Charlotte Helene Frederikke Bournonville (1832–1911) was a Danish opera singer and actress. Daughter of the celebrated Danish ballet master,

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nep ...

, she first sang in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1857 before joining the Royal Danish Theatre 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 ...

two years later. She is also remembered for giving singing lessons to the daughters of

King Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...

. In appreciation of her services, the king elevated her to the status of

Kongelig Kammersanger Kongelige Kammersangere or The Royal Chamber Singer is a prestigious award given to Danish Opera singers by the monarch. Only about 50 people have received the award since it was started in 1700. The first non-native Danish person who was appointed ...

(Royal Chamber Singer) in 1863.

Biography

Born on 29 November 1832 in Copenhagen, Charlotte Bournonville was the daughter of August Bournonville and Helena Fredrika Håkansson. She received singing lessons from

Carl Helsted Carl Helsted (4 January 1818 – 7 June 1904) was a Danish composer. Nina Grieg Nina Grieg, née Hagerup (24 November 1845 – 9 December 1935) was a Danish–Norwegian lyric soprano. Early life and family Nina Hagerup was born in Berg ...

in Copenhagen, Arlet in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and Giovanni Battista Lamperti in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. In early 1857, she appeared in concerts in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

before being engaged by the Royal Theatre in

in July where she appeared in several concerts and played Fides in Meyerbeer's opera '' Profeten''. She performed in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

in the winter of 1858-59. She then settled in Copenhagen where she was engaged by the Royal Danish Theatre, receiving a permanent appointment until 1884. There she first appeared in

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 ...

operettas before taking mezzo-soprano parts in opera. Her roles included Azucena in '' Il trovatore'', Diana in Les diamants de la couronne, Mme Bertrand in

Le maçon ' (French for ''The Mason'') is an ''opéra comique'' in three acts by Daniel Auber to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. It premiered at the Opéra-Comique Salle Feydeau in Paris on 3 May 1825. It was to become Auber's first en ...

, fru Ragnhild in

Ivar Hallström Ivar Christian Hallström, born Stockholm, 5 June 1826, died in that city on 11 April 1901 was a Swedish composer, particularly of opera.Wiklund A. Ivar Christian Hallström. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New Yor ...

's ''Den bergtagna'', Marthe in '' Faust'' and Marguerite in ''

La dame blanche ''La dame blanche'' (English: ''The White Lady'') is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and is based on episodes from no fewer than five works of the Scott ...

''. Although she performed well, Bournonville was rivalled by the mezzo-soprano

Josephine Zinck Josephine Amalie Zinck née Lund (1829–1919) was a Danish mezzo-soprano singer who performed in concerts at Copenhagen's Musikforeningen from the age of 18 and in operas at the Royal Danish Theatre from 1858. Biography Born in Copenhagen on 19 ...

whose good looks she lacked, causing her to appear increasingly less frequently. She finally retired from the theatre in 1884. Charlotte Bournonville died in Copenhagen on 22 March 1911. She is buried in Asminderød Churchyard near

Fredensborg Fredensborg () is a railway town located in Fredensborg Municipality, North Zealand, some 30 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is most known for Fredensborg Palace, one of the official residences of the Danish Royal Family. As of 1 Janua ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bournonville, Charlotte 19th-century Danish actresses Danish stage actresses 19th-century Danish women opera singers Danish sopranos Danish operatic mezzo-sopranos 1832 births 1911 deaths Actresses from Copenhagen Singers from Copenhagen