Laura Sofie Coucheron Gundersen (''née'' Svendsen) (27 May 1832 – 25 December 1898) was a Norwegian actress, counted as the first native-born tragedienne, and also, in some aspect, as her country's first professional native actress and prima donna. She was associated with Christiania Theater from her debut in 1850 until her death, except for the seasons 1870-72, when she played at Møllergatens Theater.
Biography
Laura Sofie Coucheron Svendsen was born 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 ...
, Norway. Her parents were Jacob Buchmann Svendsen (1792-1840) and Beate Marie Coucheron (1799-1837).
Both of her parents died while she was quite young. She had firm ambition to be an actor from her early years. In 1849, at the age of seventeen, she borrowed money from a relative and traveled to Christiania (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 ...
).
In 1849, Norwegian actors were not employed at the official theatres in Oslo; the greatest theater in the 1840s, 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 ...
, was founded by Danes and the language of the stage was Danish. Norwegian actors were treated to smaller roles. The reason given was that the Norwegian actors lacked education, as there were no acting schools in Norway. That year, however, Laura Gundersen was employed as the first and only Norwegian actor to play at the Christiania Theatre in Oslo, and became as such historical. Dating from 1856, the Christiania Theatre committed to employ more native actors.
In 1864, she married actor
Sigvard Gundersen
Sigvard Emil Gundersen (8 November 1842 – 29 November 1904) was a Norwegian actor. He was married to actress Laura Gundersen. He made his stage début at Christiania Theater in 1862, and worked for this theatre most of his career, until 189 ...
(1842-1904). She starred as Svanhild, alongside her husband Sigvard as Falk, in the premiere of
Henrik Ibsen's ''
Love's Comedy'' at the Christiania Theatre in 1873. She played a long row of tragedies; one of the most famous was the premier of ''Bergljot'', a melodrama with orchestra by
Edvard Grieg in 1885. She also starred in Ibsen's and Bjørnson's contemporary dramas.
She played according to the Danish romantic tradition.
Her employment was the start of a new age in the cultural history of Norway, and towards the end of the 19th century, Danish and foreign dominance were broken; from 1872, Norwegian was the language of the stage, and the Norwegian stage was taken over by Norwegian actors, who often favoured a more realistic way to play, a development that led to fewer parts for Gundersen in the end of the century.
She died in Oslo and was is buried with her husband at
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 ...
.
See also
*
Louise Brun
*
Emilie da Fonseca Emilie da Fonseca, married surnames ''Muller'' and ''Bratz'' (31 December 1803 – 8 May 1884) was a Norwegian-Danish stage actor and opera singer. She belonged to the pioneer group of artists in the first national theatre in Norway. She was also ...
*
Augusta Smith
Augusta Schrumpf, née Smith (19 November 1813 – 7 January 1900) was a Norwegian dramatic actress and operatic soprano. She was the prima donna of the national stage of Norway in the first half of the 19th century. She belonged to the pioneer ...
References
Other Sources
* Meyer, Michael (1974) ''Ibsen: A Biography''. Abridged edition. Pelican Biographies ser. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
*Schmiesing, Ann (2006) ''Norway's Christiania Theatre, 1827-1867: from Danish showhouse to national stage'' (Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press)
External links
Laura Gundersen Oslo Museum
1832 births
1898 deaths
Actors from Bergen
19th-century Norwegian actresses
Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour
Actresses from Oslo
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