Haralamb George Lecca (Romanian pronunciation: [haraˈlamb
ˈdÍ¡Ê'e̯ordÍ¡Ê'e ˈleka]; also known as Haralamb Leca, Har. Lecca,
or Haralambie Lecca; February 23 [O.S. February 10] 1873 â€" March 9,
1920) was a Romanian poet, playwright and translator, grandson of
artist Constantin Lecca and brother of genealogist Octav-George Lecca,
as well as nephew and rival of writer Ion Luca Caragiale. He had an
unsettled youth, studying medicine and law for a while, and also
reaching a Sub-Officer's rank in the terrestrial army. He debuted in
literature under the guidance of Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, who also
employed Lecca's services as a medium. His early work was in poetry,
often outstandingly macabre, evidencing his familiarity with
19th-century French literature and hinting at a vague affiliation with
Symbolism. Briefly a collaborator of Junimea society, then of its
dissident wings, Lecca never joined the fledgling Symbolist movement,
and spent his later life in relative isolation from all literary
circles.Lecca's poetry, recognized as formally accomplished in its
context, won him literary awards from the Romanian Academy, but was
discarded by later critics as uninspired and ultimately insignificant.
As a dramatist, Lecca impressed his contemporaries. His numbered set
of tragicomedies, veering into naturalism and political theater, were
the height of fashion in ca. 1898â€"1908, propelled by a troupe that
included Aristide Demetriade, Aristizza Romanescu, Velimir Maximilian
and Constantin Nottara. As a dramaturge, he increased the repertoire
with numerous but unequal translations, beginning with verse drama by
William Shakespeare; this work later led him to contribute
translations of Western European prose, in which he was prolific.
Lecca also worked directly with the actors, as director of his and
others' plays, and sometimes even took up roles on the stage; both his
own performance and his insistence on method acting by others were
often repudiated or ridiculed.His conflicts with actors and managers
resulted in his sacking from Iași National Theater, and then his
banishment from the National Theater Bucharest, leaving him to seek
work with private companies. In the early 1910s, he also collected his
prose poems, also producing memoirs and essays that outlined his ideas
on society, and Christian drama. His contribution to screenwriting,
albeit pioneering, was shaded by revelations of plagiarism from
Caragiale. By then a veteran of the Second Balkan War, he fought on
the Romanian front of World War I, and died soon after this ended,
following a losing battle with paralysis. He had been largely
forgotten as a writer, and was being derided by modernists, even
though his plays continued to be performed into the 1930s.Born in
Caracal, his parents were George (or Gheorghe) Lecca and his wife Zoe
(née Mănăstireanu or Mănăstiriceanu); his grandfather was the
painter and journalist Constantin Lecca. The family belonged to boyar
nobility, and, according to family legend, was established in Ancient
Rome by Publius Porcius Laeca; their roots may also lead back to
Byzantine Bulgaria and the Barony of Gritzena. In Wallachia, the
family patriarch was allegedly the Aga Leca Racotă, aide-de-camp of
Prince Michael the Brave, and possibly also Michael's brother-in-law.
His direct male descendant, ArmaÈ™ Radu Lecca, emigrated to Corona
(Brașov) in 1730; it was there that his grandson, the painter and
Paharnic, was born.
ˈdÍ¡Ê'e̯ordÍ¡Ê'e ˈleka]; also known as Haralamb Leca, Har. Lecca,
or Haralambie Lecca; February 23 [O.S. February 10] 1873 â€" March 9,
1920) was a Romanian poet, playwright and translator, grandson of
artist Constantin Lecca and brother of genealogist Octav-George Lecca,
as well as nephew and rival of writer Ion Luca Caragiale. He had an
unsettled youth, studying medicine and law for a while, and also
reaching a Sub-Officer's rank in the terrestrial army. He debuted in
literature under the guidance of Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, who also
employed Lecca's services as a medium. His early work was in poetry,
often outstandingly macabre, evidencing his familiarity with
19th-century French literature and hinting at a vague affiliation with
Symbolism. Briefly a collaborator of Junimea society, then of its
dissident wings, Lecca never joined the fledgling Symbolist movement,
and spent his later life in relative isolation from all literary
circles.Lecca's poetry, recognized as formally accomplished in its
context, won him literary awards from the Romanian Academy, but was
discarded by later critics as uninspired and ultimately insignificant.
As a dramatist, Lecca impressed his contemporaries. His numbered set
of tragicomedies, veering into naturalism and political theater, were
the height of fashion in ca. 1898â€"1908, propelled by a troupe that
included Aristide Demetriade, Aristizza Romanescu, Velimir Maximilian
and Constantin Nottara. As a dramaturge, he increased the repertoire
with numerous but unequal translations, beginning with verse drama by
William Shakespeare; this work later led him to contribute
translations of Western European prose, in which he was prolific.
Lecca also worked directly with the actors, as director of his and
others' plays, and sometimes even took up roles on the stage; both his
own performance and his insistence on method acting by others were
often repudiated or ridiculed.His conflicts with actors and managers
resulted in his sacking from Iași National Theater, and then his
banishment from the National Theater Bucharest, leaving him to seek
work with private companies. In the early 1910s, he also collected his
prose poems, also producing memoirs and essays that outlined his ideas
on society, and Christian drama. His contribution to screenwriting,
albeit pioneering, was shaded by revelations of plagiarism from
Caragiale. By then a veteran of the Second Balkan War, he fought on
the Romanian front of World War I, and died soon after this ended,
following a losing battle with paralysis. He had been largely
forgotten as a writer, and was being derided by modernists, even
though his plays continued to be performed into the 1930s.Born in
Caracal, his parents were George (or Gheorghe) Lecca and his wife Zoe
(née Mănăstireanu or Mănăstiriceanu); his grandfather was the
painter and journalist Constantin Lecca. The family belonged to boyar
nobility, and, according to family legend, was established in Ancient
Rome by Publius Porcius Laeca; their roots may also lead back to
Byzantine Bulgaria and the Barony of Gritzena. In Wallachia, the
family patriarch was allegedly the Aga Leca Racotă, aide-de-camp of
Prince Michael the Brave, and possibly also Michael's brother-in-law.
His direct male descendant, ArmaÈ™ Radu Lecca, emigrated to Corona
(Brașov) in 1730; it was there that his grandson, the painter and
Paharnic, was born.
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