Johanne Dybwad (née Juell; 2 August 1867 – 4 March 1950) was a Norwegian

stage actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

and stage producer. She was the leading actress in Norwegian theatre for half a century.

Early and personal life

Johanne was born in Christiania (now Oslo) as the daughter of actor Mathias Juell (1835–1894) and actress Johanne Regine Elvig (1847–1882). Both her parents were acting for the

Christiania Theatre 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 by the Akershus Fortress, in central Christiania. It was the fir ...

. Her mother was the first Norwegian to play "Nora" in Ibsen's ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...

'', in 1880. Her mother died in 1882, only 34 years old, and Johanne grew up with her aunt in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. Her foster parents wanted to keep her away from the theatre, but she wanted to become an actress.

Career

Kjærlighet til næsten - drawing by Lærum

Actress

Johanne made her debut at

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene ( en, National Theater) is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has root ...

in Bergen 7 November 1887, in the comedy play ''Gertrude eller den lille skat''. Her next role was "Nora" in ''A Doll's House''. She had her breakthrough as "Fanchon" in Birch-Pfeiffer's play ''En liden Hex'', first in Bergen, and later at

in 1888. The scene when she danced in the moonshine, with her own shadow, fascinated the public, and theatre director and critic Gunnar Heiberg described the scene as "a big artist was born". She continued to play at

, from 1888 to 1899. She joined theatre director

Bjørn Bjørnson Bjørn Bjørnson (15 November 1859 – 14 May 1942) was a Norwegian stage actor and theatre director. Biography He was born in Christiania, the son of author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and his wife Karoline Bjørnson. In 1876, he was admitte ...

at the

Nationaltheatret The National Theatre in Oslo ( no, Nationaltheatret) is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts. History The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christia ...

from its opening in 1899, and played here most of her career. During her time at Christiania Theatre she played 76 roles, including "Hedvig" in ''

The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is considered the first modern masterpiece in the genre of tragicomedy. ''The Wild Duck'' and ''Rosmersholm'' are "often ...

'' (1889), "Nora" in ''A Doll's House'' (1890), and "Juliet" in '' Romeo and Juliet'' (1899). At Nationaltheatret she played roles such as "Klara Sang" in ''Over Ævne I'' (1899), "Maja" in ''

When We Dead Awaken ''When We Dead Awaken'' ( no, Når vi døde vågner) is the last play written by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. Published in December 1899, Ibsen wrote the play between February and November of that year. The first performance was at the Hayma ...

'' and "Gerd" in ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

''. She also toured with the theatre, to Copenhagen in 1903, to Berlin in 1907, and to Paris in 1937.

Stage producer

In 1906 she produced her first play, Maeterlinck's ''

Pelléas and Mélisande ''Pelléas and Mélisande'' (french: Pelléas et Mélisande) is a Symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck about the forbidden, doomed love of the title characters. It was first performed in 1893. The work never achieved great success on the stage, a ...

''. She would later produce more than forty plays, often playing the leading role herself. Among her productions were

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

' classical tragedy ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

'' (1918),

Nordahl Grieg Johan Nordahl Brun Grieg (1 November 1902 – 2 December 1943) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, dramatist, journalist and activism, political activist. He was a popular author and a controversial public figure. He served in World War II as a war c ...

's ''Barabbas'' (1927), and Schiller's '' Mary Stuart'' (1929). Studenterlunden1

Honours

Johanne Dybwad was awarded the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

(''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') in gold. She was awarded Knight of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

in 1924. At her 60 years' anniversary as actress, 7 November 1947, she played "Mor Aase" in Ibsen's '' Peer Gynt'', and she was honoured with the

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

of St. Olav. Her last stage appearance was one month later, 8 December 1947. She died 4 March 1950 in Oslo, 82 years old. She was buried

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour ( no, Vår Frelsers gravlund) is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great ...

in Oslo. In 1962 a bronze statue of her was revealed at the front of the National Theatre in Oslo, sculptured by

Per Ung Per Ung (5 June 1933 – 20 June 2013) was a Norwegian sculptor and graphic artist. Biography Ung was born in Oslo, Norway. He was the son of Per Ohlsen (1907–85) and Randi Tangen (1905-89). He was schooled in the conservative sculptural ...

. In 1967, she was the first Norwegian actor to be depicted on a postage stamp. The area in front of the National Theatre, ''Johanne Dybwads plass'', is named after her, and the theatre's address is "Johanne Dybwads plass 1".

Personal life

She was married to barrister and songwriter

Vilhelm Dybwad Vilhelm Dybwad (12 February 1863 – 16 March 1950) was a Norwegian barrister and writer. He wrote comedies, revues and songs. In his later years he wrote several memoir books from his life as a lawyer. Personal life Dybwad was born in Chri ...

(1863–1950) from 1891 to 1916. She was the mother of lawyer Nils Juell Dybwad (1892-1972).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dybwad, Johanne 1867 births 1950 deaths Actresses from Oslo Norwegian stage actresses Norwegian theatre managers and producers Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour