Sophie Stebnowska

Sophie Stebnowska

Mariane Theresia Sophie (Maria Sofia) Stebnowska (or Stempkosta), (married surname "Karsten") (1753–16 February 1848), was a Polish opera singer, actor and harpsichordist. She was among the great talents of the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden. She was married to the opera singer Christoffer Christian Karsten and was also the maternal grandmother ot the world famous ballet dancer Marie Taglioni.

Biography and career

Sophie Stebnowska was married in 1781 to the Swedish opera singer Christoffer Christian Karsten, and in 1782, she was appointed premier actress and singer of the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, a position she kept for 21 years. At the wedding, the couple were given the villa Canton at Drottningholm. Though she did not reach the rank of prima donna, she was considered among the opera's most valuable members, just behind the prima donnas Elisabeth Olin and then Caroline Frederikke Müller during the 1780s and 1790s.

She was also active as a musician. In March, 1795, she participated in a public concert in Stockholm arranged by Karsten where she played the harp, while her husband and Marie Louise Marcadet sang; first each one by themselves, then jointly.

As a person, she was described by Crusenstolpe as an ideal image of the Gustavian age. She behaved according to the ideal of the Gustavian court and her movements were gracious; she was friendly towards everyone without favoring anyone; she conversed well with members of society.

By 1803, she was no longer premier actress, and in 1806, she and her husband left their positions after the temporary closure of the opera.

Gustav Löwenhielm mentions her importance in the 19th century, during a discussion about the employment of foreign artists, when he points out that several of the artists during the foundation of the Royal Swedish Opera and the Royal Dramatic Theatre had been foreigners:

"Is it impossible to engage Mr Berg and Miss Schoultz? - Generally, I can not see how we can elude the employment of halfgrown foreigners. Gustav III's "Swedish" national theatre started with the "Danish" Mrs Müller, the "French" Mrs Marcadet, the "German" Mamsell Stading, the "German" Mrs Augusti and the "Polish" Mrs Karsten. These ladies occupied our stage and kept it from the foundation of the opera and the premature departure of Mrs Olin in the beginning of the 1780s, until the year of 1800, when the school of Mrs Desguillons had created Mamsell Wässelia cum celeris."
cn|date=February 2008 Sophie (Stebnowska) Karsten's daughter was Sophie Hedvig Karsten, premier dancer at the opera in 1805-1806, and her granddaughter was the ballerina Marie Taglioni. She died at Drottningholm.

References

* Georg Nordensvan, "Svensk teater och svenska skådespelare från Gustav III till våra dagar; Första bandet, 1772-1842" sv icon
* http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:AnmauI2sOjkJ:www.muslib.se/publ/bulletin/bulletin_29.pdf+sophie+stebnowska&hl=sv&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=se sv icon
* http://www.genealogia.fi/genos/5/5_37.htm
* http://www.forum-dansomanie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=493&view=previous&sid=30ec8f47605248fd8682df404223a583 sv icon
* http://runeberg.org/sqvinnor/0388.html sv icon
* Torsten Dahl, "Svenska män och kvinnor. nr 4" sv icon
* Anna Ivarsdotter Johnsson och Leif Jonsson, "Musiken i Sverige, Frihetstiden och Gustaviansk tid 1720-1810." sv icon


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sophie Karsten — Sophie Hedvig Karsten est une danseuse suédoise née le 3 septembre 1783 et morte le 25 février 1862 à Paris. Biographie Elle dansa au Ballet royal suédois. Fille de Christoffer Christian Karsten et de Sophie Stebnowska, elle… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Marie Taglioni — Lithograph by Chalon and Lane of Marie Taglioni as Flora in Didelot s Zéphire et Flore. London, 1831 (Victoria and Albert Museum/Sergeyev Collection). Marie Taglioni (April 23, 1804 – April 24, 1884) was a famous Italian/Swedish ballerina of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Filippo Taglioni — (aka Philippe Taglioni; November 5, 1777 ndash; February 11, 1871) was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, the famous Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. He is the son of Carlo and father of both Marie and …   Wikipedia

  • Christoffer Christian Karsten — Christoffer Christian (or Kristofer Kristian) Karsten (1756–1827) was a Swedish opera singer, sometimes called the greatest male opera singer in Swedish history. He was also the maternal grandfather of the world famous ballerina Marie Taglioni.… …   Wikipedia

  • List of dancers — An annotated list of dancers.A*Fifi Abdou is a leading Egyptian belly dancer and actress. She has been described as “synonymous with belly dancing in the years she was performing. ”In recent years, she has starred in several serial television… …   Wikipedia

  • 1848 in music — Events * Richard Wagner begins writing libretto that will become Der Ring des Nibelungen ( The Ring of the Nibelung ). *Franz Liszt takes up full time post as conductor to the Weimar court orchestra *Charles Hallé settles in Manchester. Classical …   Wikipedia

  • Marie Louise Marcadet — Born Marie Louise Baptiste 1758 Sweden Died 1804 (aged c. 56) France Other names Marie Louise Baptiste Spouse Jean Remi Marcadet Marie Loui …   Wikipedia

  • Inga Åberg — Infobox actor name = Inga Åberg imagesize = caption = birthname = Inga Åberg birthdate = 1773 location = Sweden deathdate = 1837 (aged c.64 ) deathplace = height = othername = homepage = spouse = Inga Elisabeth Åberg (1773 ndash;1837) was a… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”