Bollhuset, also called by the names Stora Bollhuset, Bollhusteatern, and Lejonkulan during the centuries, was the name of the first theatre of Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theatre and the first real theatre building in Scandinavia. 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. For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ...

Between 1667 and 1792 it was used as a theatre until it was torn down in 1793; in 1773-1781 the Royal Swedish Opera (and thereby the Royal Swedish Ballet) was located here, in 1781 the national theatre was founded in the building, and from 1788 it was the home of the Royal Dramatic Theatre. The Royal Swedish Opera, as seen from the southwest The Royal Swedish Opera, or Kungliga Operan, is the national stage for opera in Sweden. ... King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773. ... The Royal Dramatic Theatre or in Swedish Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially known in Sweden as Dramaten, is Swedens national stage for spoken drama. Around one thousand shows are played annually on the theatres eight running stages. ...

History

The building was located on Slottsbacken near the Royal palace Tre Kronor. It was described as a large, but simple building of white bricks with a hip roof. During the 17th century, foreign travelling theatre companies often visited Stockholm, especially from Germany and the Netherlands, but they performed in temporary locals; the German theatre troop of Christian Theun l. 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. Upper section of Slottsbacken in front of the Royal Palace and the cathedral. ... For other uses, see Tre kronor. ... A hip roof A bungalow in Chicago with a hipped roof A hip roof on a rectangular plan A hip roof on a varied plan, h denotes a hip, v denotes a valley A Dutch Gable roof, (Australian terminology) hip roof construction in Northern Australia showing multinail truss construction. ...

Already, during the reign of Queen Christina of Sweden, ballets and conserts had ben performed in Bollhuset, the first time in 1649 by an Italian company led by Vincenzo Albrici, and a Dutch theatre-company acted there in 1652 which counted Ariana Nozeman among its members, but this was temporary. 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. Christina (1626-1689) or Kristina, later known as Maria Christina Alexandra and sometime Count Dohna, was Queen of Sweden from 1632 to 1654, was the daughter of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. ... For other uses, see Ballet (disambiguation). ... Ariana Nozeman (alt: A(d)riana Noseman/Nooseman): born Ariana van den Bergh (born 1626/1628 in Middelburg; died December 7, 1661 in Amsterdam), was the first actress in The Netherlands. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ...

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 theatre and decorated as such and foreign theatre companies were hired to perform for the court, often from France, Germany and the Netherlands, as Sweden did not have any theatre tradition and therefore no native actors. 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 theatre. Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (October 23, 1634 – November 24, 1715), was a queen consort of Sweden. ... The Neo-Renaissance main University building in the University Park, Uppsala (designed by Herman Teodor Holmgren and completed in 1887). ...

The foreign actors at Bollhuset did play for the public occasionally, but as most people could not understand foreign languages, it remained mostly a theatre for the court, and for those whithin society who have learned foreign languages. An illustrating example of this is, that the foreign truop, which seems to have ben most popular among the public, the German truop of the 1730s, was a truop with displayed acrobatics, fireworks, tight-rope-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. During it's history, the building was used not only by formally hired truops, but also by travelling theatre companies passing through town. Events and Trends The Great Awakening - A Protestant religious movement active in the British colonies of North America Sextant invented (probably around 1730) independently by John Hadley in Great Britain and Thomas Godfrey in the American colonies World leaders Louis XV King of France (king from 1715 to 1774) George... High wire act Acrobatics (from Greek Akros, high and bat, walking) is one of the performing arts, and is also practiced as a sport. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Fireworks. ... The Christmas Pantomime colour lithograph bookcover, 1890 Pantomime (informally, panto) refers to a theatrical genre, traditionally found in Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, which is usually performed around the Christmas and New Year holiday season. ...

The building possibly (but this is disputed) burnt down with the royal palace in 1697, but 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 Theatre). The theater was closed in fifteen years during the Great Northern War when the economy made it impossible to pay the actors' wages. Combatants Sweden Ottoman Empire (1710–1714) Ukrainian Cossacks Russia Denmark-Norway Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Saxony after 1718 Prussia Hanover Commanders Charles XII of Sweden Ahmed III Ivan Mazepa Peter the Great Frederick IV of Denmark Augustus II the Strong Strength 77,000 in the beginning of the war. ...

