down 1793; in the actors moved to the palace Makalös, (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

The Dutch troupe 1667-1674

This troupe opened the Theater with the play Orontes en Satira by Magnon in February 1667.

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.

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 German troupe 1691–1697

The French troupe 1699–1706

The German troupe 1721

The French Opera Theatre 1723–1727

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

The German troupe 1731–1737

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

The first Swedish troupe 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.

The French Theatre 1753–1771

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 (b Venice, c1702 d Copenhagen, 28 April 1759 was an Italian Impresario active across continental Europe They also performed in concerts in Riddarhuset.

The second Swedish troupe 1773–1782

This was an opera troupe, not a theatrical troupe.

The French troupe 1783–1792

The French troupe was a separate and autonomous troupe within the building called "The French Theatre". They came to Sweden in 1781 and performed in Drottingholm until 1783. They acted as instructors to the Swedsih actors until Dramatens elvskola was founded. TYhye whee fired after the death of king Gustav III.

The Swedish troupe 1787–1793

The first native troupe for spoken drama in Bollhuset since 1754. The actors was instructed by the French troupe, and formed it's own theatre under Fredrik Ristell in 1787. When it went bancrupt in 1788, it formed the Royal Dramatic Theatre.

See also

References

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