Johanne Voss (née Paulsen, January 13, 1868 – July 27, 1946) was a Norwegian actress from Bergen.

Family

Johanne Voss was the daughter of the carpenter Peter Olay Paulsen and Johanne Severine Jørgensen, and the sister of the actress Anna Paulsen (1858–1895). On October 24, 1891, she married the actor Olav Voss (1864–1912) in Bergen.

Life and work

After graduating from high school in 1883, Voss debuted on April 12, 1887, at her hometown theater, the National Theater in Bergen, as Pauline Protat in the play ''L'Héritage de Monsieur Plumet'' (Mr. Plummet's Bequest) by

Théodore Barrière Théodore Barrière (1823 – 16 October 1877), French playwright, was born in Paris. He belonged to a family of map engravers which had long been connected with the war department, and spent nine years in that service himself. The success o ...

and Fritz Holst. She was engaged with this theater until about 1893. Later she accompanied her husband Olav Voss to the theater stages in Kristiania (now

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

). She was initially engaged at the

Carl Johan Theater The Carl Johan Theater ( no, Carl Johan Teatret) was a theater in Oslo, Norway. It was initially located in the Christiania Tivoli amusement park in Oslo from 1893 to 1895, where it was led by Olaf Mørch Hansson. It staged performance of works suc ...

until it went bankrupt in 1895. She then toured with the Swedish theater director August Lindberg's company in Sweden and Norway for two years, after which she performed at the Central Theater (from 1897 to 1898) and the

Christiania Theater Hotel Christiania Teater – is a historic Oslo city hotel and landmark built in 1918, known primarily for the notability of its theater inside the hotel and recently its unique hotel design by Annemone Wille Waage. The 102-unit hotel is locate ...

(from 1898 to 1899). In 1898 she performed in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

with

Johan Fahlstrøm Johan Peter Broust Fahlstrøm (30 August 1867 – 28 July 1938) was one of Norway's leading male actors before World War I. Johan Fahlstrøm was born in Trondheim, Norway. He debuted as an actor at the Christiania Theatre in 1887 in the play ''J ...

's troupe from the Central Theater. In 1899, Voss was the recipient of a state artist's scholarship worth

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...

750 to pursue further education abroad. Voss was probably best known for her roles at the National Theater in Oslo from its inception in 1899, where she worked until 1937, often in comic roles. On her twenty-fifth anniversary as an actress in 1912, the National Theater staged

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's play '' Lady Windermere's Fan'' as a benefit performance for her, in which she played the role of Erlynne. Voss also appeared as an actress in several Norwegian films. As late as 1942, she played the role of Mrs. Solberg in '' Jeg drepte!'' Johanne Voss is buried at Western Cemetery in Oslo.

Selected theater roles

*Pauline Protat in ''L'Héritage de Monsieur Plumet'' (Mr. Plummet's Bequest) by

and Fritz Holst ( National Theater, Bergen, 1887) *Sigrid in ''Til Sæters: dramatisk Idyl med Sange'' (To the Mountain Pastures: A Dramatic Idyll with Songs) by

Claus Pavels Riis Claus Pavels Riis (February 19, 1826 – October 8, 1886) was a Norwegian author. He was born in Bergen and was the grandson of the priest and bishop Claus Pavels. Riis is now best known for writing the poem "Eg heiter Anne Knutsdotter" (I Am Cal ...

(National Theater, Bergen, 1887) *Valborg in ''Magdalene'' by

Gustav Esmann Gustav Frederik Esmann (August 17, 1860 – September 4, 1904) was a Danish journalist, author, scriptwriter, and master of ceremonies. Esmann was among those who joined Herman Bang's circle, and in the 1880s he attracted attention as a feature w ...

(National Theater, Bergen, 1893) *Asta in '' Lille Eyolf'' (Little Eyolf) by

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 playw ...

(National Theater, Bergen, 1893) *Agnete in ''

Agnete Agneta (also spelt Agnete, Agnetha, or Agnethe) is a Scandinavian variant of the feminine given name Agnes. It was derived from Latin and is the ablative case attached form of Agnes. Notable people Agneta * Agneta Andersson (born 1961), Swedish ca ...

