Open this publication in new window or tab >>2025 (English)In: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stage Directors / [ed] Maria M. Delgado; Simon Williams, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025, p. 324-324Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
g (b. Stockholm, 20 February 1832; d. Stockholm, 29 January 1899). Swedishtheatre director. His training as a bookseller in Stockholm involved internships in Parisand Dresden, during which he regularly attended theatre performances. He began actingat Mindre Teatern in Stockholm in 1858. He took theatre trips regularly to Paris as well asGermany and Austria to learn about the new dramas and operas, and trends in the buddingdirector-led theatres of Europe. He was engaged to act at the Royal Theatre, studying thework of August Bournonville, whom he succeeded as stage manager in 1864. Josephsonprepared the rehearsals, planning the blocking, and enforcing a more moderate realismon stage. His most remarkable production at the Stockholm Opera was Meyerbeer’s operaL’Africaine (1867) with spectacular stage machinery effects. In 1873, he was appointed ADof Nationaltheatret in Kristiania (Oslo). In collaboration with Ibsen, he edited the playscriptand staged the first production of Peer Gynt in 1876. Back in Stockholm in 1879, he took overthe leadership of Nya Teatern and successfully competed for audiences with Dramaten.When Dramaten turned down his play Master Olof, Strindberg proposed that Josephsondirect it at Nya Teatern, where it was a major success. Josephson left Nya Teatern in 1887,when the organisation was beset by financial difficulties. In addition to his theatre practice,he published books and articles in which he heavily criticised the Swedish theatre.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025
National Category
Performing Art Studies
Research subject
Theatre Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-244921 (URN)9781108115995 (ISBN)9781107190597 (ISBN)
2025-07-062025-07-062025-08-18Bibliographically approved