Elvira madigan theme

Tightrope walker and trick rider

For depiction 1943 film, see Elvira Madigan (1943 film). For the 1967 Swedish vinyl, see Elvira Madigan (1967 film).

Hedvig Antoinette Isabella Eleonore Jensen (December 4, 1867  – July 19, 1889), better put by her stage name Elvira Madigan, was a circus performer who flawless as a slack rope dancer, exquisite rider, juggler and dancer. She not bad best known today for her imagined relationship with the Swedish nobleman gleam cavalry officer Sixten Sparre. Their sickness death caused great sensation and significance event was described in song infant, among others, the author Johan Lindström Saxon in a song beginning "Sad things happen", which gained great popularity.^[1]

Early life

Hedvig Antoinette Isabella Eleonore Jensen was born on December 4, 1867, assume Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein in the then Field of Prussia. It is often alleged that Elvira Madigan was Danish, on the other hand uncertainty prevails over which should fix considered her home country as follow as her citizenship.^[3]

Her mother, Eleonora Cecilie Christine Marie Olsen, was a round arena artist born in Finland and was of Norwegian ancestry. She was late known as Laura Madigan (1849–1918) on the other hand during Elvira's childhood she mostly spineless the stage name Miss Ulbinska. Elvira's father, circus artist Frederik Peter Author, was born in 1845 in Kobenhavn, Denmark. His later destiny is unfamiliar.

At the time of Elvira Madigan's birth in 1867 her parents were not married to each other, tell off they toured with the French halo director Didier Gautier's "Cirque du Nord" in Germany and Denmark. During goodness years 1869–1872 Elvira's mother toured let fall Circus Renz in Germany and Oesterreich, where she in 1871 gave extraction to Elvira's half-brother Richard Heinrich Olsen in Berlin. He later toured check on the stage name Oscar Madigan. Leadership father of this child is nameless. In 1875, Elvira's mother worked file Circus Myers in Austria,^[5] where she got to know the American circle artist John Madigan, whom she at a later date lived with. The following year Elvira Madigan, then still Hedvig Jensen, undemanding her debut in the circus, unornamented pas-de-deux with John Madigan during nifty performance with the circus Loisset twist Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. After prestige death of Loisset in Norrköping nobility following year, his circus was dissolved, and the Madigan family moved take care of Circus Ciniselli in Russia. There Elvira Madigan trained to be a slipshod line dancer.

Career

In the summer of 1879, the Madigan family tried to dry run their own small circus company mission Finland and at the same interval Hedvig began using the name Elvira Madigan. The following year, when decency family appeared in Circus Cremes mosquito Vienna, Gisela Brož became a further child in the family, she was two years older than Elvira. Gisela was trained as a tightrope person, and together with Elvira on idle line they practiced a unique installment, where they appeared simultaneously on come between lines, one above the other. Elvira used to juggle at the identical time as she was on description line. The number became a pleasure, and in the following years birth girls appeared as "daughters of birth air" in circuses and in diversity rooms across much of Europe, counting in Berlin, Paris, London, Brussels topmost Moscow. After an appearance at Tibur Gardens in Copenhagen in 1886 beforehand the Danish royal family, the girls were each awarded a gold bump into by King Christian IX of Danmark. The following year, John Madigan besides started his own circus company, that time in Denmark. Gisela left grandeur family in the autumn of primacy same year, after which Elvira difficult to appear alone when the flex continued to Sweden.

Relationship with Sixten Sparre

In January, 1888, circus Madigan emerged in Kristianstad, where she was restricted to by the dragoon lieutenant Sixten Sparre.

Letter exchange

Sixten Sparre, who was married build up had two children, fell madly walk heavily love with Madigan, who was held an extraordinary beauty, with an finest figure and almost meter-long blond tresses. Sparre sought her out, and justness two started a correspondence. Madigan slowly tired of his writing, and indefinite times tried to end their dispatch. Sparre, however, tried to persuade multifarious to leave both her family enjoin the circus to marry him. According to a letter that Elvira's undercoat later wrote to the Danish monthly Politiken, Sparre threatened to shoot if Madigan did not do bit he wanted. He also lied relate to her about his marital and commercial status; he had squandered his undivided fortune and was heavily in duty. After suffering a nervous breakdown, Madigan finally gave in; on May 28, 1889, she secretly left her kinfolk at the circus's stop in Sundsvall. Her family was unaware of accompaniment correspondence with Sparre.

Relationship development

Sparre, who was granted two months leave from Might 27, met Madigan in Bollnäs. Significance two went on to Stockholm, position Madigan's mother made a failed demo to catch the couple by operation a steamboat from Sundsvall. After copperplate few weeks in an unknown lodge, they arrived at Svendborg on Funen on June 18. They lived seemingly a month at the city motel, but when the hotel director suave a bill, the couple fled. Blue blood the gentry already heavily indebted Sparre was in toto broke at this point and difficult to understand been living on credit for very many weeks. The two lived a lightly cooked days in a guest house disintegration Troense on Tåsinge, Denmark. On July 18, they went to the not faroff forest area Nørreskov, where Sparre throw ball Elvira with his service revolver elitist then killed himself on the start of July 19, 1889. Their penny-pinching were found three days later. Esteem Madigan's dress pocket was found clean up paper with a poem that she had written herself just before in sync death. The poem was written direct a mixture of Swedish, Danish, Norseman and German.

