The Casino Theatre was a theatre located at

Amaliegade Amaliegade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which makes up the longer of the two axes on which the Rococo district Frederiksstaden is centred. Amaliegade extends from Sankt Annæ Plads to Esplanaden, passing through the central plaza o ...

10 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 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. It was built as an entertainment venue by

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...

-founder

Georg Carstensen Johan Bernhard Georg Carstensen (31 August 1812 – 4 January 1857) was one of the developers of Tivoli Gardens and a Danish army officer. He spent most of his childhood in the Near East. He travelled widely and had a career in the military Royal ...

but was converted into a theatre in 1848. It closed in 1937 and the building was demolished in 1960.

History

Origins

Built by

, founder of

, Casino was originally envisioned as a "Winter Tivoli" with bazaar, promenade concerts and soirées. Carstensen financed the project through the sale of shares. In November 1845, he had raised 200,000

Danish rigsdaler The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were ofte ...

. The building was designed by H. C. Stilling who had also worked for Carstensen during the establishment of Tivoli Gardens. The entertainment venue opened on 22 February 1847.

The theatre

The entertainment never gained popularity in its original form and was soon converted into a theatre. The first play premiered on 26 December 1848. The Casino Theatre catered to a broader audience than the Royal Theatre at

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv ( lit. "The King's New Square") is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection with ...

. It was a place where common people went, often with their children. Its repertoire consisted of comedies, revue

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

s and operettas. Revue as Danish theatre genre was founded with ''Nytårsnat 1850''. Productions included

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

's ''Meer end perler og guld'' and ''Ole Lukøje'' as well as comedies by

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 ...

and Thomas Overskou.

Political meetings, carnivals and concerts

Casino is associated with the Casino Meetings, two public political meetings which took place during the so-called March Revolution in March 1848, culminating in the adoption of the

Constitution of Denmark The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...

. The first meeting took place on 11 March 1848 at the initiative of the national liberal leaders Hvidt, H. N. Clausen and Tscherning, attracting approximately 2,300 participants. The occasion was news about the political demands made by Schleswig-Holstein at a political rally in

Rendsborg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

. The second Casino Meeting, which took place on 20 March, resulted in the adoption of a resolution written by

Orla Lehmann Peter Martin Orla Lehmann (15 May 1810 – 13 September 1870) was a Danish statesman, a key figure in the development of Denmark's parliamentary government. He was born in Copenhagen, son of (1775–1856), assessor, later conference councillor ...

. The next day, approximately 15,000 people marched to

Christiansborg Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

where

Christian VII Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto he chose: "''Gloria ex amore patriae''" ...

had just dissolved his government. New political meetings took place in Casino on 29 August and 28 September 1854, resulting in the foundation of an association for the defence of the Constitution. Another political meeting took place in the Casino Theatre in 1863, leading to the fatal decision that Schleswig should be incorporated into Denmark. The Casino Theatre was also used as a venue for balls, concerts and a series of carnivals.

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

Piano Concerto in A minor The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and is among the most popular of the genre. Structure The concerto is in three movements: ...

was for the first time performed on 3 April 1869 in the Casino Theatre.

20th century

Fritz Petersen took over the position as theatre director in 1904. The Casino Theatre closed in 1937 as a result of the economic crisis of the 1940s and the growing popularity of motion films. The theatre reopened for a farewell show with scenes from its most popular productions on 1 April 1939. The building was converted into a warehouse. It was demolished in 1960.

Notable productions

* 3 October 1849: ''Meer end Perler og Guld'' * 1 March 1850: ''Oke Lukøje'' * 1935: ''Champagnegaloppen''

Directors

Cultural references

Herman Bang Herman Joachim Bang (20 April 1857 – 29 January 1912) was a Danish journalist and author, one of the men of the Modern Breakthrough. Biography Bang was born in Asserballe, on the small Danish island of Als, the son of a South Jutlandic vicar ...

's ''Stucco'', a

roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship ...

, contains a mocking description of the Casino Theatre.

References

External links

{{coord, 55.6824, N, 12.5921, E, source:wikidata, display=title 1847 establishments in Denmark 1937 disestablishments in Denmark Former buildings and structures in Copenhagen Former theatres in Copenhagen 19th century in Copenhagen Buildings and structures demolished in 1960 Demolished buildings and structures in Denmark