Anne Marie Milan Desguillons née ''Milan'' (8 May 1753–28 July 1829) was a French stage actress. She was active in the French Theater of Gustav III in Sweden in 1781-92, and principal of the

Royal Dramatic Training Academy The Royal Dramatic Training Academy (, also known as ''Dramatens elevskola''), was the acting school of Sweden's national stage, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, and for many years (1787–1964) seen as the foremost theatre school and drama education ...

jointly with Joseph Sauze Desguillons 1793-98.

Life

Anne Marie Milan debuted in

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

1773, and was active in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

1774–75.

French theater of Gustav III

In 1781, she arrived in Sweden as a member of the newly created French theater troupe of Jacques Marie Boutet de Monvel, which was engaged by king

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...

to perform for the Swedish royal court. The French Theatre performed at the court theatres in

Gripsholm Castle Gripsholm Castle () is a castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, Sweden. It is located by lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm. Since Gustav I Vasa, Gripsholm has belonged ...

Drottningholm Palace Theatre 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. Currently, the r ...

and Confidencen at

Ulriksdal Palace 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 ...

for the Swedish royal court: from the season of 1783-84, they also performed for the public at

Bollhuset Bollhuset, also called (The Big Ball House), (Ball House Theater), and Gamla Bollhuset (Old Ball House) at various times, was the name of the first theater in Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater buildin ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in winters, though the audience normally consisted exclusively of the upper class society, who could speak French. Anne Marie Milan Desguillons became a highly valued member of the French theater and was favored by the king. To her appearance, she was described as heavily overweight and not regarded to be beautiful, but she was much praised for her artistic talent and enjoyed great respect particularly within the court. She was foremost a tragedienne, performed in tragedies and '' mére noble''roles, and was normally given main parts in the French tragedies.Joseph Sauze Desguillons, urn:sbl:17492, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av O. WlESELGREN.), hämtad 2018-06-06. Among her parts was Merope,

Semiramis Semiramis (; ''Šammīrām'', ''Šamiram'', , ''Samīrāmīs'') was the legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and of Ninus, who succeeded the latter on the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus ...

and

Athalie ''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final tragedy of Jean Racine, and has been described as the masterpiece of "one of the greatest literary artists known" and the "ripest work" of Racine's genius. Charles August ...

, but she did occasionally perform comic parts, such as Madame Turcaret. In 1789, she married her colleague Joseph Sauze Desguillons, and thus required the name Desguillons.

Instructor and principal

After the assassination of Gustav III in 1792, the French theater was dissolved. Desguillons retired from the stage but chose to remain in Sweden. In 1793, Anne Marie Milan Desguillons and her spouse Joseph Sauze Desguillons where appointed joint principals of the

. The academy had been founded in 1787, but the Desguillons couple was responsible for giving it a proper organisation, which was kept by their successor

Sofia Lovisa Gråå Sofia Lovisa Gråå (; 1749 – 8 May 1835) was a Swedish educator of actors, noted for innovations that in modern times would be described as feminist. Biography Sofia Lovisa Palm was from 1788 married to Fredrik Gabriel Gråå, the interpreter ...

. The two Desguillons were also instructors at the school. They instructed the students in drama, while the music lessons was given by

Johann Christian Friedrich Hæffner Johann Christian Friedrich Hæffner (2 March 1759 in Oberschönau – 28 May 1833 in Uppsala) was a German-born Swedish composer. Hæffner received his first musical education with the Schmalkalden organist Johann Gottfried Vierling. H ...

and L. Piccini, and the dancing lessons by Julie Alix de la Fay and Jean-Rémy Marcadet. They pupils where enrolled at the age of nine or ten and performed as child actors in minor plays as well as in special pupil's plays staged by the school. She was responsible for the female students, and her husband for the male students. They are known as the mentors of many later famous Swedish stage artists in Swedish theater history, and thus contributed greatly in shaping the contemporary Swedish acting method in a French pattern. Among her more known students was

Jeanette Wässelius Marie Jeanette Wässelius (23 August 1784 – 5 December 1853) was a Swedish opera singer. She is referred to as the leading prima donna of the Royal Swedish Opera in the early 19th-century. She was a '' Hovsångare'' (1815) as well as an ...

, Sofia Frodelius, Ulrika Wennerholm and

Carolina Kuhlman Ottilia Carolina Kuhlman (15 November 1778 – 12 April 1866) was a Swedish stage actress. She was an elite member of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, where she was considered the leading lady in the early 19th-century.Nordensvan, Georg, Svensk tea ...

. Anne Marie Milan Desguillons retired as a principal in 1798. In 1803, king

Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1792 until he Coup of 1809, was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Fin ...

engaged a French theatre company to perform, and the Desguillons couple were made joint directors responsible of the company during its stay in Sweden. They kept this role until the French company left in 1806.

References

* Österberg, Carin, Lewenhaupt, Inga & Wahlberg, Anna Greta, Svenska kvinnor: föregångare nyskapare, Signum, Lund, 1990 1990 (Swedish) * Kjellberg, Bertil, Beijer, Agne & Andersson, Ingvar (red.), Gustavianskt: 771-1810 Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1945 {{DEFAULTSORT:Desguillons, Anne Marie Milan 1753 births 1829 deaths Expatriate actresses in Sweden 18th-century French actresses French stage actresses Drama teachers Gustavian era people

Life

French theater of Gustav III

Instructor and principal

See also

References