Marie Elisabeth Zinck née Thomsen (1789–1823) was a Danish actress and operatic soprano. After initially training at the Royal Danish Ballet school, she made her début at the Royal Danish Theatre as an actress in 1808. Thanks to her pleasant voice, she increasingly performed in plays with musical roles or in operas and

operetta 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 ...

s, becoming a firm favourite with her audiences. One of her most successful roles was that of Cherubin in ''The Marriage of Figaro'', both in the play by Pierre Beaumarchais and in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's opera. She performed in a wide variety of productions until her death from pneumonia in early 1823, just 33 years old.

Biography

Born on 1 June 1789 in Copenhagen, Marie Elisabeth Thomsen was the daughter of the theatre manager Jørgen Thomsen (c.1753–1825) and Louise Elisabeth née Eskildsen (c.1770–1806). In 1813, she married the opera singer Johan Georg Christophersen Zinck (1788–1828). In 1803, Thomsen entered the Royal Theatre's ballet school but transferred to the drama school when it was established by Michael Rosing and

Knud Lyne Rahbek Knud Lyne Rahbek (18 December 1760 – 22 April 1830) was a Denmark, Danish literary historian, critic, writer, poet and magazine editor. Biography Knud Lyne Rahbek was the son of clergyman . He had always wanted to become an actor. In his yout ...

in September 1805. As a result, she took part in the school's first presentation in the

Court Theatre A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

on 11 May 1806 in as a chambermaid in both ''Den gode Fader'' and ''Fruentimmerhævn'', attracting considerable applause. After further successful roles at the drama school, she made her début at the Royal Theatre as the chambermaid Lise in August von Kotzebue's ''Det farlige Naboskab''. In May 1810, she was engaged by the theatre as a "royal actress". Thanks to her attractive looks, her charm and her pleasant if rather weak voice, she increasingly featured in musical works, becoming a favourite of the theatre's young audiences. She is remembered in particular as the star of

Nicolas Isouard Nicolas Isouard (also known as ''Nicolò'', ''Nicolò Isoiar'' or ''Nicolò de Malte''; 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Maltese-born French composer. Biography Born in Porto Salvo, Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Fran ...

's ''

Cendrillon ''Cendrillon'' (''Cinderella'') is an opera—described as a "fairy tale"—in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale. It had its premiere performance on 24 ...

'' (1812). In February 1813, she married the tenor Georg Zinck with whom she had frequently performed in the work. Other successes included the title role in

Friedrich Heinrich Himmel Friedrich Heinrich Himmel (November 20, 1765 – June 8, 1814) was a German composer. Biography Himmel was born at Treuenbrietzen in Brandenburg, Prussia, and originally studied theology at Halle before turning to music. During a temporary sta ...

's ''Fanchon'' (1814) and Cherubin in the works of both Beaumarchais and Mozart. Over the years, she starred in a wide variety of plays, operas and operettas, deftly combining her skills as an actress and a singer. Her last appearance was as Rose in

C.E.F. Weyse Christoph(er) Ernst Friedrich Weyse (5 March 1774 – 8 October 1842) was a Danish composer during the Danish Golden Age. Biography Weyse was born at Altona in Holstein, which was in a personal union with Denmark. He gained much intere ...

's ''Sovedrikken'' on 18 March 1823. Marie Zinck died in Copenhagen on 6 April 1823 of pneumonia after singing in a cold church. She is buried in

Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zinck, Marie 1789 births 1823 deaths Actresses from Copenhagen 19th-century Danish actresses Danish stage actresses 19th-century Danish women opera singers Danish operatic sopranos