Dace Akmentiņa (3 July 1858 – 16 March 1936) was a Latvian actress, and one of the first Latvian theatre stars.

Biography

Dace Akmentiņa was born Doroteja Šteinberga on 3 July 1858 in Kreis Bauske to a poor family. She attended school for 3 years. From 1875, Akmentiņa lived in Riga. Here she worked in the theatre and sung in a choir, but also worked as a seamstress. Her first role was as Vana in 1886, in

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, links=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, mʲɪxɐˈil ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognit ...

's opera ''

A Life for the Tsar ''A Life for the Tsar'' ( ) is a "patriotic-heroic tragic" opera in four acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka. During the Soviet era the opera was known under the name '' Ivan Susanin'' ( ), due to the anti-monarchist censorship. The original ...

.'' It was this role which launched her acting career. Her acting career declined after 1914, with her last performance taking place in 1922. In her height, she was considered a fashionable woman during the period of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

Notable acting roles

*Kārlēns in ''Skroderdienas Silmačos'' by

Rūdolfs Blaumanis Kārlis Rūdolfs Leonīds Blaumanis (1 January 1863 – 4 September 1908) was a Latvian writer, journalist and playwright. He is a renowned writer in Latvian history and a master of Literary realism, realism. The building of a flat in Riga that ...

. *Kristīne in ''The Fire'' by Rūdolfs Blaumanis. *Mirdza in ''Vaidelote'' by

Aspazija Aspazija was the pen name of Elza Johanna Emilija Lizete Pliekšāne (née Elza Rozenberga; 16 March 1865 – 5 November 1943), a Latvian poet and playwright. Aspazija is the Latvian transliteration of Aspasia. Biography Aspazija was born ...

. *Gretchen in ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

. *

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. Due to Hamlet's actions, Ophelia ultima ...

in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. *

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venice, Italy, Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello (char ...

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' by William Shakespeare.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akmentiņa, Dace 1858 births 1936 deaths Latvian stage actresses 20th-century Latvian actresses People from Bauska Municipality Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga Actresses from the Russian Empire