Christiane Magdalene Jane Bøcher, née ''Hansen'', later ''Berg'' (Copenhagen, 26 March 1798 - Copenhagen, 25 October 1874), was a Norwegian (originally Danish) stage actress. She belonged to the pioneer generation of the first public theatre in Norway, when the

Christiania Offentlige Theater Christiania Offentlige Theater ('Christiania Public Theatre') or ''Det Strømbergske Teater'' ('Strömberg Theatre') was a historic theatre in Oslo in Norway, active between 1827 and 1835. It was the first public theatre in Oslo and in Norway, and ...

was the only standing stage in Norway, and dominated by actors of Danish origin.

Life

Christiane Bøcher was born in Copenhagen as the daughter of the accountant Peder Jacob Hansen and Juliane Sørensen. She married the actor Jens Lang Bøcher (1799-1833), director of the Christiania Theatre in 1828-31, and secondly to the Danish singer Jean Louis Napoleon Berg.

Career

Christiane Bøcher was engaged at the

Strömberg Theatre Christiania Offentlige Theater ('Christiania Public Theatre') or ''Det Strømbergske Teater'' ('Strömberg Theatre') was a historic theatre in Oslo in Norway, active between 1827 and 1835. It was the first public theatre in Oslo and in Norway, and ...

(later known as the

) in Christiania (now Oslo) from 1827 to 1837. Founded by

Johan Peter Strömberg Johan Peter Strömberg (19 August 1773 – 20 September 1834) was a Swedish stage actor, dancer and theatre director. He was the founder of the first public theatre and acting school in Oslo, Norway. Biography Johan Peter Strömberg was bor ...

(1773–1834) the previous year, the theatre was Norway's first and (at that time only) theatre and the national stage in the 19th century. Until the employment of

Laura Gundersen Laura Sofie Coucheron Gundersen (''née'' Svendsen) (27 May 1832 – 25 December 1898) was a Norwegian actress, counted as the first native-born tragedienne, and also, in some aspect, as her country's first professional native actress and prima d ...

in 1849, however, the theatre employed almost exclusively actors from Denmark and Germany, in large because Norway did not yet have an established theatre school and trained actors. Strömberg had the ambition to create Norwegian actors, but upon the foundation of the first theatre in Norway there was not trained Norwegian actors, which made it necessary to employ Danish actors. Among the first mentioned were Christiane Hansen and Jens Lang Bøcher, both hired in 1827 and described as greatly talented students. During the 1830s, she was described as the leading lady of the stage and popular among both the public and the critics and compared to the famous

Mademoiselle Mars Mademoiselle Mars (pseudonym of Anne Françoise Hyppolyte Boutet Salvetat; 9 February 1779 – 20 March 1847), French actress, was born in Paris, the natural daughter of the actor-author named Monvel (Jacques Marie Boutet) (1745–1812) and Jean ...

in Paris. She was described as considerable talent as well as a sympathetic personality, and particularly praised for her good taste in regard to her costume. The theatre critic signature "R." remarked that as he could not find enough praise for her and was afraid to boor his readers by trying, he customarily gave her the critic "Madame Bøcher acted as usual"- that is to say "excellent in all aspects". After her performance as Susanna in the ''

Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'', a viewer commented in ''Christianias Aftenblad'' that: :"he had not seen any one above her, hardly any one alongside her. Correct declamation, loveable naivety, some afected coqettry to hid the finest virtue, a tasteful costume ..united in the creation of a skillful actress in full grandeur." However, she was not given all praise - while considered terrific in comedy, she was not regarded to be of much use in tragedy or as a singer (for that

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 ...

(1813–1900) was her parallel in the theatre). Among her parts where Luise Miller in ''Kabale og Kjærlighed'' Maria in ''Correggio'' and Valborg in '' Axel og Valbor''. She retired from the stage in 1837 and left Norway for Denmark with her spouse in July of that year.

References

Other sources

* Blanc, Tharald Høyerup:
Christiania theaters historie 1827-1877
', J.W. Cappelen Christiania * Liv Jensson, ''Teater i Drammen inntil 1840'', Gyldendal, 1974

External links

*

' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bocher, Christiane 19th-century Norwegian actresses Actresses from Oslo 1798 births 1874 deaths