Beata Sabina Straas
| Beata Straas | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Beata Sabina Straas unknown year Sweden |
| Died | 1773 Sweden |
| Other names | Madame Åberg |
| Spouse(s) | Andreas Åberg |
Beata Sabina Straas (or Strass) (year of birth unknown, died 1773), known also as Madame Åberg following her marriage, was the first professional native actress in Sweden and a member of the first pioneer troupe in the first Swedish national theatre of 1737.
When the first national theatre was founded in the old premises at Bollhuset, in 1737, where only foreign theatre troupes had previously performed, they were only male actors in the original native troupe, and so the theatre advertised for women to play the female parts before the theatre's formal premiere. In Sweden, unlike in some other countries, there was never any real opposition against women performing on the stage. It was considered natural to have women perform the female parts in the plays, and on 25 May 1737, two women were hired to perform the female parts. One was deemed not suitable, but the other was Straas.
Straas is reported to have been hired on May 25, 1737, and she was not only the first known actress to originate from Sweden, but also the first actor regardless of gender from this first native troupe whose name is mentioned in the documents. In June 1737, two other women, known only as "Miss Wijkman" and "Miss Lund" were hired. Wijkman is believed to have been Magdalena Wickman, former maid at the theatre interested household of Brita Sophia De la Gardie. Wijkman and Lund are not mentioned after 1739.
The birth year and parents of Straas is unknown. Her brother is listed as a servant in the royal court in 1729, and she herself worked as a Lady's maid for, first, the lady-in-waiting Josepha Pflueg, and then, later, to Countess Rindsmaul, a background which was useful to her as an actress; she knew how to act in so-called grande dame- and noblewoman roles.
Straas played the female main part of Lotta Enterfelt opposite Johan Palmberg and Birger Hildon in the famous play Den Svenska Sprätthöken (The Swedish Fop) by Carl Gyllenborg (known as the first original Swedish language comedy), at the official premiere of the national theatre of Bollhuset. This was the first time a Swedish troupe had performed in the Stockholm theatre since the student troupe of 1691, and they were considered to be the first professional native Swedish speaking theatre troupe.
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