Ida Aalberg
Encyclopedia
Ida Aalberg was the most notable and internationally known Finnish
actress of her time.
. She was a member of the Theatre of Finland from 1874 to 1883 and later a regular visiting actress. She also performed on foreign scenes, in Scandinavia, Germany, Hungary and Russia among others. Although she never managed a breakthrough in a foreign language she remained respected and highly popular in Finland, even when spending much, or nearly all of her time abroad.
A new theatre house that opened in 1902 led to the renaming of the Theatre of Finland as The Finnish National Theatre
. A few years later Aalberg began to show an interest in directing and administration which lead to her appointment as director-actor (assistant manager) in 1909.
She was not a success as a director. When her contract was terminated in 1911 it caused a cultural scandal and she was never to perform regularly in the National Theatre again. She celebrated her 40 year anniversary as an actress there in 1914 and a visiting performance was being planned but her sudden death in January 1915 in Saint Petersburg
came before the plans could be carried out.
Aalberg's first marriage was to a well-known Finnish nationalist Lauri Kivekäs from 1887 until his death in 1893, and the second in 1894 to Baron Alexander Uexküll-Gyllenband from St Petersburg, who was a lawyer and philosopher and later became an influential person in the Finnish theatre scene.
there is a monument, The Curtain, designed by sculptor Raimo Utriainen and raised in memory of Ida Aalberg in 1972. Being the first abstract sculpted monument ever planned in Finland it caused a huge uproar by winning the competition in 1961.
The city of Helsinki
has named a street in memory of Ida Aalberg in Pohjois-Haaga
, and she has also been featured on a Finnish Postage stamp
.
The birth home of Ida Aalberg is located in Leppäkoski in the municipality of Janakkala
and serves as the Ida Aalberg museum. The library of Janakkala is also named after her and is sited on Ida Aalberg Plaza.
Finnish actress Kyllikki Forssell played a small part as Ida Aalberg in the movie Poet and Muse by Jaakko Pakkasvirta (1978). The movie tells the story of another famous Finn, the poet Eino Leino
.
Ida Aalberg Foundation awards a biannual Ida Aalberg Acting Prize, which is the largest single prize in the theatre in Finland (15000 euros in 2007). In 1959 the Foundation announced an open competition for a monument and after various phases, including a follow-up competition, commissioned from sculptor Raimo Utriainen his winning work, The Curtain. It took 15 years from the initial idea in 1957 - centennial of Ida Aalberg's birth - until the monument was finally put up.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
actress of her time.
Biography
Aalberg was born in Tervakoski, JanakkalaJanakkala
Janakkala is a municipality of Finland. Its administrative centre is in Turenki, which is nowadays often erroneously shown on maps as being "Janakkala"....
. She was a member of the Theatre of Finland from 1874 to 1883 and later a regular visiting actress. She also performed on foreign scenes, in Scandinavia, Germany, Hungary and Russia among others. Although she never managed a breakthrough in a foreign language she remained respected and highly popular in Finland, even when spending much, or nearly all of her time abroad.
A new theatre house that opened in 1902 led to the renaming of the Theatre of Finland as The Finnish National Theatre
Finnish National Theatre
The Finnish National Theatre , founded in 1872 in the city of Pori, is located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. It is the world's oldest theatre with performances in Finnish...
. A few years later Aalberg began to show an interest in directing and administration which lead to her appointment as director-actor (assistant manager) in 1909.
She was not a success as a director. When her contract was terminated in 1911 it caused a cultural scandal and she was never to perform regularly in the National Theatre again. She celebrated her 40 year anniversary as an actress there in 1914 and a visiting performance was being planned but her sudden death in January 1915 in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
came before the plans could be carried out.
Aalberg's first marriage was to a well-known Finnish nationalist Lauri Kivekäs from 1887 until his death in 1893, and the second in 1894 to Baron Alexander Uexküll-Gyllenband from St Petersburg, who was a lawyer and philosopher and later became an influential person in the Finnish theatre scene.
Remembering Ida Aalberg
On the other side of The Finnish National Theatre, in Kaisaniemi Park,there is a monument, The Curtain, designed by sculptor Raimo Utriainen and raised in memory of Ida Aalberg in 1972. Being the first abstract sculpted monument ever planned in Finland it caused a huge uproar by winning the competition in 1961.
The city of Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
has named a street in memory of Ida Aalberg in Pohjois-Haaga
Pohjois-Haaga
Pohjois-Haaga , Norra Haga is a neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland.-Sports:The following sports clubs are located in Pohjois-Haaga:* FC Pohjois-Haagan Urheilijat...
, and she has also been featured on a Finnish Postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
.
The birth home of Ida Aalberg is located in Leppäkoski in the municipality of Janakkala
Janakkala
Janakkala is a municipality of Finland. Its administrative centre is in Turenki, which is nowadays often erroneously shown on maps as being "Janakkala"....
and serves as the Ida Aalberg museum. The library of Janakkala is also named after her and is sited on Ida Aalberg Plaza.
Finnish actress Kyllikki Forssell played a small part as Ida Aalberg in the movie Poet and Muse by Jaakko Pakkasvirta (1978). The movie tells the story of another famous Finn, the poet Eino Leino
Eino Leino
Eino Leino was a Finnish poet and journalist and is considered one of the pioneers of Finnish poetry. His poems combine modern and Finnish folk elements. The style of much of his work is like the Kalevala and folk songs. Nature, love, and despair are frequent themes in Leino's work...
.
Ida Aalberg Foundation and Ida Aalberg Society
The memory of Ida Aalberg is kept alive by the Ida Aalberg Foundation in Helsinki (1957) and the Ida Aalberg Society in Janakkala (1985).Ida Aalberg Foundation awards a biannual Ida Aalberg Acting Prize, which is the largest single prize in the theatre in Finland (15000 euros in 2007). In 1959 the Foundation announced an open competition for a monument and after various phases, including a follow-up competition, commissioned from sculptor Raimo Utriainen his winning work, The Curtain. It took 15 years from the initial idea in 1957 - centennial of Ida Aalberg's birth - until the monument was finally put up.