Ludvig Oskar Josephson (20 February 1832—29 January 1899) was a Swedish dramatist, actor and theatre manager.

Biography

Ludvig Josephson was born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden. He was the son of Jewish merchant Salomon Josephson and Beata Levin. He was the younger brother of composer Jacob Axel Josephson (1818-1880) and pianist Wilhelmina Josephson (1816-1906). In 1851, he went to Paris, where he found employment with a major bookseller and came in contact with several French writers. His free time was spent on theatre studies, which included directing. From 1853 to 1854, he lived in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, then returned home. In 1858, at the

Mindre Teatern Mindre teatern (''The Smaller Theatre''), Nya teatern (''The New Theatre''), Lindeberska teatern (''The Lindeberg Theatre''), was a Swedish theatre at Kungsgatan in Stockholm, active 1842–1863. The building was used as localities for the Royal ...

, he performed the title role in ''Narziss'', a play based on ''

Rameau's Nephew ''Rameau's Nephew, or the Second Satire'' (or The Nephew of Rameau, french: Le Neveu de Rameau ou La Satire seconde) is an imaginary philosophical conversation by Denis Diderot, probably written between 1761 and 1774. It was first published in ...

'', by the German playwright . Three years later, he made his debut at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago hates ...

in ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

''. He was employed there the same year and, in 1864, replaced

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nep ...

as the stage curator. Later, he made adaptations of works by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

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 ...

, and others, as well as producing three of his own plays. From 1868 to 1869, he worked with the decorative painter, , at the Mindre teatern, where an Italian opera company alternated with performances of Swedish dramatic works. This was followed by attempts at directing; partly in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

and partly at the

Södra Teatern Södra Teatern is a theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Mosebacke torg on Södermalm in Stockholm. The venue is the oldest theatre in Stockholm and is situated in the heart of the city. History Södra Teatern is one of Sweden's old ...

, where he worked with . In 1871 and 1872, he was at the Ladugårdslandsteatern at

Östermalmstorg Östermalmstorg is a square in the district of Östermalm, in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known principal for Östermalm Market Hall (''Östermalmshallen'') which first opened in 1889. Östermalmshallen's interior is a marketplace for food and ...

in Stockhol. During this time, he also firmly established himself as playwright, producing several comedies and

libretti A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

. He left Stockholm from 1873 to 1877 to lead 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 firs ...

in Norway, where he introduced operatic productions. In 1879, he moved to the

Swedish Theatre The Swedish Theatre ( sv, Svenska Teatern) is a Swedish-language theatre in Helsinki, Finland, and is located at the Erottaja ( sv, Skillnaden) square, at the end of Esplanadi ( sv, Esplanaden). It was the first national stage of Finland. His ...

in Stockholm. The following year, he and the actor, , purchased it and produced plays there until 1890, including the premiere of ''

Master Olof ''Master Olof'' ( sv, Mäster Olof) is a historical drama in five acts by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. The story is about the reformer Olaus Petri's struggle against the Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also kno ...

'' by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

. They presented many other recent foreign and domestic plays, as well as the classics, comic operas and

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

. During the latter part of the 1890s, he served as director and, from 1895 to 1896, as secretary of the Royal Swedish Opera. In addition to his plays, he published brochures dealing with theatrical issues; such as the process of directing, the theatre's relationship with its critics, and a critical study of

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 ...

. He died during 1899 in Stockholm. Svenska teatern

References

Other Sources

Biography
@ the '' Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon''
Biography
from the ''

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

'' @

Projekt Runeberg Project Runeberg ( sv, Projekt Runeberg) is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded ...

External links

Ludvig Josephsons archive
Musik- och teaterbiblioteket (Statens musikverk) * Seid, Marianne 2010: Pojklekar – om vänskapen mellan Ludvig Josephson och Ludvig Norma
Dokumenterat nr 42. Bulletin från Musik- och teaterbiblioteket vid Statens musiksamlingar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Josephson, Ludvig 1832 births 1899 deaths 19th-century Swedish dramatists and playwrights Swedish theatre directors Swedish theatre managers and producers Male actors from Stockholm 19th-century theatre managers Swedish male dramatists and playwrights

Biography

References

Other Sources

Further reading

External links