
Petter Stenborg (1719 – 6 November 1781) was a Swedish stage actor and theater director. He was the director of the
Stenborg Company or ''Svenska Comoedi-truppen'' from 1758 onward and as such the director of the ''
Humlegårdsteatern'' (1773–80) in Stockholm. Petter Stenborg played an important role in Swedish theater history: he was a member of the pioneer actors of the first Swedish national stage in ''
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 ...
'', and as the leader of the Stenborg theatre company, one of only two professional Swedish language theater companies active in the mid 18th-century, he kept professional Swedish language theater alive from the closure of the public theater in ''Bollhuset'' in 1754, until the inauguration of the
Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Location and environment
The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
(1773) and
Royal Dramatic Theatre
The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, 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 theatre has been at its present lo ...
(1788).
Life
Early career
Petter Stenborg was initially a soldier of the Royal Guard. In 1746, he was engaged as an actor in the theater 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 buildin ...
'' in
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 ...
. Two years after his employment, the director
Charles Langlois referred to him as one of the most valuable members of the theater.
[Byström, Tryggve, Svenska komedien 1737-1754: en studie i Stockholmsteaterns historia, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1981]
Among his roles were Philemon in ''Syrinx'' by
Lars Lalin or
Peter Lindahl with music by
Johan Ohl, opposite
Elisabeth Lillström (title role) Peter Lindahl (
Harlequin
Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...
),
Johanna Embeck (Chlorix), Trundman (Sylvanus) and
Elisabeth Olin
Elisabeth Olin née ''Lillström'' (December 1740 – 26 March 1828) 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 ...
(Astrild) in the 1747–48 season, which is known as the first Swedish ''
opéra comique
''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...
'',
and he is also believed to have had the leading role in ''Slafve-ön'' ('Slave island') by
Marivaux
Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (; ; 4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist.
Marivaux is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, w ...
(1749–50).
Director
After the season of 1753–54, the Swedish theater lost its permission to use the royal Bollhuset theater building, which was transferred to the use of the
French Du Londel theater by king
Adolph Frederick of Sweden and
queen Louisa Ulrika.
The Swedish language theater split in two travelling Swedish theater companies: the company of Peter Lindahl and Johan Bergholtz, and the
Stenborg Company of Petter Stenborg, which became the first two Swedish language theater companies in Sweden.
Petter Stenborg initially made an attempt to start an inn, but successfully applied for a theater permit in 1758, and formed the Stenborg Company. The theater company performed in a number of temporary localities in Stockholm during the winter, and toured the country in summer. They also frequently performed in Finland, then a Swedish province, during his leadership in companionship with the tight-rope-walker von Carl Fredrik von Eckenberg: when they visited
Åbo
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while the metropolitan area ...
in 1761, it was likely the first time a professional theater company performed in Finland. He was the rival of the theater company of
Peter Lindahl, who preferred to tour the Swedish country side, while Petter Stenborg mostly toured in Finland and in Stockholm.
The Stenborg Company was ridiculed by the upper classes, who preferred the French language Du Londel theater and described Stenborg theater company as composed by a staff of actors from "jail, soldiers, alcoholic lawyers, servants and washing-women", its costumes from rag shops, the music from taverns and the plays as vulgar as the taverns in which they performed.
[Andersson, Ingvar (red.), Gustavianskt: 771-1810: en bokfilm, y utg. Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1979 ] However, these judgement was likely unfair, made by aristocrats who preferred the fashionable French language plays, and the
Stenborg Company was popular and appreciated by the public, though their trouble in finding suitable localities where a problem also for their quality.
They were, alongside the theater companies of Peter Lindahl and
Carl Seuerling, the only representatives of Swedish language professional theater during the reign of Frederick Adolph.
Among its most noted actors were
Adolph Fredrik Neuman,
Jean Löfblad,
Johanna Embeck and
Christina Catharina Lindberg.
Later career
In 1771, the French Du Londel theater was dissolved by after the succession to the throne 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 ...
