[2.  Blanc does not refer to this performance in his Historie.  But this and all other data of performances from 1844 to 1899 are taken from his “Fortegnelse over alle dramatiske Arbeider, som siden Kristiania Offentlige Theaters Aabning, den 30.  Januar 1827, har vaert opfort af dets Personale indtil 15 Juni 1899.”  The work is unpublished.  Ms 4to, No. 940 in the University Library, Christiania.]

We are equally ignorant of the fate of Othello, performed the next season, being given for the first time on January 3, 1845.  Wulff’s Danish translation was used.  Blanc says in his Historie[3] that Desdemona and Iago were highly praised, but that the play as a whole was greatly beyond the powers of the theater.

    [3.  See p. 94, note 1.]

Nearly eight years later, November 11, 1852, Romeo and Juliet in Foersom’s translation received its Norwegian premiere.  The acting version used was that made for the Royal Theater in Copenhagen by A.E.  Boye in 1828.[4] Christiania Posten[5] reports a packed house and a tremendous enthusiasm.  Romeo (by Wiehe) and Juliet (by Jomfru Svendsen) revealed careful study and complete understanding.  The reviewer in Morgenbladet[6] begins with the little essay on Shakespeare so common at the time; “Everyone knows with what colors the immortal Shakespeare depicts human passions.  In Othello, jealousy; in Hamlet, despair; in Romeo and Juliet, love, are sung in tones which penetrate to the depths of the soul.  Against the background of bitter feud, the love of Romeo and Juliet stands out victorious and beneficent.  Even if we cannot comprehend this passion, we can, at least, feel the ennobling power of the story.”  Both of the leading parts are warmly praised.  Of Wiehe the reviewer says:  “Der var et Liv af Varme hos ham i fuldt Maal, og den graendselose Fortvivlelse blev gjengivet med en naesten forfaerdelig Troskab.”

    [4.  See Aumont og Collin:  Det Danske Nationalteater.  V Afsnit,
    pp. 118 ff.]

    [5. Christiania Posten.  November 15, 1845.]

    [6. Morgenbladet.  November 15, 1845.]

The same season (Dec. 11, 1852) the theater also presented As You Like It in the Danish version by Sille Beyer.  The performance of two Shakespearean plays within a year may rightly be called an ambitious undertaking for a small theatre without a cent of subsidy. Christiania Posten says:  “It is a real kindness to the public to make it acquainted with these old masterpieces.  One feels refreshed, as though coming out of a bath, after a plunge into their boundless, pure poetry.  The marvellous thing about this comedy (As You Like It) is its wonderful, spontaneous freshness, and its freedom from all sentimentality and emotional nonsense.”  The acting, says the critic, was admirable, but its high quality must, in a measure, be attributed to the sympathy and enthusiasm of the audience.  Wiehe is praised for his interpretation of Orlando and Jomfru Svendsen for her Rosalind.[7] Apparently none of the reviewers noticed that Sille Beyer had turned Shakespeare upside down.  Her version was given for the last time on Sept. 25, 1878, and in this connection an interesting discussion sprang up in the press.