Marie Louise Marcadet
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| Marie Louise Marcadet | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marie Louise Baptiste 1758 Sweden |
| Died | 1804 (aged c. 56) France |
| Spouse(s) | Jean Remi Marcadet |
Marie Louise Marcadet, nee Baptiste, (1758-1804), was a Swedish actor and singer. She is regarded as the greatest tragedienne in Sweden during the 1780s, before the first native tragedienne, Maria Franck.
[edit] Biography
Marcadet was born in Sweden as the daughter of two actors of the French theater-company employed at the court theatre at Drottningholm of Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Jacques Anselme Baptiste and the prima donna Marie Baptiste, and of French descent; in 1780 she married a dancer from her parents home country, Jean-Rémy Marcadet (b.1755) [1], premierdancer and instructor of ballet at the Royal Swedish Ballet and was thereby known as Madame Marcadet.
Marie Louise learned to speak Swedish and debuted at the Opera-theater in Bollhuset in the operetta De bägge girige the season of 1777-1778 and was later the same year called divine in Lucile. From this year, she was employed at the Royal Swedish Opera, was from 1781 a part of the French troupe of Monvel and were from 1788 employed also at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. When the director of the Royal Dramatic Theatre left the country in 1788 to escape his creditors, the actors ruled the theatre themselves by votes, and she became a member of the board of directors. This rule was considered quite Chaotic, but Marcadets judgement was praised.
Together with Jaques Marie Boutet de Monvel and the couple Desguillons, she was the greatest contributor responsible for the fact that the Swedish national theater and opera was formed after a French pattern.
Marie Louise Marcadet was not considered beautiful, but she was described as a splendid actor and singer; Johan Henric Kellgren considered her acting divine, Gjörwell wrote: "The entire soul was created for the Theater" after having seen her in the play Zemir and Azor by Grétry against Carl Stenborg (season 1778-1779), and she was mentioned by Carl von Fersen as an example of the meaning of education in his book The Improvement of the Swedish Opera and entertaiment, written in 1780.[citation needed] Her voice is described as, in reality, nothing more than a normally good operatic vioce, but she handled it so well that she became a very good opera singer; she was best in speaking drama, were her hard French accent gave her lines power and energy, and she was recomened for its passioned strength. Among her most admired parts was Clytaimnestra, Merope, Jocasta in Oedipe, Statira in Olympie, Athalia and countess Walltron.
She played Henriette in De bägge girige by Grétry (season 1777-1778), Arséne in Arséne by Monsigny with Elisabeth Olin and Christoffer Christian Karsten and Iphigenie in Iphigenie in Aulis by Glück with Carl Stenborg (1779-1780), Cybele in Atys by Piccinni with Carl Stenborg and Kristofer Kristian Karsten (1784-1785), Hermione in Andromaque by Grétry with Franziska Stading, Cecilia av Eka in Gustaf Wasa by Naumann with Carl Stenborg, Kristofer Kristian Karsten and Caroline Halle-Müller (1785-1786), Ramfrid in Folke Birgersson till Ringstad with Kristofer Kristian Karsten and Inga Åberg (1792-1793), and Minerva in Alcides inträde i världen by Haeffner (1793-1794).
In 1795, Marcadet became involved in a conflict with the direction at the royal theaters and joined the Stenborg theater, were she made her farewell-performance in November before she left Sweden with her husband and mowed to Paris in France, were she died. She is one of many examples of the French actors who made themselves a career in Sweden during the 18th century, when Swedish theater was more or less entirely French.
In the 19th century, the Swedish press pointed out the irony in the fact that three of the most popular actors, who were a part of the "first generation" of actors in the two national stages Royal Dramatic Theatre and Royal Swedish Opera, was in fact foreigners; the German Franziska Stading, the Polish Sophie Stebnowska (grandmother of Marie Taglioni), and the French Marie Louise Marcadet.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Carin Österberg, "Svenska Kvinnor" ("Swedish Women").
- Georg Nordensvan, "Svensk teater och Svenska skådespelare".
- Kungliga teaterns repertoar 1773-1973"