The first Swedish play, Den Svenska Sprätthöken, was performed in 1737 with Petter Palmborg and Beata Sabina Straas in the leading parts, and during the 1740s, several plays with Swedish-speaking actors was performed at Bollhuset, which made it accessible for the public for the first time; at this point, the theatre had eight hundred seats. The theater was first under the rule of the state; it's first play was a politicall one. This did not last long and from 1740 it was ruled by the theater troup themselwes and entirely depended on the audience after the loss of governement support. But this first attempt to start a native Swedish theatre 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 theatre company instead, and the Swedish troop split in two; one, under Petter Stenborg, performed in smaller houses, "touring" around the city of Stockholm, and the other toured in the countryside under Johan Bergholtz and Peter Lindahl. The French troupe also followed the court and they stayed in Bollhuset only in winter. Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (Swedish: Lovisa Ulrika; German: Luise Ulrike) (1720—1782) was Queen consort of Sweden between 1751 and 1771. ...

In 1771, king Gustav III of Sweden fired the French theatre company, and the Swedish actors, now led by Carl Stenborg, then saw their chance and asked to perform a play at the opening of the parliament of 1772. The king liked it enough to allow them to perform another play, an opera, in 1773, Thetis and Phelée, performed by Carl Stenborg and the concert-singer Elisabeth Olin, and the success was so great that the king decided to found a Swedish-speaking theatre and opera, and the Royal Swedish Opera was founded the same year and located in Bollhuset. This was an opera, not a theatre, and the attempts to perform speaking drama was not very successful. Gustav III, King of the Swedes, the Goths and the Vends, etc. ... Portrait of Elisabeth Olin Elisabeth Olin, née Lillström, (1740-1828) was one of the first professional female singers in Sweden, the first Swedish Opera- prima donna, a court-singer, an actress, and composer. ...

In 1781 the king, in his effort to establish a Swedish theatre, 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; the opera was the year after 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 theatre. Jacques Marie Boutet (1745 - 1812) was a French actor and comic dramatist - his pseudonym was Monvel. ...

Monvel left the country in 1786, and in 1788 the second director fled the country to escape his creditors, so the actors formed a company and asked for the king's protection; he became the formal director, placed the theatre under Royal protection, 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 , founded in 1773 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. ...

In 1792–1793, Bollhuset was deemed to be too old and decayed and was torn down; the actors moved to the palace Makalös, (also called The Arsenal), where the Royal Dramatic Theatre was to reside until 1825, after which it again was reunited with the Opera. In 1798–1842, the theatres and operas of Stockholm were united by a royal monopoly.

Actors and companies in the Theatre of Bollhuset

The Dutch troupe 1667-1674

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

• Salomon Fino
• Jan Baptista van Fornenberg, 1624-1697, director of the troupe.
• Helena Heusen, 1622-1680.
• Daniel Loodewicx
• Anna Parkar-Boonefaes
• Geertruyt Rijndorp-Boonefaes

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.

• Gillis Nozeman, husband of Ariana Nozeman
• Trial Parkar
• Jacob Sammers, 1632-1689.

Ariana Nozeman (alt: A(d)riana Noseman/Nooseman): born Ariana van den Bergh (born 1626/1628 in Middelburg; died December 7, 1661 in Amsterdam), was the first actress in The Netherlands. ...

The Swedish student-troupe from Uppsala 1686–1691

This troup was made of idealistic students and al male. It had played in Uppsala 1682-86.

• O. Rudbeck
• Isak Börk
• Carl Johan Ollieqvisth
• Andreas Strömbergh
• Georg Törnqvist-Adlercreutz

The German troupe 1691–1697

• Ferdinand Egidius Paulusen
• Johann Velthens
• Frau Velthens

The French troupe 1699–1706

• Marie Anne Aubert, singer.
• Jean Francois Bénard, dancer
• J.B. de Crous, musician.
• Gillette Boutelvier-Duchemin, d. 1765.
• Jean Pierre Duchemin, 1674-1754.
• Antoine Dupré, musician.
• Francoise Fabe-Picard, dancer
• Claude Ferdinand Guillemay du Chesnay de Rosidor, (ca 1660, d.after 1718),director of the troupe.
• Marianne Guillemay du Chesnay Bérge de Rosidor
• Robert Lemoine de la France, musician
• Henri de la Motte, musician.
• Louis Picard, dancer.
• Jacques Rénot, musician.
• Marie Trouche-du Chesnay-de Rosidor, d.1705.

