Else Lehmann (27 June 1866 – 6 March 1940) was a German stage actress.
Early life
The daughter of an insurance director, Lehmann attended a convent school and then took acting lessons with director Franz Kirschner. Her debut was in 1885 at the
Bremer Stadttheater as Page in ''
Lohengrin
Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...
''.
Career
In 1888 she arrived at the
Wallner Theater in Berlin.
Otto Brahm
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fro ...
gave her the role of Helene Krause in the (matinee) world premiere of ''Before Sunrise'' on October 20, 1889, by the
Freie Bühne in the Berlin rented Lessingtheater for this purpose. This performance helped her to make a breakthrough, but she also already presented her as an interpreter of German naturalism, especially the pieces by
Gerhart Hauptmann
Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He recei ...
, fixed. One of her acting peculiarities was natural, gaining sympathy "in tears can laugh", for which even the contemporary theatre criticism paid tribute.
In 1891 she received a commitment at the Deutsches Theater. At the world premiere of ''
Die Weber'' in 1893, she impressed Luise Hilse and even more so in the same year as Ms Wolff in ''
Der Biberpelz
''The Beaver Coat'' (german: Der Biberpelz) is a satirical play by Gerhart Hauptmann premiered in Berlin in 1893.
The work is an example of a German naturalistic ''Diebskomödie'', or 'thief's comedy'. The drama takes place "somewhere in Berlin ...
''. In 1898 she played Hanne Schäl in ''
Fuhrmann Henschel'', 1903 she took over the title role of ''
Rose Bernd
''Rose Bernd'' is a stage drama in five acts by Gerhart Hauptmann
Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalis ...
''. In 1905 she followed Intendant Otto Brahm to the Lessingtheater.
In 1911 she portrayed the first "Mrs John" in ''
The Rats'' and in 1920 "Frau Vockerath" in ''
Lonely People
"Lonely People" is a song written by the husband-and-wife team of Dan Peek and Catherine Peek and recorded by America.
Background
"Lonely People" was the second single release from America's 1974 album '' Holiday''. "Lonely People" reached n ...
''. Except in Hauptmann's estate was seen Else Lehmann, for example, Karl Schönherrs people in need (1917), as "Ella Rentheim" in Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman (1917) and "Mrs Alving" in its ghosts as well as in Kabale und Liebe (1924 in
Theater in der Josefstadt
The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''.
Following ...
).
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Else
1866 births
1940 deaths
Actresses from Berlin
German stage actresses