Maria Silfvan

Maria Elisabeth Silfvan, as married Lempke and then Westerlund, in Swedish called Maria Sylvan, (25 March 1802 in Turku – 10 September 1865 in Oulu), was a Finnish actor, among the first professional native actors in Finland.

Biography

Maria Silfvan was born in Turku and was to become one of the most known native actors in Finland in the first half of the 19th century, and could be regarded as Finland's first dramatic prima donna. In Finland, there was no real theatres and no native actors in the beginning of the 19th century; theatre was played by travelling Swedish theatre troupes touring the country. Between 1813 and 1827, the first theatre was run in Turku by the troupe of K.G. Bonnevier, who had attained a permission from the Russian emperor, and built a simple theatre house in the city. She was discovered when selling tickets and candy to the visitors of the theatre, Silfvan was hired in this troupe, and was seen as a natural dramatic talent. In 1825, she played the leading part in Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart (play) opposite Inga Åberg as Elizabeth Tudor.

In 1825, she married the actor Evert Lempke and with him employed at the troupes of A.P. Berggren and then K.V. Westerlund. When she married Westerlund in 1827, Lempke gave her a divorce only with the condition that he was given an employment in the troupe for life, a condition which he was granted. After touring in Sweden, she spent her career touring in most cities in Finland. She is described as a beauty with a warm and intelligent way of acting. Among her parts were: Johanna af Montfaucon by Kotzebue, Ophelia in "Hamlet", Emma von Falkenstein in "Korsfararne" (Crusaders) by Kotzebue and Siri Brahe in Siri Brahe och Johan Gyllnstierna by Gustav III of Sweden. H. N. Pinello said about her: "I the history of the spiritual nurture of Finland she will be remembered as a child of the people who, with curriage, will and restless work dedicated herself to the art of te stage, so neglected in her country by her contemporarys".

See also

• Hedvig Raa-Winterhjelm
• Sofia Liljegren

References

• George Nordensvan: Svensk teater och svenska skådespelare från Gustav III till våra dagar. Första boken 1772-1842 (Swedish theatre and Swedish actors from Gustav III to our days) (Swedish)
• Gustav Hautala: Uleåborgs historia III, s. 429-430. (The history of Uleåborg) Oulu: Kirjapaino Oy Kaleva, 1975. ISBN 951-95283-2-6 . Oulu: Printing Ltd Kaleva, 1975
• Arvid Ahnfelt: Europas konstnärer 630 (The artists of Europe) (1887) (Swedish)