The title director has been used in colonial administrations not only as a bureaucratic rank and for the members of a board of directors, but also specifically, as in this article, for the head of the colonial administration of a territory (e. ...

The German troupe 1721

• Gabriel Müller

The French troupe 1723–1727

• Jeanne Perrette le Chevalier, 1688-1774.
• Charles Langlois, 1692-1762, later director of the Bollhus Theater in 1737-1739 and 1740-1754.
• Jean Baptiste Landé, dancer.

The German troupe 1731–1737

This is described more like a cirkus-troup, with fireworks, acrobatics, pantomime and Harlequin-performances.

• Kreutzer
• Martin Müller

The first Swedish troupe 1737–1754

• Johan Bergholtz (d. 1774)
• Christian Berner, (1702-1773), dancer.
• Johanna Catharina Enbeck-Gentschein
• Margareta Maria Fabritz, (1716-1800), one of the first Swedish-speaking actresses, mother of Margareta Seuerling.
• Nils Flodell, (1714-1759).
• Anna Maria Göttling
• Anders Hallberg, (b. 1722)
• Kristian Knöppel, (1717-1800), dramatic.
• Peter Lindahl, (1712-1792), comic and director.
• Johan Ohle, (1704-1766), singer and musician.
• Johan Palmberg, (1713-1781)
• Brita Christina Schenbom
• Petter Stenborg, (1719-1781), one of the first Swedish-speaking actors, star.
• Beata Sabina Straas, (d.1773), the first native actress in Sweden.
• Lisa Söderman-Lillström, (born 1717), one of Sweden's first professional actresses, prima donna, mother of Elisabeth Olin.

Margareta (or Margaretha) Seuerling, née Lindahl, (1747-1820), was a Swedish actress and Theatre director in a travelling theate company, perhaps the most known travelling actress of her time in Scandinavia, active in both Sweden and Finland. ... 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. ... Look up Prima donna in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Portrait of Elisabeth Olin Elisabeth Olin, née Lillström, (1740-1828) was one of the first professional female singers in Sweden, the first Swedish Opera- prima donna, a court-singer, an actress, and composer. ...

The French troupe 1753–1771

• Marie Dumont-Prévost Baptiste, singer, prima donna, mother of Marie Louise Marcadet.
• Angelique Madeleine Cénas, child actor (born 1757).
• Gaspard Cénas, dancer, father of Angelique Madeleine Cénas.
• Therese Antoinette Cénas, sister of Angelique Madeleine Cénas.
• Francois Antoine Joseph Rousseau-Chatillon, 1729-1802.
• Barbe Marguerite Henry-Coudurier, comedienne, mother of Angelique Madeleine Cénas.
• Ninon Dubois de Clerc, dancer, emplyed until 1779.
• Marie Jeanne Chateauneuf-Dulondel, 1706-1772
• Monsieur Compani-Despierviére
• Madame Desroches
• Louis Gallodier, (1733-1803), dancing master.
• Marie Marguerite Morel, dancer.
• Pierre-Claude Senisseler-Soligny

Marie Louise Marcadet, nee Baptiste, (1758-1804), was a Swedish actress and singer. ...

The Italian troupe 1754–1767

This was an opera-troup, ment to complemetn the French theater-truop.* Giovanni Coci, tenor.

• Rosa Scarlatti, 1727-1775.
• Francesco Uttini, 1723-1795, conductor of the Royal orchestra 1767-1788, composer of the orchestra in Bollhuset from 1772.

The second Swedish troupe 1772–1782

This was an opera troupe, not a theatrical troupe.

• Lovisa Augusti, (1756-1790), opera singer.
• Charlotte Eckerman, (1759-1790), dramatic, (this actress was immortalized in a painting by Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller).
• Anna Sophia Holmstedt, (1759–1807)
• Kristofer Kristian Karsten, (1756-1827), singer, maternal grandfather of Marie Taglioni.
• Lars Samuel Lalin, 1729-1785, singing-master.
• Elisabeth Olin, (1740–1828), daughter of Lisa Söderman-Lillström.
• Ulrica Rosenlund, (d.1779).
• Charlotte Slottsberg, (1760-1800), the first Swedish ballerina, also a royal mistress of Charles XIII of Sweden.
• Franziska Stading, (1763–1836).
• Carl Stenborg (1752–1813), considered founder of the Swedish-speaking theatre and opera.
• Diedrich Tellerstedt, singer.
• Hedvig Wigert

