Vela Nigrin ( sr-cyr, Вела Нигринова; ; born Augusta Nigrin) was a Slovenian-Serbian stage actress who performed in Belgrade in the latter part of the 19th century.

Life and work

Nigrinova's father, August was a railway official whose daughters Marija, Gizela, Matilda, and Augusta were all actresses or singers. Nigrinova first appeared on the stage of the Slovenian Dramatic Society on 19 April 1876 as "Lady Clarens" in the play "Lowood Orphan".

Davorin Jenko Davorin Jenko (born Martin Jenko; 9 November 1835 – 25 November 1914) was a Slovenes, Slovene and Serbs, Serbian composer. He is sometimes considered the father of Slovenian National romanticism, national Romantic music. Among other songs, he co ...

the director of the Serbian Theater in 1882 contracted her for the

National Theater in Belgrade National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. She soon became one of the first artists of this theater and opportunities for the most demanding roles opened up for her. During her stage career she performed extensively in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, and

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

; she also occasionally visited

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, where she was met with mixed reviews.'' Enciklopedija Slovenije ''. (1993). Book 7. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga.

Legacy

The Serbian government issued a commemorative stamp in her honor and also there is a street in Belgrade that was named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nigrin, Vela 1862 births 1908 deaths People from Ljubljana 19th-century actresses Actresses from Austria-Hungary