'' by Amalie Skram (

, 1894) *Julie in ''Faddergaven'' (The Christening Gift) by

Peter Egge Peter Egge (1 April 1869 – 15 July 1959) was a renowned Norwegian author, journalist and playwright. His writing career extended from 1891 until 1955. Early life Peter Egge was born in Trondheim, Norway. He was the second eldest in a family of ...

( Central Theater, 1897) *Queen Thora in ''

Axel og Valborg ''Axel and Valborg'' ( da, Axel og Valborg) is a tragedy in five acts by Adam Oehlenschläger. It was written in Paris in 1808 and printed in Copenhagen in 1810. There is an English translation by F. S. Kolle. Origin of story The story is taken f ...

'' (Axel and Valborg) by

Adam Oehlenschläger Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (14 November 177920 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature. He wrote the lyrics to the song ''Der er et yndigt land'', which is one of the national anthems ...

(Trondheim, 1898) *Petra in ''

En Folkefiende ''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende''), an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, followed his previous play, ''Ghosts'', which criticized the hypocrisy of his society's moral code. That response inclu ...

'' (An Enemy of the People) by Henrik Ibsen ( National Theater, Oslo, 1899) *Fatimat in '' Dronning Tamara'' (Queen Tamara) by

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective a ...

(National Theater, Oslo, 1904) *Mrs. Sørby in '' Vildanden'' (The Wild Duck) by Henrik Ibsen (National Theater, Oslo, 1904) *Pernille in '' Mester Gert Westphaler eller Dend meget talende Barbeer'' (Gert Westphaler or The Loquacious Barber) by Ludvig Holberg (National Theater, Oslo, 1906) *Mrs. Ulfstjerna in ''Johan Ulfstjerna'' by

Tor Hedberg Tor Harald Hedberg (March 23, 1862 – July 13, 1931) was a Swedish writer, playwright, theater director, and translator. Hedberg was the son of the writer Frans Hedberg. He worked as an art and literature critic for the newspaper ''Svenska Dag ...

(National Theater, Oslo, 1906) *Gina Ekdal in ''Vildanden'' (The Wild Duck) by Henrik Ibsen (National Theater, Oslo, 1909) *Erlynne in '' Lady Windermere's Fan'' by

(National Theater, Oslo, 1912) *Madame Abrahams in ''

Den Politiske Kandestøber ''The Political Tinker'' (Danish: Den politiske kandestøber) is a five-set satirical play published by Norwegian-Danish playwright Ludvig Holberg in 1722. Production history It premiered at Lille Grønnegade Theatre in Copenhagen on 25 Septembe ...

'' (The Political Tinker) by Ludvig Holberg (National Theater, Oslo, 1924) *Mrs. Stockmann in ''En Folkefiende'' (An Enemy of the People) by Henrik Ibsen (National Theater, Oslo, 1924)

Filmography

*1925: ''

Himmeluret ''Himmeluret'' (The Clock of Heaven or The Celestial Clockwork) is a Norwegian silent film from 1925 directed by Amund Rydland and Leif Sinding. Sinding also wrote the screenplay, which is based on Gabriel Scott's comedy ''Himmeluret'' (play 1905 ...

'' as Gurine on the stairs, a gossip *1926: ''

Baldevins bryllup ''Baldevins bryllup'' ( en, Baldevin's wedding}) is a 1926 Norwegian comedy film directed by George Schnéevoigt, starring Einar Sissener and Victor Bernau. The film is based on a play by Vilhelm Krag, and tells the story of how Simen Sørensen ...

'' as Ollevine *1942: '' Jeg drepte!'' as Mrs. Solberg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voss, Johanne 1868 births 1946 deaths Norwegian stage actresses Norwegian film actresses Norwegian silent film actresses 19th-century Norwegian actresses 20th-century Norwegian actresses Burials at Vestre gravlund Actresses from Bergen