Lovisa Sofia Augusti, born as Ester Salomon (or Salmoni), (1756-1790), was a Swedish singer. ... Charlotte (Charlotta) Beata Eckerman, 1759-1790, was a Swedish opera singer and actor. ... Marie Taglioni, in a colored lithograph, circa 1831 (Victoria & Albert Museum). ... Portrait of Elisabeth Olin Elisabeth Olin, née Lillström, (1740-1828) was one of the first professional female singers in Sweden, the first Swedish Opera- prima donna, a court-singer, an actress, and composer. ... Gustava Charlotte Slottsberg, (1760-1800), was a Swedish ballerina-dancer, one of the first native dancers on the Swedish Opera and one of the most successful ones. ... Maya Plisetskaya, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet from 1943 to 1960 and prima ballerina assoluta from 1960 to 1990. ... Charles XIII (Swe: Karl XIII) (October 7, 1748 - February 5, 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway (where he was known as Carl II) from 1814 until his death. ...

The Swedish-French troupe 1781–1792

• Samuel Ahlgren, (1764-1816), often played the hero-parts.
• Abraham de Broen, (1759–1804) one of the most dominant actors of his time in Sweden.
• Louis Deland, (1772-1823), dancer, singer, comedian.
• Francois Felix
• Gertrud Elisabeth Forsselius, (1771–1850) comedienne and singer, married to Johann Christian Friedrich Haeffner in her first marriage.
• Maria Franck, (1769–1847), dramatic actress, later director of the theatre school Dramatens elevskola.
• Caroline Halle-Müller, singer.
• Jeanette Fredrique Löf, (1760–1813) Counted as the most celebrated Swedish actress of her time.
• Marie Louise Marcadet, (1758–1804), singer and tragedienne.
• Anne Marie Milan Desguillons
• Madame Rémy
• Lars Hjortsberg (1772-1843), singer and dramatic comedian.
• Kjell Waltman (1758-1799), comedian.
• Andreas Widerberg (1766-1810), dramatic.
• Inga Åberg, (1773-1837).

Johann Christian Friedrich Hæffner (2 March 1759 in Oberschönau – 28 May 1833 in Uppsala) was a German-born Swedish composer. ... Maria Kristina Franck, (1769-1847), was a Swedish actress. ... Dramatens elevskola - Class 1922-24. ... Caroline Frederikke Halle-Müller, (1755-1826), was a Danish and later Swedish singer, dancer and actress. ... Jeanette Fredrique Löf (1760-1813), was a Swedish actress and singer, considered the greatest and most popular actress in Sweden of her time, the greatest swedish primadonna before Emilie Högquist. ... Marie Louise Marcadet, nee Baptiste, (1758-1804), was a Swedish actress and singer. ... Anne Marie Milan Desguillons, (1753-1829), was a French actress active in Sweden. ... Inga Åberg, (1773-1837), was one of the most popular and well known actors of her time in Sweden, active at both the Royal Dramatic Theater and the Royal Swedish Opera between 1787 and 1810. ...

See also

• Bollhustäppan
• Bollhusgränd
• Finnish Church
• History of Stockholm
• Culture in Stockholm

Bollhustäppan (Swedish: The Ball House Patch) is a small public space in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. ... Row of narrow façades of Number 3-5. ... This is the history of the city of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. ... Stockholm is rife with museums. ...

External links and sources

• Swedish theatre history
• Svensk Uppslagsbok, 1947 års utgåva. (Swedish)
• Sources for the actors employed (Swedish)
• Alf Henriksson, "Fram till Nybroplan". (Swedish)
• http://runeberg.org/nfcg/0055.html
• http://runeberg.org/samlaren/1889/0059.html
• http://runeberg.org/samlaren/1900/0041.html (source for the troupes), (in Swedish)
• http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/alba001lang01_01/alba001lang01_01_0015.htm, (source for the Dutch troupes) (in Dutch).
• http://www.cesar.org.uk/cesar2/troupes/troupes.php?fct=edit&company_UOID=311675 (Source for the actors in the French troupe)
• Tryggve Byström, "Svenska Komedien 1737-1754" (Swedish Comedy 1737-1754), (Swedish)