Hedvig Carolina Sophie Cysch née Wiberg (1847–1917) was a Swedish

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

singer and stage actress, frequently performing the leading roles in operettas, both 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 ...

and

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. In particular, she is remembered for performing the title role in ''Sköna Helena'', the Swedish version of Offenbach's ''

La belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy's elopement with Paris (mythology ...

''.

Biography

Born in Stockholm on 15 October 1847, Sophie Wiberg was the daughter of the caretaker Karl Erik Wiberg and Anna Elisabet Sederström. She attended

Anders Selinder Anders Selinder (4 November 1806, in Stockholm – 6 November 1874, in Stockholm), was a Swedish ballet dancer, choreographer and director. He was ballet master of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1833–1856. Life Anders Selinder was the son of the j ...

's ballet school from 1857 and the Royal Theatre's school from 1863. She made her début at the Nya Teatern in Gothenburg in the spring of 1866 as Laura in

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

's ''De Nygifte'' (The Newly Weds) and from 1867 performed in the recently established Svenska Teatern in Stockholm where from the start she was acclaimed as one of the most talented actresses. She was engaged by the Royal Theatre from 1872 to 1877. After studying in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(1877–79), she performed in various theatres in Gothenburg and Stockholm from 1880 to 1888. In 1882, she married the wholesaler Karl Teador Cysch (1853-1903). On the stage, she quickly gained popularity, performing as Madame Tallien in

François Ponsard François Ponsard (1 June 1814 – 7 July 1867) was a French dramatist, poet and author and was a member of the Académie française. Biography Ponsard was born at Vienne, Isère in 1814 and trained as a lawyer. His first literary work w ...

's ''Det besegrade lejonet'' (''Le Lion amoureux'') and Rose in his ''Hedern och penningen'' (''L'Honneur et l'Argent''). She also played Hero in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''Mycket väsen för ingenting'' (''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

''), Juliet in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' and Cordelia in ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

''. She was also an increasingly prominent operetta singer, especially thanks to her interpretation of the title role in Offenbach's ''La belle Hélène''. Following her marriage, Cysch retired from full-time engagements but supported the theatrical production company she established with her husband. In August 1882, she performed the title role in

Hervé Hervé is a French language, French masculine given name of Breton language, Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinizat ...

's ''Lili'' at the

Djurgårdsteatern Djurgårdsteatern ( Swedish for "Djurgården Theatre"), was an historical Swedish theatre, active at Djurgården in Stockholm between 1801 and 1929 (from 1863 in a new building). It was the only theatre in Stockholm outside the royal theatres ...

in Stockholm, bringing their enterprise considerable success. The show continued throughout the autumn and in the winter at

Södra Teatern Södra Teatern is a theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Mosebacke torg on Södermalm in Stockholm. The venue is the oldest theatre in Stockholm and is situated in the heart of the city. History Södra Teatern is one of Sweden's o ...

. She later performed in Suppé's ''

Die schöne Galathée ' (''The Beautiful Galatea'') is an operetta in one act by Franz von Suppé to a German libretto by the composer and 'Poly Henrion' (the pseudonym of Leonhard Kohl von Kohlenegg).* In the early 1860s, French operettas by Jacques Offenbach wer ...

'' and in

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (; 3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable su ...

's ''

Giroflé-Girofla ''Giroflé-Girofla'' is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Charles Lecocq. The French libretto was by Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier. The story, set in 13th century Spain, concerns twin brides, one of whom is abducted by pirates. ...

''. Thanks to her successes, she became known as "the Swedish Judic" after the French operetta singer

Anna Judic Anne Marie-Louise Damiens, stage name Anna Judic (18 July 1849, Semur-en-Auxois – 15 April 1911, Golfe-Juan) was a French comic actress. Life Niece of Montigny (the director of the Gymnase), in 1866 she entered the Conservatoire de Paris i ...

. After appearing on the stage for the last time in 1888, once again in ''La belle Hélène'', her final years became increasingly difficult. After losing all his assets, her husband died in 1903, leaving her without means. After a period in a widow's charity home, she died in the mental illness department of the Stockholm health authority on 20 March 1917.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cysch, Sophie 19th-century Swedish women opera singers 19th-century Swedish actresses Swedish stage actresses Swedish mezzo-sopranos 1847 births 1917 deaths Actresses from Stockholm