Karl Mantzius (20 February 1860 – 17 May 1921) was a Danish actor, stage and film director, theatre scholar, and operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Life and career

Mantzius was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, the son of the actor Kristian Mantzius. At first he played small roles in amateur comedy plays at the Court Theatre in Copenhagen, including 'Vielgeschrey' in ''Den Stundesløse'' by

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...

, which brought him so much success that the theatre manager Edvard Fallesen advised him to become an actor. He made his debut at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...

on 1 September 1883 as Jerome in ''

Erasmus Montanus ''Erasmus Montanus'' is a satirical play about academic snobbery set in rural Denmark. Written by Ludvig Holberg in 1722, the script was first published in 1731 and performed in 1747. Today, it is among Holberg's most frequently performed works. ...

'' and became a regular presence at the theatre as both an actor and director. His later roles included Dr. Stern in ''En mand gik ned fra Jerusalem'', Lieutenant von Buddinge in

Jens Christian Hostrup Jens Christian Hostrup (20 May 1818 in Copenhagen – 21 November 1892 in Frederiksberg) was a Danish poet, dramatist and priest. Comforting and encouraging the people, he created poems that filled the hearts of his compatriots. His precise person ...

's ''Gjenboerne'' and

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

in ''Henry IV.'' Although primarily a stage actor, he also appeared in two

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s at the

—as Beckmesser in Wagner's ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'' and as Jeronimus in the 1906 world premiere of

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

's ''

Maskarade ''Maskarade'' (''Masquerade'') is an opera in three acts by Carl Nielsen to a Danish libretto by Vilhelm Andersen, based on the comedy by Ludvig Holberg. It was first performed on 11 November 1906 at Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen. ''Maskarade' ...

''. His last performance at the Royal Theatre was as Uncle Peter in ''Det gamle Hjem'' on 28 April 1921, less than a month before his death in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

at the age of 61. Like his father, he was buried at the

Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård is a cemetery in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. It was established in 1734 behind Frederiksberg Church. Burials * C.F. Gerner Andersen * Kai Normann Andersen * Peter Andersen * Christian Augustinus * Ludvig Augusti ...

. In 1904, Mantzius founded the Danish Actors' Association.

Filmography

Mantzius became a director at

Nordisk Film Nordisk Film A/S (lit. "Nordic Film") is a Danish entertainment company established in 1906 in Copenhagen by filmmaker Ole Olsen. It is the fourth-oldest film studio in the world behind the Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, and Titanus ...

in 1914 and directed three films for the company: * ''Penge'' (1914) * ''Pavillonens hemmelighed'' (1916) * ''Addys ægteskab'' (1916) He also appeared as an actor in the 1919 Swedish film '' Hans nåds testamente'' (''His Lordship's Last Will'') in the role of His Lordship.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mantzius, Karl 1860 births 1921 deaths Danish male stage actors Danish male silent film actors 19th-century Danish male actors 20th-century Danish male actors Operatic baritones 19th-century Danish male opera singers 20th-century Danish male opera singers