Betzy "Betty" Christiane Smidth (5 March 1819 – 31 January 1892) was a Danish stage actress and opera soprano. She is known to have been the opera primadonna of the Norwegian stage in the mid 19th-century. She was from Denmark, and made her debut in Copenhagen in 1836. She was engaged at the

Christiania Theatre Christiania Theatre, or ''Kristiania Theatre'', was Norway's finest stage for spoken drama from 4 October 1836 (opening date) to 1 September 1899. It was located at Bankplassen by the Akershus Fortress, in central Christiania. It was the firs ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in Norway in 1837-50, where she reportedly succeeded

Augusta Schrumpf Augusta Schrumpf, née Smith (19 November 1813 – 7 January 1900) was a Norwegian dramatic actress and operatic soprano. She was the prima donna of the national stage of Norway in the first half of the 19th century. She belonged to the pioneer ...

as the leading operatic star of the Norwegian stage. She was particularly known for her ability as a

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a c ...

, and among her more famed roles where Angela in ''Black Domino''. She resumed her career in Denmark in 1850, where she had a moderately successful career at the '' Kasinoteatern'' and '' Folketheatret'' until her retirement in 1884.

References

* Smidth, Betzy (kaldet Betty) Christiane i Carl Frederik Bricka, Dansk Biografisk Leksikon (första utgåvan, 1902) * https://web.archive.org/web/20080222171249/http://www.hf.uio.no/imv/forskning/forskningsprosjekter/norgesmusikk/musikkhistarkiv/Qvamme/Kjerulf_opera.html * Norge: Teater i Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon (andra utgåvan, 1924) * Schrumpf, Augusta i Carl Frederik Bricka, Dansk Biografisk Leksikon (första utgåvan, 1901) * Børre Qvamme: ''Norsk musikkhistorisk arkiv. Børre Qvammes samlinger. HALFDAN KJERULF OG OPERAEN'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Smidth, Betty 1819 births 1892 deaths 19th-century Norwegian actresses 19th-century Danish women opera singers