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
Bankplassen ('The Bank Square') is a square in the neighborhood Kvadraturen in Oslo, bounded by Kongens gate, Myntgata and Kirkegata. Before 1953, Agnes Thorsens plass was also part of Bankplassen. The square takes its name after the building of t ...
by the
Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress ha ...
, in central
Christiania. It was the first lasting public theatre in Norway and the national stage of Norway and Oslo during the 19th century.
History
Christiania Theatre was the first long-term public theatre in Oslo. In November 1771 and February 1772,
Martin Nürenbach made an unsuccessful attempt to start the first public theatre in Oslo. Aside from this, theatre was performed only by the private amateur society
Det Dramatiske Selskap at the
Gevaexthuset concert hall, which did not offer public performances, and by travelling foreign theatre companies.
The first public theatre, the
Christiania Offentlige Theater, was inaugurated by the Swedish theatre director
Johan Peter Strömberg, in January 1827. This was to be the predecessor and origin of the Christiania Theatre. After the building burnt down on 5 November 1835, it was reinstated with the name Christiania Theatre in October 1837.
Over next few years, an avid debate developed with strong criticism of the Danish dominancy of the arts. Christiania Theatre only employed Danish actors during its early period, for which it was criticized. The reason given was that there was not an acting school in Norway and that the Norwegian actors were therefore not good enough. The
Norwegian language conflict often centered on Norwegian writers who gradually adopted distinctly Norwegian vocabulary in their work.
Henrik Wergeland
Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland (17 June 1808 – 12 July 1845) was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as a leading pioneer in the develo ...
may have been the first to do so. Art critic
Johan Sebastian Welhaven was one of the conservatives who took out against the theories of the extreme nationalists. The Danish troupe was eventually mixed up with Norwegian actors after the employment of Norwegian actress and prima donna
Laura Gundersen, in 1849.
The foundation of the first Norwegian theatre in Oslo,
Christiania Norwegian Theatre
The Christiania Norwegian Theatre ( no, Kristiania norske Theater) was founded in 1852 under the name Norwegian Dramatic School. The initiative came from lieutenant engineer Johannes Benedictus Klingenberg
Johannes Benedictus Klingenberg (28 Apr ...
, in 1852, was but a temporary rival, as it was forced to close down in 1862. The theatre was created as a counterpoint to the Danish language-dominated Christiania Theatre.
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...
was artistic director of the Christiania Norwegian Theatre from the autumn of 1857 and served as the leading director until its bankruptcy in 1862.
[
From 1856, the Christiania Theatre promised to employ native actors. In 1872, Norwegian became the stage language. Ibsen's famous play '']Peer Gynt
''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-act (drama), act play (theatre), play in verse (poetry), verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian language, Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian pla ...
'' premiered here in 1876 as well as a large number of important Norwegian productions, including several by Norway's other national bard at the time, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...
. During the continued run of ''Peer Gynt'', a fire started on the performing night of 15 January 1877, heavily damaging the theatre; luckily, this was later repaired. Christiania Theatre was seen as Norway's national stage for drama until the Nationaltheatret was opened on 1 September 1899, with Bjorn Bjornson as theatre director and including a large part of the ensemble from the Christiania Theatre.
References
Sourcres
* Blanc, Tharald ''Christiania Theater's Historie, 1827-1877'' (Oslo: Cappelen. 1899)
* Lyche, Lise ''Norges teaterhistorie'' (Oslo: Tell forlag. 1991)
* Næss, Trine ''Christiania Theater forteller sin historie: 1877-1899'' (Oslo: Novus forlag. 2005)
* Schmiesing, Ann ''Norway's Christiania Theatre, 1827-1867: From Danish Showhouse to National Stage'' (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. 2006)
External links
New City Theatre in Oslo
Nasjonalbiblioteket
{{Coord, 59, 54, 32, N, 10, 44, 29, E, type:landmark_region:NO_dim:750, display=title
Former theatres in Norway
Theatres in Oslo
19th century in Oslo
19th century in Norway
1836 establishments in Norway