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.
Royal Swedish Ballet | |
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General information | |
Name | Royal Swedish Ballet |
Local name | Kungliga Baletten |
Year founded | 1773 |
Founder | King Gustav III |
Principal venue | Royal Swedish Opera Stockholm, Sweden |
Website | www |
Artistic staff | |
Artistic Director | Nicolas Le Riche |
Music Director | Alan Gilbert |
Other | |
Official school | Kungliga Svenska Balettskolan |
Formation | Principal Dancer 1st Soloist 2nd Soloist Corps de Ballet |
In 1773, the cultural professions of acting, opera-singing and ballet-dancing in Sweden were all performed by foreign troupes. The first ballet performance was performed at the Swedish court when the French ballet troupe of Antoine de Beaulieu was hired at the court of Queen Christina in 1638, and the first Public ballet performance were performed by the foreign theatre troupes at the theatre of Bollhuset later the same century. The only exception had been the period of 1737–1753, when the first professional Swedish troupe of actors had performed at Bollhuset; during this period, ballets were performed by the first Swedish dancers in this troupe. The perhaps first ballet performed by professional native Swedish dancers was in the play Den afvundsiuke ("The Envious") by Olof von Dahlin in August 1738. However, no names are known about these first dancers. They were probably educated by Jean Marquard as dancing-master, and one of the dancers were also French, Gabriel Senac. In 1753, however, the first Swedish ballet, theatre and opera at Bollhuset were dissolved.
Gustav III wanted to create and educate native talents in these professions. To accomplish this, he used the same method in the ballet as he was to use with the theatre; by having the first generation of native dancers educated by foreign professionals. When he fired the French theatre-company to create his national-stage in 1773, he kept many of the French dancers of this troupe. Dancers from France, Italy and Belgium, such as Antoine Bournonville, Louis Gallodier, Giovanna Bassi and Julie Alix de la Fay were hired to perform and to educate Swedish students. Most of the first students to the troupe were taken among children to the staff at the royal court and to professional musicians, as were the first students to the theatre and the opera. In the first ballet-troupe in the national stage of 1773, they were very few native talents with former professional experience; one of them was Charlotte Slottsberg, who could be counted as the first native Swedish ballerina known by name. The greatest triumph of the Swedish ballet during the 18th century is considered to be the performance by Gallodier for the opera Gustav Adolf och Ebba Brahe (Gustav Adolf and Ebba Brahe) (1786); also the ballet Fiskarna (The Fishes) by Antoine Bournonville (1789) became a great success.
The ballet was closely linked to opera from the beginning; ballets were a part of the performances of the opera, and the dancers were also active on the Royal Dramatic Theatre. When the Royal Swedish Opera were closed down between 1806 and 1809–1812, the ballet was not closed, only moved to the theatre.
During the 19th century, new ballets were frequently made, and older ones seldom performed; En komisk balett (A comic ballet) by Louis Deland was given 127 times between 1796 and 1809, followed by La Fille Mal Gardée, given 54 times in 1812–1842. August Bournonville was active as a guest ballet master 1839, 1847, 1857, 1858 and 1861–1864, and his favorite Swedish ballerinas Charlotta Norberg and Johanna Sundberg educated students in his techniques. The ballet is considered to have been in a state of decay during the end of the 19th century; after the dismissal of Anders Selinder and Sophie Daguin in 1856, the ballet was used more as a supplement to the opera and not as an independent artform, and Sigurd Lund, a student of Bournonville, was not independent enough to prevent this. It was not until 1913, that the ballet returned to a more independent form.
The Kungliga Hovkapellet (Royal Swedish Orchestra), the orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera, is the performing partner for the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Nicolas LeRiche is the director of the Royal Swedish Ballet. Birgitta Svendén is the general director of the Royal Swedish Opera. The members of Operans Balettklubb [1] are supporters of the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Current as of 2024:
Notable previous dancers:
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Artistic Director is Mia Hjelte.
Royal Swedish Opera is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden.
A ballet master is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In modern times, ballet masters are generally charged with teaching the daily company ballet class and rehearsing the dancers for both new and established ballets in the company's repertoire. The artistic director of a ballet company, whether a male or female, may also be called its ballet master. Historic use of gender marking in job titles in ballet is being supplanted by gender-neutral language job titles regardless of an employee's gender.