. Petter Stenborg sent a petition to the monarch and asked him to protect the native speaking theater. He also successfully petitioned for the use of the now empty Bollhuset theater building, and were allowed to perform a public play at the opening of the
Riksdag of the Estates
Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...
in 1772. During the performance, the son of Petter Stenborg,
Carl Stenborg
Carl Stenborg (8 September 1752 – 1 August 1813) was a Swedish opera singer, composer and theatre director. He belonged to the pioneer generation of the Royal Swedish Opera and was regarded as one of the leading opera singers of the Gustavian e ...
, repeated the appeal to the king to protect the native theater.
After this, King Gustav III announced his wish to establish a professional national stage, though he rejected the Stenborg Company to form it: he was to create the Royal Swedish Opera the following year, and later the Royal Dramatic Theatre.
The Stenborg Company, though rejected in its hope to staff the national royal stage, was still given protection from the king as a private company. In 1773, the theater company finally managed to secure a permanent theater building in Stockholm, the ''Humlegårdsteatern'' in ''
Humlegården
Humlegården is a major park in the district of Östermalm in Stockholm, Sweden. The park borders on Karlavägen in the north, Sturegatan in the east, Humlegårdsgatan in the south and Engelbrektsgatan in the west. It is the location of the Swed ...
'', where they performed every summer for the next seven years. The Stenborg Company became very successful in Humlegården as a part of the city's summer life, and staged Swedish language comedies, and popular parodies of the performances at the Royal Swedish Opera: the opera ''Thetis och Phelée'', for example, became ''Petis och Nasenblom''and ''Acis och Galathea'' became ''Kasper och Dorotea''. It was, however, impossible to perform in the building during winter time.
Petter Stenborg had several children with Anna Sara Krüger, most notably
Carl Stenborg
Carl Stenborg (8 September 1752 – 1 August 1813) was a Swedish opera singer, composer and theatre director. He belonged to the pioneer generation of the Royal Swedish Opera and was regarded as one of the leading opera singers of the Gustavian e ...
. His wife had previously been the housekeeper of count
Adam Horn and through her connections, their children were given a much better education than himself. Carl Stenborg became a star singer of the Royal Opera, and though forbidden by his contract to perform in his father's theater, he acted as his adviser. In 1780, Petter Stenborg retired and transferred the leadership of the Stenborg Company to his son, who immediately secured a permanent theater building where the company could perform also during the winters: the ''Eriksbergsteatern'' (it moved to the
Stenborg Theatre
The Stenborg theatre, also called Svenska Komiska Teatern, Komiska Teatern and Munkbroteatern, was a historical Swedish 18th century theatre, active between 1784 and 1799 in Gamla stan in Stockholm. It was the second theatre of Stockholm during t ...
for years later).
Petter Stenborg died in 1781.
See also
*
Martin Nürenbach
Martin Nürenbach or ''Nurembach'' (unknown – 1780) was a German acrobatics, acrobat, stage actor, dancer and equilibrist active in Sweden, Norway and Finland. He was a pioneer in Norwegian theater history by founding the first public theater ...
*
Karl Gustav Bonuvier
References
*
Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 26. Slöke - Stockholm '
*
'
* ''
ttps://runeberg.org/famijour/1866/0329.html Svenska Familj-Journalen / Band V, årgång 1866'
*
Svenska Familj-Journalen / Band VII, årgång 1868'
* Andersson, Ingvar (red.), Gustavianskt:
771-1810: en bokfilm,
y utg. Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1979
* Jonsson, Leif & Ivarsdotter, Anna (red.), Musiken i Sverige. 2, Frihetstid och gustaviansk tid 1720–1810, Fischer, Stockholm, 1993 (Music in Sweden. The age of Liberty and the Gustavian age 1720–1810)
* Byström, Tryggve, Svenska komedien 1737-1754: en studie i Stockholmsteaterns historia, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1981
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenborg, Petter
Swedish male singers
1719 births
1781 deaths
Swedish theatre directors
18th-century Swedish male actors
Finnish male stage actors
18th century in Finland
18th-century Finnish people
Age of Liberty people
18th-century theatre managers