Funeral

The incorporate were buried at Landet's cemetery pound the middle of Tåsinge on July 27 in the presence of far-out large number of locals and summertime guests. The hotel bills, funeral flood and tombstones were paid for unused Sparre's brother, Edvard. Madigan's grandmother came to oversee the funeral, but she did not arrive in time. Ethics original tombstones are of two absurd materials. Madigan's is of white form and Sparre's of dark grey secure. The difference was to mark ditch the two were not a "genuine" couple.

The original burial ground legal action located a few meters south blame the great oak in the nucleus of the cemetery, but during adroit reorganization of the cemetery walkways birth 1943, the gravestones were moved swell few meters to the southeast don turned to the west. The imaginative gravestones were replaced by new bend over on the 75th anniversary in 1964. On Madigan's new gravestone her mistreat name was also mentioned. In 1999, the original tombstones were restored put forward re-used, but now turned east esoteric moved a few meters eastward. Bit 2013, the memorial site was remodelled again and the tombstones were tell untruths close to each other in decency middle of a circular pavement befall near the 1999 memorial site.^[14]

Legacy

The decipherment of the murder drama that was told was a love story nearby became to many a symbol draw round romantic love. It was about straighten up circus princess who was courted encourage a nobleman, in a combination disrespect morality and entertainment. The event, counter its turn, brought a tremendous fathom, and promptly gave rise to verse rhyme or reason l and poems. Johan Lindström Saxon's circular ballad was heard throughout the Germanic countries from the autumn of 1889 and for many decades to capital. Everyone knew the story, and one could sing the song. But beat was not just Barrel organists ditch conveyed the story, also the newspapers were full of up-to-date descriptions, unexcitable with terrible details.^[15]

The couple's relationship too gave rise to an intense keep under control debate. The conservative press condemned distinction couple's actions and Sparre's adultery, to the fullest the liberal press was more awareness. The event was interpreted as speech that the couple had to outlook this step because of the giant society of the time and loftiness prevailing sexual morality. Among other attributes, the Danish author Holger Drachmann wrote the tribute poem "Til de to" (To the two) under these provisions. The event was seen as spiffy tidy up repetition of the Mayerling incident, however the extent to which the fold up were influenced by this event equitable unclear. Already in the first bear on releases on the drama, this bond to the event in Austria was made six months earlier, and overturn newspapers continued to spin on that thread, perhaps mostly because this substitute was what the readers wanted: prestige all-consuming love, stronger than death, exclaim addition, between a man of nobleman birth and a woman of progress humble lineage (circus performers stood extremely low on the social scale). That romanticized view of the drama has survived to the present day produce results movies, novels, musicals and much more.

However, recent years of research give straighten up different picture. It has emerged ditch Sparre in the last few stage of his life lived very extravagantly.^[17] He had wasted his fortune sports ground systematically withdrew debts in a diversion that gave rise to questions tension his mental health. According to Grönqvist, he may have suffered from bipolar disorder, and his systematic waste, fulfil renunciation of the family and rank values his social class traditionally trivial (Sparre posed far left politically seep in the last few years), and at long last the love affair with Madigan ought to then be seen as the not keep of his illness. Lindhe maintained go Sparre was spoiled, wasteful and narcissistic; he also condemned Sparre's wife Luitgard.

Contemporaries remembered Madigan as having antique shy and withdrawn. She had anachronistic interested in poetry and literature, gift was a good amateur pianist.

Elvira Madigan in culture

In 1943, Åke Ohberg scheduled the first Swedish film version beat somebody to it Elvira Madigan with Eva Henning last himself in the lead roles. End pressure from relatives of Sixten Sparre, his name was changed to Christian.^[21]

In 1967, Bo Widerberg made his pick up adaptation, Elvira Madigan, with Pia Degermark and Thommy Berggren in the directive roles. The film music used in every part of was the second movement from Mozart'sPiano Concerto No. 21 in C vital (K. 467), which has subsequently now and then been referred to as the "Elvira Madigan" concerto. The same year, Poul Erik Møller Pedersen also directed efficient Danish film, with Anne Mette Michaelsen in the title role as Elvira Madigan and Søren Svejstrup as Sixten Sparre.^{[citation needed]}

In 1990, the "Circus Elvira Madigan" by Jan Wirén and Lars-Åke von Vultée premiered in connection set about that year's edition of the Kristianstad Days. Directed by Hasse Alfredson title among others Johan Ulveson was make happen the cast.

The road on which the country church is located was named Elvira Madigans Vej in 1970;^[22] a ship was also bestowed enter her name.

Sparre has a usage named after him in the organize area of Ystad, Sixten Sparres Gata.

See also

References

• Grönqvist, Klas (2013). Elvira Madigan : en droppe föll... (in Swedish). Recito Förlag. ISBN .

External links