 Auditorium and stage of Confidencen | |
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| Location | Ulriksdal Palace, Solna, Sweden |
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| Coordinates | 59°23′10.65″N18°1′2.35″E / 59.3862917°N 18.0173194°E |
| Genre(s) | Theatre |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1750s |
| Opened | 1753 |
Confidencen, or Ulriksdal Palace Theatre (Swedish : Ulriksdals slottsteater), is a theatre in the park of Ulriksdal Palace in Solna, in the Swedish capital Stockholm. Built in the 1750s and restored from the late 20th century, it is the oldest Rococo theatre in Sweden.
The history of the theatre goes back to the 1750s, making it the oldest Rococo theatre in Sweden. [1] [2] In 1751, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was crowned Queen of Sweden after her marriage to King Adolf Frederick. Ulriksdal Palace was given to her as a gift, and it was at her initiative that the theatre was constructed, inspired by other European palace theatres. [3] For this purpose an already existing building was used, built in the 1670s as a stable and also housing a tavern. A new facade had at that time just been constructed for the building to designs by Carl Hårleman. [4] It is also probably Hårleman who was originally contracted with designing the theatre, [5] but when Hårleman died in 1753 architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz was instead commissioned with creating the theatre within the premises of the building. It seems that the construction was carried out with haste in order to have it finished in time for the arrival of a French theatre troupe. [5] He created an intimate theatre room in the large, rectangular room of the former stables. Its layout and decoration are in the style of French Rococo. The rooms of the former tavern were converted into reception rooms with comparatively restrained decorations, [4] and above these the dressing rooms for the actors were located. [5] The reception rooms were equipped with cocklestoves and decorated with silken wallpapers, parquetry floors and decorations made by Johan Pasch. [5] The largest of the reception rooms were more elaborately decorated, notably in a form of Rococo which displays German influences rather than French, and exhibits a number of features not known from any other works by Adelcrantz, indicating that the queen (who was of German origin) may have been personally involved in its design. This room, the so-called "Confidence room", was intended to be used by the royal family as a dining room and lounge area in connection with performances at the theatre, and was equipped with a so-called table à confidence, a table which could be mechanically lowered into a room below. In this way, the family could avoid having servants in the room while they were there and thus speak to each other in confidence - hence the name. [3] [4] Similar rooms exist elsewhere in Europe and also in one of the side pavilions of the Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm. [6] The plain walls of the auditorium were painted as to imitate colossal pilasters, architraves and cartouches. It was heated by one or possibly two cocklestoves; one of them may have been a dummy. [5]
The new theatre was finished in 1753. [3] [7] The aforementioned French theatre troupe is known to have visited the theatre that same year. [4] The theatre took its name after the unusual table à confidence and it could originally accommodate 200 people. [3]
The theatre was used extensively during the 18th century. Carl Michael Bellman is alleged to have attended the theatre. [1] During the reign of Gustav III, two galleries were added in the auditorium. The play Helmfelt, written by the king himself, was staged here and the play Tillfället gör tjuven by Carl Israel Hallman premiered here in 1782. [4]
The theatre fell into disuse after the assassination of Gustav III in 1792. In the 1860s, the machinery for the scenery was dismantled. Reconstruction works for the auditorium were also started with the aim of transforming it into a hunting lodge for Charles XV to designs in a Renaissance Revival style. The work was aborted with the death of the king in 1872, but the room had already been significantly altered by then. It went on to serve multiple different uses including a school classroom, a military barracks and a telegraphic station. Attention was turned to the disused theatre in 1920 in connection with the re-opening of the similar Drottningholm Palace Theatre. In 1935 it was declared a protected cultural heritage and an association was formed in 1965 with the aim of restoring the theatre. [3] [7]
In 1976 Kjerstin Dellert became engaged in restoring and managing the theatre and since then worked to gather support for its restoration, which has taken place gradually. The Confidence room and the table à confidence were restored in 1994-1997 and the scene and the machinery were restored in 2003-2004 after comparisons with the 18th-century palace theatres at Drottningholm Palace and Gripsholm Castle as well as with the help of the original blueprints and designs. [3] While reconstructing the historical machinery and keeping the historical ambiance, the lighting system was modernised and other practical changes made in order to make the backstage more comfortable and user-friendly. The work was carried out with the help of private donations, sponsorship and volunteer work. Kjerstin Dellert managed the theatre until her death in 2018. [3]
The theatre building is used during the summer to host concerts, theatre performances and operas; live candles are used as illumination of the auditorium. In addition, guided tours are given of the premises when there is no performance. [1] [7] It is part of the European Route of Historic Theatres.
