Johanne Luise Heiberg
| Johanne Luise Heiberg | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Johanne Luise Pätges 22 November 1812 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Died | 21 December 1890 (aged 78) Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Occupation | Actress Stage Director |
| Years active | 1820–1874 |
| Spouse(s) | Johan Ludvig Heiberg |
Johanne Luise Heiberg (Danish pronunciation: [johanə luiːsə ˈhɑɪ̯b̥æɐ̯ˀ]; née Pätges; 22 November 1812 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish actress of the 19th century. She is most famous for her work at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, where she achieved great success.
Heiberg was the daughter of a stallholder and innkeeper and his Jewish wife. She showed artistic gifts very early and entered ballet school in 1820. With the help of patrons she was promoted to the rank of an actress and made a successful debut in 1827. From then on she was considered the best leading actress of Danish theatre.
In 1831 she married the famous and much older critic and dramatist Johan Ludvig Heiberg, a marriage that raised her position even further and led to her being known as just “Mrs Heiberg”. “The Heibergs” became a Copenhagen concept and their home was a cultural centre. In return the dual position of the Heibergs as the leading lady of the theatre married to its main playwright also aroused much jealousy and accusations of favouritism. Her great popularity with the public did not prevent her making enemies, and her sometimes aggressive and arrogant one-sidedness (revealed in her autobiography) must be blamed for some of this. Her husband’s time as the director of the Royal Theatre 1849-56 ended in an open conflict with her colleagues, and for a short period she even left the theatre. The death of her husband in 1860 and her age caused her retirement as an actress 1864 — still at her height — though she worked as a stage director until 1874.
Mrs Heiberg played about 275 roles. Her exotic beauty combined with culture and elegance secured her position, though she was not the only talented Danish actress of her age. Among her roles must be mentioned some Shakespeare characters (such as Viola in Twelfth Night) and especially in French comedies and dramas. In Danish dramas she shone in Holberg’s and Oehlenschläger's plays, and especially in her husband’s dramas; her performance in Elves' Hill (Danish: Elverhøi) was a classic. Her strength was intelligence, controlled passion and wit, but she did not show the same talent for tragedy. She was muse to a whole generation of Danish dramatists, and especially inspired Henrik Hertz to write many of his main female roles for her. She also wrote some few (not especially important) vaudeville acts herself; the most popular is En Søndag paa Amager (“A Sunday at Amager”, 1845).
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