Anna Bloch
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Anna Kirstine Bloch (née Lindemann; 2 February 1868, in
Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...
– 25 November 1953, in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
) was a
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
actress.


Early life

Anna Lindemann's mother Bodil Margrethe Gylding (1838–1875) died when she was seven years old. Her father Johan Sørensen Lindemann (1825–1909) was a doctor in Horsens. She was taught privately, and consistently showed an enthusiasm for the theatre. Her father regarded acting as an unsuitable profession but eventually allowed her to join the
Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...
after talking to its general director Edvard Fallesen.


Career

At the Royal Theatre, Anna Lindemann was a student of and debuted in 1885 as Titania in
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''. Between her first two roles she was taught by her husband to be, . Together they wrote ''Miss Nelly'' in 1886, in which she later played the main role. After their marriage in Summer 1887, she took her husband's surname. Anna Bloch's breakthrough came in 1888 as Trine in ''April Fools'' by Johan Ludvig Heiberg. Literary historian credits her with the "phenomenal run of 31 performances" of this modernised revival of the 1826 original. Another early role was that of Hilde in Ibsen's ''
The Lady from the Sea ''The Lady from the Sea'' ( no, Fruen fra havet, link=no) is a play written in 1888 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen inspired by the ballad '' Agnete og Havmanden''. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed ...
'' in 1889. Bloch was awarded the Ingenio et arti gold medal in 1910. This was the 25th anniversary of her first role, and in a commentary for ''
Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...
'', Danish writer Emma Gad says that Bloch could make a normally insignificant role seem important to a play, as with the "brilliant and peculiar humour" of her portrayal of the "noble slut" () Eugenia in
Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...
's ''Don Ranudo de Colibrados''. For Gad, her most memorable performance was as the peasant girl Anjutha in
Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
's ''
The Power of Darkness ''The Power of Darkness'' (russian: Власть тьмы, Vlast′ t′my) is a five- act drama by Leo Tolstoy. Written in 1886, the play's production was forbidden in Russia until 1902, mainly through the influence of Konstantin Pobedonostsev. I ...
'', where she was "gripped by a fear so wild" that "her mysterious horror ... rippled down to the auditorium and ran like a shudder from row to row." Bloch left the Royal Theatre in 1918, although she returned for a season as guest actress and rejoined from 1922 to 1925. She found herself typecast as the young girl or woman, even playing the fourteen-year-old Hedevig in Ibsen's ''
The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is considered the first modern masterpiece in the genre of tragicomedy. ''The Wild Duck'' and ''Rosmersholm'' are "often ...
'' in 1921 at the age of 53. Only really at home in 19th century theatre and unable to find suitable roles in the new era which began after the First World War, she was overtaken by the naturalism in theatre arts which she had helped pioneer. She did however tour the provinces, and appeared at the
Betty Nansen Teatret Betty Nansen Teatret (Betty Nansen Theatre) is a theatre situated on Frederiksberg Allé in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from the actress Betty Nansen, who managed it from 1917 until her death in 1943. Histo ...
. She can be heard in a scene from
Jens Christian Hostrup Jens Christian Hostrup (20 May 1818 in Copenhagen – 21 November 1892 in Frederiksberg) was a Danish poet, dramatist and priest. Comforting and encouraging the people, he created poems that filled the hearts of his compatriots. His precise person ...
's ' (''The neighbours across the road'') recorded in 1938. Danish literary critic refers to Bloch as the Royal Theatre's "foremost naturalist actor" of the time. Although she never acted in films, she was, according to Riis, a role model for Danish actress
Clara Pontoppidan Clara Pontoppidan (23 April 1883 – 22 January 1975), also known as Clara Wieth, was a Danish actress. She worked mainly in Swedish and Danish silent films, including ''A Victim of the Mormons'' (Denmark, 1911). Personal life Clara Ponto ...
. She wrote a one-act comedy ' (''Such bills''). The Royal Theatre presented this in 1923 with Bloch in the leading role and it was published in 1924. She also wrote two
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
s, ''Epilog'' in 1934 and ''Veni, vidi, vici'' in 1935. Anna Bloch is buried in
Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is landscape ...
, Copenhagen.


Roles

Anna Bloch's roles included:


Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

* 1885 ''
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'' as Titania * 1885 ''Den bogstavelige udtydning'' as Jenny * 1888 '' Barselstuen'' as Dorte Knapmagers * 1888 '' Det lykkelige skibbrud'' as Young Girl * 1891 ''Hedda Gabler'' as Thea Elvsted * 1900 ''Recensenten og dyret'' as Rose, opvartningspige (waiting girl) * 1901 ''Skærmydsler'' as Ellen * 1904 ''Opstandelse'' as Fedosia * 1905 ''Ole Lukøje'' as Poor Relative * 1906 ''Helte'' as Raina, Petkoff's daughter * 1909 ''Naar den ny vin blomstrer'' as Albert * 1912 ''En søndag paa Amager'' as Lisbeth * 1912 ''Indenfor murene'' as Esther * 1913 ''Affæren'' as Amalie Busk * 1914 ''Kærlighed og lykketræf'' as Silvia, Orgon's daughter * 1915 ''Lottens forlovede'' as Emmy Tørning, writer * 1916 ''Det levende lig'' as Anna Dmitrijenva Karenin * 1916 ''Taarnet'' as Gertrud Funke * 1921 ''Den kære familie'' as Ida, Friis' daughter * 1923 ''Aprilsnarrene'' as Trine, Madam Rar's daughter * 1923 ''Forældre'', in various roles


Dagmar Theatre

* 1936 ''Dronningens mand'' as Dronning Martha (Queen Martha)


Hotelteatret

* 1914 ''Kærlighed og lykketræf'' as Silvia, Orgon's daughter


Odense Theatre Odense Teater is a theater in the city of Odense in Denmark. It dates back to 1796, which makes it Denmark's second oldest theater. It is one of the country's three main theaters. The venue is located in Jernbanegade, where it has three stages: ...

* 1918 '' Den vægelsindede'' as Lucretia


Aarhus Theatre The Aarhus Theatre (Danish: ''Aarhus Teater'') in Aarhus, is the largest provincial theatre in Denmark. The present theatre house was constructed in the late 19th century, as a replacement for the old theatre, nicknamed "''Svedekassen''" (The Swe ...

* 1906 ''Stor i skrøbelighed'' as Emma Jansen * 1906 ''Aprilsnarrene'' as Trine * 1918 ''Den kære familie'' as Emily * 1918 ''Den vægelsindede'' as Lucretia


Publications

*


References


Citations

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Anna 1868 births 1953 deaths Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen Danish stage actresses 19th-century Danish actresses 20th-century Danish actresses Danish women memoirists 19th-century Danish memoirists 20th-century Danish memoirists People from Horsens Recipients of Ingenio et Arti