Pehr Christian Johansson was a teacher, choreographer and balletmaster for the Russian Imperial Ballet. He was engaged at the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1829–41, and at the Imperial Russian Ballet in 1841–66.
Elisabeth Olin née Lillström was a Swedish opera singer and a music composer. She performed the leading female role in the inauguration performance of the Royal Swedish Opera in 1773, and is referred to as the first Swedish opera prima donna. She was the first female to be made Hovsångerska (1773), and the first woman to become a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music (1782).
Bollhuset, also called Stora Bollhuset, Bollhusteatern, and Gamla Bollhuset at various times, was the name of the first theater in Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater building in the whole of Scandinavia. It was built in 1627 for ball sports and used in this way for forty years. The name Lejonkulan, however, was, in fact, the name of a different building, which was also used by the same theater in the 17th century.
Charlotte Slottsberg was a Swedish ballerina. She was one of the first native members of the Royal Swedish Ballet. She was also known as a courtesan and as the controversial mistress of the future Charles XIII of Sweden. She was the first native star of the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Hedvig "Hedda" Katarina Hjortsberg also known as Hedda Koersner was a Swedish ballerina who starred for the Royal Swedish Ballet. She was the sister of the Swedish actor Lars Hjortsberg.
Ulrika Åberg (1771–1852) was a Swedish ballerina. She was active in the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1782–95. She was one of the first native ballet dancers in the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Louis Joseph Marie Deland was a Swedish ballet dancer, singer, actor, choreographer and ballet master in the Royal Swedish Ballet. He is often considered the first native male star in the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Louis Gallodier was a French ballet dancer and choreographer who spent the majority of his career in Sweden, where he was to have a great importance for the development of the ballet in Sweden as the ballet master of the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Léonne-Julie Alix de la Fay, also known as Julianne Bournonville and Madame Alix, was a French ballet dancer and dance instructor. She played an important part in the development of the Royal Swedish Ballet. She was the sister of the famous ballet dancer Antoine Bournonville and the aunt of August Bournonville.
Beata Sabina Straas or Strass also known as Madame Åberg was a professional stage actress in Sweden. She was a member of the pioneer group of actors in the first Swedish national theatre of Bollhuset.
Sophie Marguerite Daguin was a French ballet dancer and choreographer. She spent her career in Sweden, where she became a star ballerina and ballet mistress of the Royal Swedish Ballet, and the principal of the ballet school.
Anders Selinder, was a Swedish ballet dancer, choreographer and director. He was ballet master of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1833–1856.
The Stenborg Company was a Swedish Theatre Company, active in Sweden and Finland in the 18th century. It was also called Stenborgska skådebanorna, Svenska komeditruppen and Svenska Comedien ('Swedish Comedy') or Svenska Teatern. It is one of the most famous theatre troupes in its country's history. In the period of 1754–1773, between the closure of the first national Swedish theatre in Bollhuset and the foundation of the next, The Royal Swedish Opera and the Royal Dramatic Theatre, it was the only Theatre performing in the native language in Stockholm. It also has an importance for the history of Finland, being the first professional secular theatre troupe in this country. It was a traveling troupe in 1756–80 and then housed in several buildings.
The Du Londel Troupe was a French 18th-century theatre troupe. From 1753 to 1771, it was active as the French Theatre of Sweden, where it played a great part in that country's theatre history.
Jeanne-Élisabeth Le Clerc Soligny, known also under her stage name Elisabeth Le Clerc, was a French ballet mistress and ballerina. She was a premier dancer at the French Ballet of the Du Londel Troupe in Sweden and of the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Marie-Renée Frossard, née Malter, was a French ballerina with an international career. She was active in Sweden in 1764–76, where she was regarded as one of the stars of the Royal Swedish Ballet.
Johanna Gustafva Sundberg also known as Johanna Gillberg was a Swedish Ballerina and ballet teacher. She was a star of the Royal Swedish Ballet in the mid 19th-century.
Carolina Desideria Granberg also known as Carolina Friebel, was a Swedish ballerina. She was considered as one of the leading members of the Royal Swedish Ballet.