Fredrica Löf
Fredrica Löf | |
---|---|
Born | Johanna Fredrika Löf October 1760 Stockholm, Sweden |
Died | 17 July 1813 (aged 52) Torsåker, Södermanland, Sweden |
Other names | Fredrique Löwen, Jeanette Fredrique Löf, Fredrique Löven, Fredrika Löven, Mamsell Löven |
Fredrica Löf, also known as Fredrique Löwen (
Life
Fredrica Löf was born at Torsåker in Södermanland, Sweden. She was the daughter of Johan Gottfrid Löf and Catharina Charlotta Stålhammar (or Stålhand). Her father was employed as a
Her date of birth is usually given as 4 December, but as she was baptized 7 October, she is believed to have been born in October shortly before her baptism. The family was poor, and Fredrica had seven sisters and one brother.
Early life and career
Fredrica Löf and her sisters was early on, under the name the "Löven girls", known to be a part of the "more refined Stockholm demimonde" or high class prostitutes.[2] Her sisters Charlotta and Lovisa both married Baron Axel Adam Hierta, and Lovisa later married Baron Victor von Stedingk. Fredrica Löf had her first child, out of wedlock, in 1779, and the year after she is registered as living alone in her own residence with her daughter Johanna Fredrika.
Likely from about 1780, Fredrica Löf was educated as a student in the
Career at the Royal Dramatic Theatre
In 1787, she was given a position at the Swedish language theatre of Adolf Fredrik Ristell in Bollhuset, and when it was transformed to the Royal Dramatic Theatre the following year, she became a member of its pioneer generation of actors.
Fredrica Löf made her debut at the Royal Dramatich Theatre of Stockholm the 6 May 1788 as Siri Brahe in "Siri Brahe and Johan Gyllenstierna" by king
Marianne Ehrenström compared her with Marguerite Georges,[2] and she was famed for "her well-sounding vocal organ as well as for her beautious Grecian-shaped face and her well-shaped figure, by which she, alongside much natural warmth in her play, enruptured her audience without effort"[2] Her way of acting was described as "noble", with a sense of feeling and soul suitable for "tenderness, nobility and fierté"; her voice was described as clear and soft. She received much praise for her costume, a recommendation which is seen in contemporary sources; during this period, an actor was expected to design and finance their costumes themselves. She was also widely recommended by various critics for her elegance and good sense of costume.
Fredrica Löf was made premier actress in 1788 and celebrated her greatest successes during the regency years of 1792–1796. She was a high-ranked member of the theatre and called: "actress at the r. theatre of the first class".[2] She was given an allowance of $600 from the Royal Opera in addition to her salary at the Royal Theatre.
Fredrica Löf was also an elective member of the actors board of directors.
Fredrica Löf could not read text, and was forced to learn her part by having others reading her the scripts.
Roles
Among her parts were the title role in "Semiramis" by Voltaire, where she was admired for her "majestic" interpretation;[2] the title roles in "Athalie" by Racine and "Drottning Christina" (1790) by Gustav III, as Mrs Ferval in "Den förtroliga aftonmåltiden" and as Susanna in "The Marriage of Figaro" by Beaumarchais (1799).[2] She made many parts in plays by August von Kotzebue, Racine, Voltaire and Favart.
On 30 June 1791, she played the role of Amalia in "Den okände eller världsförakt och ånger" ("The stranger or Worldcontempt and anxiety") by August von Kotzebue, which was a great success for her. She was said to have performed the part with "a sensitivity beyond limits" which made "everyone cry", even the actresses from the French Theatre, who did not understand the language.
While Maria Franck and Sofia Frodelius performed tragedy and comedy respectively, and Ebba Morman took care of the "demonic" female parts such as witches and murderers, Fredrika Löf played the romantic parts of mistress and heroine, parts for which she was recommended for at least until 1801. She retired from stage after the 1808–09 season.
Private life
Fredrica Löf resided in a residence with expensive furniture at Gustav Adolfs torg, Stockholm, where she entertained the cultural elite, such as Carl Michael Bellman, Tobias Sergel and Louis Masreliez and her colleagues. She had her own carriage to take her to and from the theatre.
Fredrica Löf was much talked about for her private life. Among her lovers was the
Fredrica Löf never married, but she had three children, two daughters and a son. Her daughter, Jeanette Fredrique Fredrisen (1779–1854) married the opera singer
At the time of her death, Fredrica Löf lived at the farm of her brother-in-law, Sörby, in Torsåker in Södermanland. According to Sergel, she was insane at the time of her death.[2] According to her colleague Johan Fredrik Wikström she "died of some sort of disorder in the brain in about the age of fifty."
They are several images of Fredrica Löf kept at Nationalmuseum, many of them made by Sergel, usually during her last years at the stage.
Notes
- ^ Tom J A Olsson. "J Fredrica (Fredrique) Löf". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Forsstrand, Carl, Sophie Hagman och hennes samtida: några anteckningar från det gustavianska Stockholm ['Sophie Hagman and her contemporaries. Notes from Stockholm during the Gustavian age'], Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1911
References
- Henrikson, Alf, Fram till Nybroplan: om Kungliga Dramatiska teatern, Wiken, Höganäs, 1988 ISBN 91-7024-445-6(in Swedish)
- Österberg, Carin, Lewenhaupt, Inga & Wahlberg, Anna Greta, Svenska kvinnor: föregångare nyskapare, Signum, Lund, 1990(Swedish women; Predecessors, pioneers) Signum, Lund 1990. (in Swedish)
- 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) (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)
- Flodmark, Johan, Stenborgska skådebanorna: bidrag till Stockholms teaterhistoria, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1893 (The Stenborg stages) (in Swedish)
- Samlaren / Åttonde årgången. 1887 (Swedish) (in Swedish)
- Kjellberg, Bertil, Beijer, Agne & Andersson, Ingvar (red.), Gustavianskt: [1771-1810], Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1945 (in Swedish)
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon, 1926–1936 års utgåva, SBN. (in Swedish)
- Örnberg: Svenska ättartavlor (English:Swedish lineages) (in Swedish)
- Church Vital Records: (Mariefred-Kärnbo AI:8b (1817–1827) Bild 168 / sid 16) "Inspectoren Jonas Petter Rundlöv" sv:Kalkudden (in Swedish)