Confidencen is part of the Ulriksdal Palace park, one of the official residences of the Swedish Royal Family. [2] It lies within the Royal National City Park.
Ekerö Municipality is a municipality in the province of Uppland in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name derives from the name of the main island within the municipality whose name is Ekerön, and literally means "Oak Island". Its seat is located in the town of Ekerö.
Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholmen, in Gamla stan in the capital, Stockholm. It neighbours the Riksdag building. The offices of the King, the other members of the Swedish royal family, and the Royal Court of Sweden are here. The palace is used for representative purposes by the King whilst performing his duties as the head of state.
Drottningholm Palace, or Drottningholm, one of Sweden's royal palaces, situated near Sweden's capital Stockholm, is the private residence of the Swedish royal family.
The Drottningholm Palace Theatre is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with its original stage machinery.
The year 1753 in architecture involved some significant events.
Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson, is a member of the Swedish royal family. She is the fourth child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and the youngest of the four older sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf. She generally uses the name Christina Magnuson.
Baron Carl Hårleman was a Swedish architect.
The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this field; he also founded the Royal Swedish Opera and the Royal Dramatic Theatre. All of these were initially located in the old theatre of Bollhuset. The troupe was founded with the opening of the Royal Swedish Opera, which has served as its home since that time.
Strömsholm Palace, sometimes called Strömsholm Castle, is a Swedish royal palace. The baroque palace is built on the site of a fortress from the 1550s, located on an island in the Kolbäcksån river at the west end of Lake Mälaren. The palace has interiors from the 18th century and an important collection of Swedish paintings.
Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the Royal National City Park in Solna Municipality, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called Jakobsdal for its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it built by architect Hans Jacob Kristler in 1638–1645 as a country retreat. He later passed on to his son, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, from whom it was purchased in 1669 by Queen Hedvig Eleonora of Sweden. The present design is mainly the work of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and dates from the late 17th century.
Kjerstin Dellert was a Swedish opera singer and theater manager.
The Chinese Pavilion, located in the grounds of the Drottningholm Palace park, is a Chinese-inspired royal pavilion originally built between 1753 and 1769. The pavilion is currently one of Sweden's Royal Palaces and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Övedskloster Manor is a manor in Sjöbo Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden.
Södra Bankohuset or Gamla Riksbanken is a building in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden, together with Norra Bankohuset the location of the Bank of Sweden until 1906. Since December 2018, the building is housing Embark Studios, a Stockholm-based games studio.
Svartsjö Palace is a Rococo palace situated in Svartsjö on the island of Färingsö in lake Mälaren. It lies just outside of Stockholm.
Sturehov Manor is a manor house in Botkyrka Municipality, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. The manor contains well-preserved 18th-century interiors.
Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz was a Swedish architect and civil servant. Adelcrantz's style developed from a rococo influenced by Carl Hårleman, the leading architect in Sweden in the early years of his career, to a classical idiom influenced by the stylistic developments in France in the mid-to-late 18th century. As överintendent, he headed the royal and public building works from 1767 until his retirement in 1795.
Olof Samuel Tempelman was a Swedish architect and, from 1779, professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He was appointed royal architect in 1799.
Svindersvik is a well-preserved 18th century country residence in Nacka Municipality, Sweden. Svindersvik lies just outside the city limits of Stockholm. It was built in the 1740s for Claes Grill, and today belongs to the Nordic Museum. It is open to the public through guided tours.
The European Route of Historic Theatres is a holiday route and European Cultural Route, that runs through 120 theatres in 29 European countries. It links cities with important historic theatres from the 16th to 20th centuries.
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