Ariana Nozeman

Ariana Nozeman , also Ariana Noseman or Ariana Nooseman , born as Ariana van den Bergh (* 1626/28 in Middelburg ; † December 7, 1661 in Amsterdam ) was the first professional actress in the Netherlands. She made her debut on the Amsterdam stage in 1655. Up until that time, women's roles were mostly played by men.

Life

Traveling troop

Ariana Nozeman was the daughter of the actor and poet Adriaan van den Bergh. Presumably she was already on stage as a child, because her father had a traveling company that traveled through Europe. With these theater groups, which consisted mostly of relatives, it was customary for the women and children to play along.

Later she probably played with the Archducal Comedians of Brussels, directed by Jan Baptist van Fornenbergh . This troupe, which moved around northern Germany and Scandinavia between 1649 and 1654, played not only on marketplaces, but also at royal courts, including that of Duke Friedrich III. (Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf) . They also performed in Flensburg , Rensdorf and Neumünster . They played in the Dutch language, which was well understood in northern Germany at the time because it resembled Low German. In Sweden they appeared before Queen Christina (1653). During a tour in 1649 Ariana married the actor Gillis Nozeman in the Evangelical Reformed Church of Altona .

First ballet dancer

Interior of Schouwburg van Van Campen: the hall on the left, the stage on the right ( engraving by Salomon Savery )

The name of Ariana Nozeman appeared for the first time on June 30, 1655 in the bills of the Amsterdam Theater ( Schouwburg van Van Campen ) on the Keizersgracht . The actress received 76.50 guilders for 17 appearances. Their fees were higher than most male actors. She even earned more than her husband, master comedian Gillis Nozeman, for wearing her own precious costumes. Presumably she got a chance on stage as a woman because six actors had recently left the Amsterdam theater. She made her debut on April 19, 1655 in a play that was written as early as 1644 and set in ancient Rome, and which happened to have her name: "Incomparable Ariana". Shortly after Ariana's debut that broke in Amsterdam plague , and the theater was forced to close for six months.

Ariana Nozeman mostly played serious roles, including a. written by Jacob Cats and Jan Vos (poets) . She was the first actress to portray Badeloch in the historical play “Gijsbrecht van Aemstel” by Joost van den Vondel , Holland's most famous poet in the 17th century. She seldom acted in antics or comedies. An exception was her leading role in the farce "Lichte Klaartje" (Leichtes Klärchen), which her husband had written and in which she also sang. She was also the first woman to perform as a ballet dancer.

The Nozemans were the first couple in theater history in the Netherlands. Her daughter Maria Nozeman (* 1652) followed her mother's talent; she was already on stage as a six-year-old girl. In addition to their job as an actor, the Nozemans also ran the inn "Das Kamel" on the Singel , one of the Amsterdam canals .

Calvinist Resistance

Ariana's public appearance on the stage was certainly not approved by the strict Dutch Reformed Church. The theater was a constant nuisance to the Calvinist pastors. But the Republic of Holland was also a world power, and its capital was famous in Europe for its tolerance and freedom. Exiled writers and philosophers like Descartes and Locke were welcome in Amsterdam. Their works could be printed there as well as erotic or pornographic works.

She died in Amsterdam on December 7, 1661. Three months earlier she had lost her only son, the seven-year-old Mathijs. The actress was buried in the Oude Kerk . Her death was a great loss to the theater. Immediately after her funeral, theater management contacted four new actresses to replace Ariana. Three hundred years after her debut in 1655, Ariana Nozeman received the recognition she had as the first Dutch professional actress. The Amsterdam city council honored her by naming a street after her.

literature

• Ben Albach: Lang's Kermissen en Hoven. Ontstaan ​​en kroniek van een Nederlands toneelgezelschap in de 17de eeuw . Zutphen 1977.
• Ben Albach: Een onvergetelijke Ariane. De eerste Amsterdamse toneelspeelster in: Spiegel Historiael. 29. 1994. pp. 79-83.
• Malou Nozeman. Een forgotten ster uit de Gouden Eeuw . In: Ons Amsterdam. 58.2 2006. pp. 62-65.
• Simon Schama. The Embarassment of Riches: an Interpretation of Dutch culture in the Golden Age. New York. Knopf, 1987, 410.