Maria Francisca Bia known as Mimi Bia and as Mimi Engelman-Bia and Mimi de Vries-Bia (9 September 1809 – 13 July 1889) was a Dutch

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

opera singer 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 libretti ...

(soprano) and dramatic stage actress. Starting her career as a ballet dancer, she had a parallel career as both a soprano opera singer as well as a dramatic stage actress at the

Amsterdamse Schouwburg The Stadsschouwburg (; Dutch: ''Municipal Theatre'') of Amsterdam is the name of a theatre building at the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The building is in the neo-Renaissance style dating back to 1894, and is the former home of the Na ...

, were she had a dominant role within the Dutch theatre world. She was the manager director and owner of the theatre Utrechtse Schouwburg in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

in 1875-1880.

Biography

Mimi Bia was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

to Jean Lambert Bia (1767–1829) and Catherine Rebecca Grave (1782–1846). In 1828 she married the actor Reinier Engelman (1795–1845), director and manager of the Amsterdamse Schouwburg, and in 1865 to the actor Jan Eduard de Vries (1808–1875), director and manager of the theatre Utrechtse Schouwburg in

. Her parents were both engaged as ballet dancers at the Amsterdamse Schouwburg, and Mimi Bia started her stage career as a ballet dancer in her childhood. She was given good critic as a ballet dancer. She was additionally given instruction in dramatic acting by

Johanna Wattier Johanna Cornelia Wattier (Rotterdam, 13 April 1762 - Voorburg, 23 April 1827) was an 18th-century actress from the Northern Netherlands, known for her performances in Amsterdam. She made her debut at 15 in 1778 in Rotterdam and in 1780 at the Sta ...

, and made her debut as an actor at the age of ten. She was given instruction in singing, and made her debut in her third profession as an operatic society at the age of fourteen. Mimi Bia made her formal debut at the Amsterdamse Schouwburg in 1826. She was engaged at the Amsterdamse Schouwburg in 1827-1859 and at the

Rotterdamse Schouwburg Rotterdamse Schouwburg is a theatre in Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The first theatre was constructed in 1773–1774. It was replaced by a second structure in stone in 1852.Theaters in Nederland sinds de zeventiende eeuw. Redactie Bob Logger, Er ...

in 1859-1865. She was also active as a guest actor at the Théâtre Français in Paris in 1842-44. Bia was regarded as one of the greatest actors of her time in the Netherlands. She was versatile and acted within both tragedy and comedy, which was special in a time period were most actors still specialized within a genre. Among her most noted roles were the title role of ''Juffrouw Serklaas'' by

Hendrik Jan Schimmel Hendrik Jan Schimmel (June 30, 1823 – November 14, 1906), Dutch poet, novelist and financier, was born at 's-Graveland, in the province of North Holland, where his father was a notary and the burgomaster. Biography From 1836 to 1842 Schimmel ser ...

. As both one of the leading stage artists as well as the spouse of the director, her influence within the theatre was great: she either took the leading roles herself, or could influence to whom they were given.Inge-Marlies Sanders, Bia, Maria Francisca, in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. URL: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/MimiBia 3/01/2014/ref> She retired in 1865 and made her last guest appearance in 1868. Her second spouse were the owner and manager of the theatre Utrechtse Schouwburg, and when he died in 1875, she took over the theatre and managed until 1880.

Special

In June 2000 the painting of Maria Francisca Bia by H.A. Sangster has been partly damaged by a burglary in the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg, while a bronze mask (1923) was stolen by the famous Amsterdam sculptor

Hildo Krop Hildebrand Lucien (Hildo) Krop (February 26, 1884, Steenwijk, Overijssel – August 20, 1970) was a prolific Dutch sculptor and furniture designer, widely known as the city sculptor of Amsterdam, where his work is well represented. Life Krop was ...

References

Bibliography

* Algemeen Handelsblad, 23-2-1846; 30-11-1868. * Amsterdamsche Courant, 29-11-1868 ecensie 16-7-1889. * N. Beets, Het dagboek van de student Nicolaas Beets 1833-1836 (Den Haag 1883) 123. * M.B. Mendes da Costa, Tooneel-herinneringen, 1 (Leiden 1900) 44, 45, 179-181. * Noord- en Zuid-Nederlandsche Tooneel-Almanak (Amsterdam 1877). * W.G.F.A. van Sorgen, De tooneelspeelkunst te Utrecht en de Utrechtsche schouwburg (Den Haag 1885). * Utrechtsch Dagblad, 10-7-1880. * J.A. Worp, Geschiedenis van den Amsterdamschen Schouwburg (Amsterdam 1920). * N. van Vulpen, Ondernemers van publieke vermakelijkheden en de opkomst van het burgerinitiatief: vermaak in Utrecht 1850-1880 (Utrecht 1994). 1809 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Dutch actresses Dutch ballerinas Dutch stage actresses Entertainers from Amsterdam 19th-century Dutch opera singers 19th-century Dutch ballet dancers 19th-century theatre managers {{Netherlands-actor-stub