Mari Jászai (born Mária Krippel; 24 February 1850, Ászár – 5 October 1926,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
) was a
Hungarian actress.
Life
Mari Jászai 24 February 1850 in Ászár,
Komárom county
Komárom (Hungarian: ; german: Komorn; la, Brigetio, later ; sk, Komárno) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárno, Slovakia, is on the northern bank. Komárom was formerly a separate vill ...
, as a daughter of a carpenter. She worked from age 10 as a maidservant, both in Budapest and
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, assisting soldiers as a ''sutling wench'' in the
Battle of Königgrätz
The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrä ...
. In 1866, aged 16, she fled to the touring company of ''Gusztáv Hubay'' in
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fejér ...
, and began to work as an extra. By 1867 she already acted on stages of Buda, and from 1868, in the theatre of
Cluj-Napoca
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status
, subdivision_name2 ...
. She met her first husband, comedian ''Vidor Kassai'' during her time in Buda, whom she divorced two years later, never marrying again. Jászai became a member of the
National Theatre in 1872, where she remained until her death (except for the 1900 season, working in
Vígszínház
The Comedy Theater of Budapest ( hu, Vígszínház) is a theater in Budapest. Starting in the turn of the 19th and 20th century as an opposition to the conservative National Theater, it became a pioneer institution of Hungarian drama, and one of ...
theatre).
Legacy
A permanent member of the National Theatre since 1901, Mari Jászai became one of the most influential actors in the Hungarian theatrical world. Playing over 300 roles, she also translated a number of works, including
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 ...
's
John Gabriel Borkman
''John Gabriel Borkman'' is a 1896 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was his penultimate work.
Plot
The Borkman family fortunes have been brought low by the imprisonment of John Gabriel who used his position as a bank manager to s ...
. The theatre of
Tatabánya
Tatabánya (; german: Totiserkolonie; sk, Banská Stará) is a City with county rights, city with county rights of 64,305 inhabitants in northwestern Hungary, in the Central Transdanubian region. It is the capital of Komárom-Esztergom County.
L ...
is named after her, as are numerous public places in Budapest, and one of the premier awards of national dramatic artists, the ''
Jászai Mari Award
The Jászai Mari Award is a state award, which was created by the Hungarian government in 1953 as an award for theatrical arts. The award was named in honour of the Hungarian actress Mari Jászai.
It originally ran, from 1955 to 1976, and was aw ...
''.
Selected filmography
* ''
Bánk Bán
''Bánk bán'' is an opera in 3 acts by composer Ferenc Erkel. The work uses a Hungarian-language libretto by Béni Egressy which is based on a stage play of the same name by József Katona. (''Bán'' is Ban (title), ban in English, similar to a v ...
'' (1914)
* ''
The Exile
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1914)
Sources
*István, Lehel. ''Jászai Mari emlékiratai''. Budapest: Babits Kiadó, 2003.
*Mónika, Balatoni. ''Tükör-játék''. Budapest: Kairosz Kiadó, 2002.
External links
Official site of the Jászai Mari TheatreMari Jászai on Port.hu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaszai, Mari
1850 births
1926 deaths
Hungarian stage actresses
Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery
19th-century Hungarian actresses
Hungarian silent film actresses
20th-century Hungarian actresses