The French Theater of Gustav III was a

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

theater active in Sweden between 1781 and 1792. The French theater company performed both before the Swedish royal court in the theaters of the royal palaces, as well as before the Swedish public 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 ...

. It is known to have played a significant part in the education of the pioneer generation of actors at the

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre ( sv, Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The the ...

. The French theater was composed in Paris by Jacques Marie Boutet de Monvel in 1781, when it was engaged by king

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

to perform before the Swedish royal court. Initially, they performed exclusively for the royal court in the theaters of the royal residences, such as

Drottningholm Palace Theatre The Drottningholm Palace Theatre ( sv , Drottningholms slottsteater) is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with its original ...

and

Confidencen Confidencen, or Ulriksdal Palace Theatre ( sv, Ulriksdals slottsteater), is a theatre in the park of Ulriksdal Palace in Solna, in the Swedish capital Stockholm. Built in the 1750s and restored from the late 20th century, it is the oldest Rococo t ...

. From 1783 onward, they also performed before the Swedish public at

Bollhuset Bollhuset, also called (The Big Ball House), (Ball House Theater), and Gamla Bollhuset (Old Ball House) at various times, was the name of the first theater in Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater buildin ...

. The public performances were, in practice, normally visited exclusively by the upper classes of Stockholm, who were able to understand the French language. The French Theater appeared before the public at Bollhuset on Wednesdays and Fridays, and at the royal court whenever they were commanded to. The company were considered of high quality, and performed the latest plays from Paris. They shared Bollhuset with the

from 1788, but they performed separately and referred to as the "French Theater" and the "Swedish Theater" respectively. The actors of the French Theater were expected by the king to educate Swedish pupils, and many of the first generation of Swedish actors at the Royal Dramatic Theatre were students of the actors at the French Theater, such as

Lars Hjortsberg Lars Hjortsberg (22 November 1772 – 8 July 1843) was a Swedish stage actor. He belonged to the pioneer generation of elite actors of the Royal Dramatic Theatre and has, alongside Emilie Högquist, been referred to as the most famous Swedish a ...

and

Fredrica Löf Fredrica Löf, also known as Fredrique Löwen (née ''Johanna Fredrika Löf''; Stockholm, October 1760 – 17 July 1813), was a Swedish stage actress. She was the first female star at the newly founded national stage Royal Dramatic Theater, whic ...

. The French Theater were dissolved after the death of Gustav III in 1792.

Members

;Actors and singers * Mademoiselle Baron * Monsieur Caron * Francois Chatillon * Monsieur Clericourt * Monsieur Cressent * Monsieur Delaroche * Madame Delaroche * Anne Marie Milan Desguillons *

Joseph Sauze Desguillons Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

* Elise Du Belloi * Monsieur Dugay * Madame Dutillier * Francois Marie Moussé Félix * Madame Felix * Adélaide-Thérèse Feuchère * Monsieur Feuillet * Sophie Hus * Jean-Rémy Marcadet *

Marie Louise Marcadet Marie Louise Marcadet née ''Baptiste'' (3 December 1758 – 28 February 1804) was a Swedish opera singer and a dramatic stage actress of French origin. She was active in the Royal Swedish Opera as a singer, and in the Royal Dramatic Theatre ...

* Sidonie de Massat * Monsieur Michu * Madame Montrose * Jacques Marie Boutet de Monvel * Catherine-Victoire Le Riche de Cléricourt - Monvel * Monsieur Sainville * Monsieur Saint-Ange * Henri O. Dougherthy de la Tour eller Delatour *

Carlo Uttini Carlo Uttini (1753-1808), was a Swedish ballet dancer. He was regarded as one of the elite members of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1773-1804, and was also active as singer of the Royal Swedish Opera (1776–79) and as an actor at the French Theat ...

* Monsieur Versenil ;Dancers * Charles Didelot, father of

Charles-Louis Didelot Charles-Louis Didelot (28 March 1767, Stockholm - 7 November 1837, Kiev) was a French dancer, the creator of the ballet shoes and a choreographer. The son of Charles Didelot, the dance-master of the King of Sweden, he studied dance with his fath ...

Louis Frossard Louis Frossard was an 18th-century French dancer who conducted part of his career in Sweden. A dancer at the Comédie Italienne of Paris in 1757-1758, he stayed in Vienna from 1759 to 1761 and performed particularly in ballets by Charles Bernard ...

Marie-Renée Frossard Marie-Renée Frossard, née ''Malter'', was a French ballerina with an international career. She was active in Sweden in 1764–76, where she was regarded as one of the stars of the Royal Swedish Ballet. Marie-Renée Frossard was married to her c ...

References

* Fredrik August Dahlgren: Förteckning öfver svenska skådespel uppförda på Stockholms theatrar 1737-1863 och Kongl. Theatrarnes personal 1773–1863. Med flera anteckningar. * Nordensvan, Georg, Svensk teater och svenska skådespelare från Gustav III till våra dagar. Förra delen, 1772–1842, Bonnier, Stockholm, 1917

Swedish theatre and Swedish actors from Gustav III to our days. First book 1772–1842' Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

(in Swedish) * Andersson, Ingvar (red.), Gustavianskt: 771-1810: en bokfilm, y utg. Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1979 * Lars Löfgren (2003). Svensk teater. Stockholm:

Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with head office in Stockholm known for an extensive series of teaching materials. Its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan Hansson and his wif ...

. * Jonsson, Leif & Ivarsdotter, Anna (red.), Musiken i Sverige. 2, Frihetstid och gustaviansk tid 1720–1810, Fischer, Stockholm, 1993 (Music in Sweden. The age of Liberty and the Gustavian age 1720–1810) (in Swedish) * Forser, Tomas & Heed, Sven Åke (red.), Ny svensk teaterhistoria. 1, Teater före 1800, Gidlund, Hedemora, 2007 (New Swedish theatre-history. Theatre before 1800) (in Swedish) * Oscar Levertin: Teater och drama under Gustaf III, Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm, Fjärde Upplagan (1920). {{authority control 18th century in Sweden 18th-century theatre French comedy troupes Swedish comedy troupes Former theatres in Stockholm 1781 establishments in Sweden 1792 disestablishments in Europe Theatre companies in Sweden Sweden during the Gustavian era Court of Gustav III

Members

See also

References