Anna Maria Franziska "Charlotta" Almlöf (née Ficker; June 16, 1813 – November 11, 1882) was a Swedish stage actress. She belonged to the star actresses of the

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, 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 theatre has been at its present lo ...

.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 ...

Early life

Charlotta Almlöf was the elder daughter of Christian Fredrik Ficker, a musician at the ''

Kungliga Hovkapellet Kungliga Hovkapellet (, "The Royal Court Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra, originally part of the Royal Court in Sweden's capital Stockholm. Its existence was first recorded in 1526. Since 1773 it is part of the Royal Swedish Opera's company. K ...

'', and Johanna Charlotta Widerberg, and the sister of the opera singer Mathilda Gelhaar.

Career

Charlotta Almlöf was enrolled at the

Royal Dramatic Training Academy The Royal Dramatic Training Academy (, also known as ''Dramatens elevskola''), was the acting school of Sweden's national stage, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, and for many years (1787–1964) seen as the foremost theatre school and drama education ...

in 1830, made her debut at the Royal Dramatic Theatre on 23 September 1831, and was contracted as a premier actress there from 1834 to 1856. She married her mentor the actor

Nils Almlöf Nils Vilhelm Almlöf (1799–1875) was a Swedish stage actor. He was one of the most famous Swedish actors of his time and referred to as "The Swedish Talma". He was born to Nils Almlöf, a servant of the royal household, and Maria Lovisa Herbe ...

in 1839, and became known under the name Almlöf. Almlöf was described as beautiful and graceful and became popular in the role of coquettish girls and flirtatious ladies within the fashionable genre of French salon comedies, and to some extent seen as the successor of

Charlotta Eriksson Charlotta Maria Eriksson (née Lambert; 11 February 1794 – 21 April 1862) was a Sweden, Swedish stage actress. She was also an instructor and deputy principal of the Royal Dramatic Training Academy. She belonged to the elite actors of the ...

. She was very popular among the audience, which made her a star of the theater. In 1843, she was given a salary of 1333 ''

riksdaler The Svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thale ...

'', which made her to a member of the elite of the theater staff. She was, however, never as popular with the critics, who often referred to her as pretty, decorative and graceful but much too mannered, artificial and shallow and considered her to be highly overestimated by the audience. In retrospect she was described: :"Mrs A. had a beautiful figure, much feeling and grace and a certain childlike naivety, which gave her performance something attractive and made her popular :with the audience. Gifted with a weak but very graceful voice, she was in the beginning of her career also used within

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

."Anna Maria Francisca Charlotta Almlöf (f. Ficker), urn:sbl:5688, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av N. Personne.), hämtad 2018-06-17.

References

*
Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor
' * Nordensvan, Georg, Svensk teater och svenska skådespelare från Gustav III till våra dagar. Förra delen, 1772-1842, Bonnier, Stockholm, 1917

* Bohman, Nils, ''Svenska män och kvinnor'', 1942 *
Europas konstnärer
', 1887 {{DEFAULTSORT:Almlof, Charlotta 19th-century Swedish actresses Swedish stage actresses 1813 births 1882 deaths Actresses from Stockholm