Carl Gottfried Seuerling (1727-1795) was a German born, Swedish stage actor and theater director. He was the director of the Seuerling theater Company in 1768-93 and as such the leader of one of only two professional Swedish language theater companies in Sweden of the era. [1]
Carl Seuerling was originally from thr Holy Roman Empire and arrived to Sweden as the leader of a travelling theater company in 1760. He married the Swedish actress Margareta Seuerling (1747–1820) in 1768 and took over the theater company of her father, Peter Lindahl (1712–1792). [2] [3]
The Seuerling travelling theater company performed all over Sweden and Finland, and was in many parts they visited the first theater performing. Historically, they have not been described as a theater company of great quality - they often experienced a shortage of staff, inexperienced actors and performed in conditions which did not give the chance of high quality scenery, the strong German accent of Carl Seuerling was caricatured, and anecdotes of failed performances circulated, particularly among the upper classes. However, these judgement are likely overreactions from an elite audience used to the theatres in the capital; in the provincial press, the company are often given positive reviews, and they were popular among the public in the towns and the countryside in which they toured, playing a pioneering role in Swedish theater history.
Seuerling introduced the works of William Shakespeare on the Swedish stage by staging the first performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Egges theater in Norrköping 5 August 1776, with himself and his wife in the main parts.
In 1793 Carl Seuerling left his theater to Johan Peter Lewenhagen (1770-1832). However, after his death in 1795, his wife took over the company.
Seuerling had seven children. He was the father of Carl Fredrik Seuerling (d. 1831), the actor Gustaf Wilhelm Seuerling, the school teacher Gottfrid Ferdinand Seuerling (1775-1826), the actress Carolina Seuerling (1769-1821), the musician Charlotta Seuerling and the governess Gustafva Margaretha Seuerling (1786-1863).
The Gyllenhaal family is a Swedish noble family descended from cavalry officer Lieutenant Nils Gunnarsson Haal, ennobled in 1652 with a change of name to "Gyllenhaal".
The Swedish Theatre in Stockholm was, at the beginning of the 20th century, Sweden's largest dramatic theatre. It was located on Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. During its years in use, from 1875 to 1925, it was often considered as Sweden's foremost national theatre.
Margaret(h)a Seuerling née Lindahl (1747–1820) was a Swedish actress and theatre director in a travelling theatre company, perhaps the most known travelling actress of her time in Scandinavia, active in both Sweden and Finland. She was one of the first, perhaps the very first, to introduce secular theatre in Finland: her family and its company represents a large part of the theatre history in Sweden and Finland.
Charlotta Antonia "Charlotte Antoinette" Seuerling, was a blind Swedish concert singer, harpsichordist, composer and poet, known as "The Blind Song-Maiden". She was active in Sweden, Finland and Russia. Her last name is also spelled as Seijerling and Seyerling. Her first name was Charlotta Antoinetta, but in the French fashion of the time, she was often called Charlotte Antoinette. She was the author of the popular song "Sång i en melankolisk stund".
Maria Kristina Franck was a Swedish actress and drama teacher. She was a member of the pioneer generation of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, and belonged to the first stars of the theater. She has been referred to as her country's first native dramatic tragedienne. She was the principal of the Royal Dramatic Training Academy from 1819 to 1823. During her last years on stage, she was known under her name as married, Ruckman.
Petter Stenborg was a Swedish stage actor and theater director. He was the director of the Stenborg Company or Svenska Comoedi-truppen from 1758 onward and as such the director of the Humlegårdsteatern (1773–80) in Stockholm. Petter Stenborg played an important role in Swedish theater history: he was a member of the pioneer actors of the first Swedish national stage in Bollhuset, and as the leader of the Stenborg theatre company, one of only two professional Swedish language theater companies active in the mid 18th-century, he kept professional Swedish language theater alive from the closure of the public theater in Bollhuset in 1754, until the inauguration of the Royal Swedish Opera (1773) and Royal Dramatic Theatre (1788).
Elisabeth Lillström née Söderman was a Swedish stage actress and opera singer. She was one of the first professional actresses in Sweden and a member of the pioneer generation of Kungliga svenska skådeplatsen, the first national theater in Bollhuset in Stockholm, where she was one of the most prominent members. She was the mother of Elisabeth Olin.
Hedvig Charlotta Djurström was a Swedish stage actress. She was the managing director of the Djurström theater company in 1841-1846. She was one of the leading actresses of the countryside theater in Sweden and Finland during the first half of the 19th-century and referred to as the "Joan of Arc of the Countryside" after her most famous role.
Antoinette Thérèse Elfforss was a Swedish stage actress and theatre director. She was the managing director of the travelling Elfforss Theater Company between 1869 and 1888.
Hedvig Kristina Elisabeth "Betty" Deland was a Swedish stage actress. She was a principal of the Royal Dramatic Training Academy and belong to the elite of Swedish 19th-century actors. She was known as Betty Deland until 1857 and then as Betty Almlöf.
Pierre Joseph Deland was a Swedish stage actor and theatre director. He was the director of the Deland Theater Company in 1833-1861, a travelling theater famous in both Sweden and Finland, and as such an influential and well known figure of the stage life of both countries in the mid 19th-century. He was the founder of the Dramatiska och musikaliska artisternas pensionsförening in 1857.
Johanna Catharina Löfblad née Embeck or Enbäck, also known as Madame Gentschein and Madame Löfblad, was a Swedish stage actress. She was a member of the pioneer group of actors in the first Swedish national theatre of Bollhuset.
Carl Stenborg was a Swedish opera singer, composer and theatre director. He belonged to the pioneer generation of the Royal Swedish Opera and was regarded as one of the leading opera singers of the Gustavian era. He was a hovsångare and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
Martin Nürenbach or Nurembach was a German acrobat, stage actor, dancer and equilibrist active in Sweden, Norway and Finland. He was a pioneer in Norwegian theater history by founding the first public theater in Oslo in the year 1771.
Karl Gustav Bonuvier, was a Swedish stage actor and theatre director, active in Sweden and Finland. He is remembered for having founded the first theatre house in Finland.
Christina Rahm (1763–1837) was a Swedish opera singer and a stage actress. She was active in the Stenborg Company at the Eriksberg Theatre in Stockholm in 1780-84 and at the Stenborg Theatre in 1784-99, and thereafter in travelling theatres. In 1785, she became the first Swedish artist to play Rosina in The Barber of Seville.
Peter Lindahl, was a Swedish stage actor and theatre director. He belonged to the most known of the pioneer generation of actors at the first Swedish theatre. He was the director of the Lindahl theater company in 1754-68, one of the two first travelling Swedish language theater companies.
Johan August Lindberg was a Swedish actor, stage director and theatre manager.
Johan Anton Lindqvist was a Swedish stage actor and theater director.
Carl Edvard Stjernström was a Swedish stage actor and theater director.