The Du Londel Troupe was a French 18th-century

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

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. The French troupe performed in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

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in 1748–53. They also performed in

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Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

during the king's stay there in 1749. The troupe was under the leadership of Jeanne Du Londel, widow of Jean Du Londel, and Pierre de Laynay in 1753, when they were invited to Sweden by the initiative of the Swedish queen,

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia Louisa Ulrika of Prussia ( sv, Lovisa Ulrika; german: Luise Ulrike) (24 July 1720 – 16 July 1782) was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771 as the wife of King Adolf Frederick. She was queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III. Bac ...

. The troupe followed the royal court between the royal palaces and performed on the court- theatres, such as the Drottningholm Theatre and Confidencen, but they also performed for the public in the theatre of

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 buildi ...

in Stockholm during the

Winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in Polar regions of Earth, polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring (season), spring. The tilt of Axial tilt#Earth, Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a Hemi ...

. After the season of 1753-54, the Stockholm theatre was reserved for them and the Swedish actors were turned out, which interrupted the development of the Swedish language theatre; the Swedish theatre formed the Stenborg Troupe. The Du Londel Troupe performed the latest plays from Paris and also

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

s, but they largely remained a pleasure for those who could speak French. In 1771, the French Theatre was dissolved by

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 Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

, who wished to establish a Swedish-language national theatre. The Du Londel troupe is mostly remembered in history for interrupting the development of the Swedish theatre and replacing it with a theatre which was only understandable for those who could speak French; but the current view is that they made "The gracious French singing theatre" popular in Sweden, and thereby inspired to the foundation of the

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre ( sv, Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The the ...

and the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern s ...

References

* Lars Löfgren (2003). Svensk teater (Swedish theatre). Stockholm: Natur och Kultur. . * Forser, Tomas & Heed, Sven Åke (red.), Ny svensk teaterhistoria. 1, Teater före 1800, Gidlund, Hedemora, 2007 * Anna Ivarsdotter Johnsson and Leif Jonsson: ''Musiken i Sverige. Frihetstiden och Gustaviansk tid 1720-1810'' (Music in Sweden. The age of liberty and the Gustavian age 17201-1810) * Klas Ralf, ''Operan 200 år. Jubelboken'' (The Opera 200 years. The Jubilee book) Prisma * H.J. Huitfeldt, Christiania Theaterhistorie (in Norwegian) {{authority control 18th century in Sweden 18th-century theatre French comedy troupes Former theatres in Stockholm 1753 establishments in Sweden 1771 disestablishments in Europe Theatre companies in Sweden 18th century in Stockholm Sweden during the Age of Liberty

See also

References