Helena Snoek (22 September 1764 – 3 December 1807) was a Dutch actress. She also played a popular tragedy role in the historical play, '' Gijsbrecht van Aemstel'' by

Joost van den Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch playwright, poet, literary translator and writer. He is generally regarded as the greatest writer in the Dutch language as well as an important figure in the history of Wes ...

Biography

Helena Snoek was the eldest of five children in the Catholic family of skipper Joannes Snoek (d. 1780), from

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

, and Helena de Ruijter (d. 1808), shopkeeper who was born in

Heusden Heusden () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands. It is located between the towns of Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch. The municipality of Heusden, including Herpt, Heesbeen, Hedikhuizen, Do ...

. She was the sister of the actors

Andries Snoek Andries Snoek (14 November 1766 - 3 January 1829) was a Dutch actor and director. He was born in Rotterdam, the son of Jan Snoek and Helena de Ruyter, and the brother of actresses Anna Maria Snoek, Anna Maria and Helena Snoek. Despite his low birt ...

and

Anna Maria Snoek Anna Maria Snoek (1779 – 1849) was a Dutch stage actress, ballet dancer and opera singer.Anna de Haas, Snoek, Anna Maria, in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. URL: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/bwn1880-2000/DVN/lemmata/data/SnoekAnnaMar ...

. In 1787, Helena Snoek began her career with the traveling troupe of W. van Dinsen Jr. Andries Snoek who first joined at the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

Theater later brought together a troupe of musical professionals including Helena Snoek and Anna Maria Snoek. In 1789, Helena Snoek married singer Pieter Snoeck (1769–1848) who mainly played comedic roles then joined the troupe at the Rotterdam Theater. Between 1792 and 1793, Helena Snoek served as the director of the Rotterdam Theater along with Andries Snoek. They owned the troupe under the name of Andries Snoek from 1793 to 1795. At the beginning of 1793, the

Theater was closed due to the French invasion. The musical troupe was subsequently moved to the Southern Netherlands through

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

. In March 1794, the troupe further reached to Brussels, and at the end of that year returned to Bruges. In February 1795, the troupe eventually reached to Rotterdam. Helena Snoek was also associated with the theater hall Utile et Amusant in Amsterdam. She then had a long career with the

Stadsschouwburg The Stadsschouwburg (; Dutch: ''Municipal Theatre'') of Amsterdam is a theatre building on the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The building was built in 1894 in the neo-Renaissance style, and was the home of the National Ballet and Oper ...

Amsterdam between 1795 and 1807. She died on 3 December 1807.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snoek, Helena 1764 births 1807 deaths Dutch stage actresses 19th-century Dutch actresses 18th-century Dutch actresses 18th-century Dutch opera singers 18th-century women opera singers 19th-century Dutch opera singers