Mette Marit Astrup
Encyclopedia
Mette Marit Astrup was a Danish
actress, one of the best known of her time in Denmark
, and she enjoyed a career totalling fifty years at the Royal Danish Theatre
in Copenhagen
.
She became a student of the theatre's primadonna Lisbeth Cathrine Amalie Rose
, and was widely regarded as her successor; she played romantic parts, dramatic tragedy and, in her later years, gentle mothers. From 1777 until its dissolution in 1779 she was a member of Det dramatiske Sellskap, a students' club for young actors, which ceased after a short but very active period of cultural development, and whilst there was a student of Fredrik Schwarz. She was described as dignified and with a great feeling for her costume, which was designed by the actors themselves. When the "new style" of acting was introduced onto the stage in 1808, her way of acting then became unfashionble.
She played Leonore in Den Stundenlöse (1773), Else Skolemesters in Barselstuen (1778), and Lady Macbeth
in the Scottish
play Macbeth in 1817.
Astrup never married, but she did have a long-term relationship with Adam Hauch, who was director of the Royal Danish Theatre from 1794 to 1798, and again from 1801 to 1811 (she had a son, believed to have been fathered by him). She lived all her life in the porter's residence at the theatre; this position was inherited within her family, and was subsequently managed by her mother Dorthe, and then by her older sister Sophie, after her father's death in 1792. Her other sister, Anne Marie, also worked at the Theatre, as a dresser in the wardrobe department. Mette Marit Astrup gave her last performance in 1823, retiring after fifty years on the stage.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
actress, one of the best known of her time in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and she enjoyed a career totalling fifty years at the Royal Danish Theatre
Royal Danish Theatre
The Royal Danish Theatre is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first serving as the theatre of the king, and then as the theatre of the...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
Life and career
Astrup was born the child of Sven Andersen Astrup, a former servant who was employed as porter at the Royal Danish Theatre upon its foundation in 1748. She began her performing career in 1772, and by 1773 was employed at the Theatre itself, which was always short of female actors in the 18th century.She became a student of the theatre's primadonna Lisbeth Cathrine Amalie Rose
Lisbeth Cathrine Amalie Rose
Lisbeth Cathrine Amalie Rose was a Danish actress, one of the very first professional native actresses in Denmark and also the greatest actress in 18th century Denmark...
, and was widely regarded as her successor; she played romantic parts, dramatic tragedy and, in her later years, gentle mothers. From 1777 until its dissolution in 1779 she was a member of Det dramatiske Sellskap, a students' club for young actors, which ceased after a short but very active period of cultural development, and whilst there was a student of Fredrik Schwarz. She was described as dignified and with a great feeling for her costume, which was designed by the actors themselves. When the "new style" of acting was introduced onto the stage in 1808, her way of acting then became unfashionble.
She played Leonore in Den Stundenlöse (1773), Else Skolemesters in Barselstuen (1778), and Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare)
Lady Macbeth is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . She is the wife to the play's protagonist, Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman. After goading him into committing regicide, she becomes Queen of Scotland, but later suffers pangs of guilt for her part in the crime...
in the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
play Macbeth in 1817.
Astrup never married, but she did have a long-term relationship with Adam Hauch, who was director of the Royal Danish Theatre from 1794 to 1798, and again from 1801 to 1811 (she had a son, believed to have been fathered by him). She lived all her life in the porter's residence at the theatre; this position was inherited within her family, and was subsequently managed by her mother Dorthe, and then by her older sister Sophie, after her father's death in 1792. Her other sister, Anne Marie, also worked at the Theatre, as a dresser in the wardrobe department. Mette Marit Astrup gave her last performance in 1823, retiring after fifty years on the stage.