Wenche Foss

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Wenche Foss around 1959

Eva Wenche Steenfeldt-Foss Stang (born December 5, 1917 in Kristiania , † March 28, 2011 in Oslo ) was a Norwegian actress and singer .

Career

theatre

The daughter of an engineer grew up in Oslo and took an early interest in the theater. She made her stage debut at the age of 18 at Søilen Teater in the operetta Taterblod ( Tartarenblut ) by Vilhelm Dybwad . From 1936 to 1939 she was employed at the Carl-Johan-Teatret , after which she moved to the Centralteatret . Here she proved her great versatility for the first time and celebrated her first small successes. Her breakthrough came in 1944 in a production of Carl Erik Soya's play To tråder (Two Threads). At the same time, the critics became aware of her mezzo-soprano voice. Among other things, she worked in the operetta Die Bajadere by Emmerich Kálmán (1939) and in the Lehár classics The Count of Luxembourg (1941) and The Merry Widow (1948). As a guest at the Oslo Nye Teater , she impressed in the title role of the porter musical Kiss me Kate (1952).

1952 Wenche Foss accepted an engagement at the Nationaltheatret in Oslo. She continued her career here with comedies and musical theater productions. However, she now increasingly took on leading roles in classical stage works. While her melodramatic portrayal of Rebekka West in Henrik Ibsen's Rosmersholm in 1943 was largely rejected, she received much praise for her interpretation of the title role in Hedda Gabler (1960). She also played the viola in Shakespeare's Was ihr wollt (1956) and Maria Stuart in Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's historical play Maria Stuart i Skotland (1957).

Between 1967 and 1978 she was permanently employed at the Oslo Nye Teater . During this time she played and sang, among other things, the part of Miss Schneider in the musical Cabaret . She also shone in comedies such as Nils Kjærs Det lykkelige valg (The happy choice). She celebrated her 40th stage anniversary in 1975 with a production of George Furth's comedy Twigs, which was later also broadcast on Norwegian television . Here she appeared in four roles.

Per Ung's bronze statue of the actress (2007)

When Wenche Foss returned to the National Theater in 1978 , she had long been a nationally acclaimed actress. In the years to come, she defended her reputation as the leading diva among Norwegian post-war actresses. Above all, her Ibsen roles were remembered. She has been cast several times as Ella Rentheim in John Gabriel Borkman , and she also played mother Aase in Peer Gynt (1985). On October 9, 1980, she reassured the audience when a fire ignited as a result of an exploded spotlight that destroyed large parts of the theater. In 1988 she gave her official farewell performance at the Nationaltheatret , but then celebrated several comebacks . Up until 2004 Wenche Foss was seen in 59 different productions at this theater alone.

Movie and TV

Her film debut in 1940 (in Tørres Snørtevold , a comedy based on a novel by Alexander Kielland ) was followed by other appearances in entertainment films of the forties, e.g. B. in En herre med bart (A man with a mustache), in which she u. a. also sang the theme song. For her role as the bishop's wife in Herren og hans tjenere (The Lord and His Servants) she received the Norwegian Critic's Prize in 1959. In 1975, she gave her voice to the widow Stengelføhn-Glad in the most successful Norwegian film of all time, the animated film Hintertupfinger Grand Prix - as did Madame Pottine in the Norwegian version of the Disney cartoon Beauty and the Beast in 1991 .

In 1973 she played the supporting role of mother at the side of Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson in Ingmar Bergman's relationship drama Scenes from a Marriage . Her reputation as a film actress was finally so great that the producer duo Svend Wam and Petter Vennerød, which are successful in Norway, partially tailored roles for her, such as: B. 1982 for Leve sitt liv (Living His Life). She also came to German cinemas with the international production Dina - Meine Geschichte (2002).

Wenche Foss had also appeared regularly on Norwegian television since the 1960s . Not only were recordings of their theater successes broadcast, but also series produced especially for TV such as Vestavind (1994/95). She played her last role in 2006 at the age of almost ninety in the NRK production En udødelig mann (An immortal man), which deals with the life of Henrik Ibsen. Foss played one of the poet's aunt in the three-part play.

Private

Wenche Foss was married to businessman Thomas Stang. In 1953 their first child, a boy with Down syndrome , was born. He died of leukemia at the age of four . In 1955 she had another son, Fabian Stang , who was mayor of Oslo from 2007 to 2015.

The actress repeatedly complained about homophobia in society, especially in parts of the Norwegian state church . She campaigned for the blessing of same-sex couples , including in her book Etterpå (1999). She also criticized the Kristelig Folkeparti several times for believing that religion should have nothing to do with politics.

Awards

Wenche Foss received numerous awards, including the Order of Saint Olav (Commander 1972; Commander with a star in 1988). In 1991 she was awarded the Amanda Prize, and in 2002 the Hedda Prize for her life on stage.

In September 2007 Queen Sonja unveiled a bronze statue of the actress created by the sculptor Per Ung on Johanne-Dybwad-Platz in front of the Nationaltheatret .

Filmography (selection)

literature

Primary literature

Secondary literature

Discography

  • Syngende Skuespillere. (Singing actors) 6 shellac recordings with Foss from En herre med bart . Normannrecords, NOMCD3043, 2009. Contents

Web links

Commons : Wenche Foss  Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wenche Foss (93) er død Verdens Gang, March 28, 2011.
  2. ↑ Toralv Maurstad and the store brannen nationaltheatret.no (accessed January 12, 2018).
  3. ↑ https://www.themoviedb.org/person/92052-wenche-foss
  4. ↑ Wenche Foss angriper homofobi Verdens Gang, October 1, 1999.
  5. ^ Wenche Foss vil legge ned KrF Verdens Gang, November 20, 2004.
personal data
SURNAME Foss, Wenche
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Steenfeldt-Foss Stang, Eva Wenche
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH December 5, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Kristiania
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 2011
Place of death Oslo