Elisabet Spiegelberg, also called ''Denner-Spiegelberg'', née ''Denner'' (

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

1681 -

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

, 1757), was a German actress and theater director. She was one of the first actresses to become famous in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, and later became the leader of one of the most known theater companies touring in Scandinavia prior to the establishment of a local theater there.

Life

Elisabet Spiegelberg was the daughter of the German actor known as Denner the Elder and sister of the

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

actor known as Denner the Younger. The whole family was engaged at the famous

Velthen Company The Velthen Company, called ''Velthenska sällskapet'' in Sweden, and ''Hochdeutsche Hofcomödianten'' in Germany, was a travelling German Theatre Company, active in Germany, Poland, the Baltic and the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway and S ...

, who often toured Scandinavia in

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Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

from at least the late 1690s onward. The company were pioneers in these countries were there was yet no local theaters: the Velthen Company became famous in Scandinavia, and Elisabet Denner became the perhaps first actress famous among the Scandinavian public, known particularly for her role as Eve in '' Der Gefallene Mensch'', and she is described as the leading lady of the company. In 1710, she married her colleague Johann Christian Spiegelberg, who formed his own company and where she continued as its leading lady. The Speigelberg Company succeeded the Velthens company as the perhaps most famed in Denmark, Norway and Sweden: they are known to have toured Denmark 1718-19 and Norway 1732-33. After the death of her spouse in 1732 Elisabet Spiegelberg took over the leadership of the company, and are known to have toured the Swedish cities: she is mentioned in

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

in 1735 and

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in 1737. In 1740, she dissolved her company and returned to Germany, where she was engaged at the Schöneman Company in

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...

until her death.

References

* Wilhelm Berg
Anteckningar om Göteborgs äldre teatrar / Band 2. 1794-1816
(1896-1900) * K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH & Company,Walter De Gruyter Incorporated
Dictornary of German Biography Volume 9. Schmidt - Theyer
* H.J. Huitfeldt:
Christiania Theaterhistorie
' sid. 35-37 (1876) {{DEFAULTSORT:Spiegelberg, Elisabet 1681 births 1757 deaths Actresses from the Holy Roman Empire 18th-century German actresses 17th-century German actresses German women theatre directors German theatre directors 18th-century theatre managers German theatre managers and producers Women theatre managers and producers 18th-century German businesswomen 18th-century German businesspeople