Zaharia Bârsan (January 23 [O.S. January 11] 1878 â€" December 13,
1948) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian playwright, poet and
actor.He was born in Sânpetru, Brassó County, in what was then the
Transylvania region of Austria-Hungary. His parents were Zaharie
Bârsan, a small landowner, and his wife Maria (née Vlădăreanu).
After completing a gymnasium in his native city in 1895, Bârsan went
to the Romanian Old Kingdom. Settling in its capital Bucharest, he
earned a degree from Gheorghe Lazăr High School. He subsequently
enrolled in the Dramatic Arts Conservatory, studying under Constantin
Nottara and graduating in 1901. An employee of the National Theatre
Bucharest from that point, he also participated in numerous traveling
shows; between 1903 and 1913, he was a central figure of theatrical
life in Transylvania. Following the province's 1918 union with
Romania, Bârsan became the first director of the Romanian-language
Cluj National Theatre, serving from 1919 to 1927, from 1931 to 1933
and finally from 1934 to 1936. Using a romantic, incantatory style, he
performed tragic roles that included Oedipus, Prince Hamlet, King
Lear, Macbeth, Karl Moor and Ruy Blas.Bârsan's first published work
consisted of verses that appeared in Convorbiri Literare in 1897. His
poems, which had romantic and Sămănătorist elements, appeared in
book form as Visuri de noroc (1903) and Poezii (1907; 1924). His prose
books Ramuri (1906) and Nuvele (1909) display marked Sămănătorist
tendencies. Bârsan's most influential writings were his plays: the
melodrama Sirena, first performed in 1910, in which the destiny of a
maladjusted artist meets that of a domestic lady of the camellias; the
1914 drama Se face ziuă, about the Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and
Crișan; and the dramatic poems Trandafirii roșii (1915) and Domnul
de rouă (1938). His 1908 memoir Impresii de teatru din Ardeal is
important both for its literary style and its documentary value.
1948) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian playwright, poet and
actor.He was born in Sânpetru, Brassó County, in what was then the
Transylvania region of Austria-Hungary. His parents were Zaharie
Bârsan, a small landowner, and his wife Maria (née Vlădăreanu).
After completing a gymnasium in his native city in 1895, Bârsan went
to the Romanian Old Kingdom. Settling in its capital Bucharest, he
earned a degree from Gheorghe Lazăr High School. He subsequently
enrolled in the Dramatic Arts Conservatory, studying under Constantin
Nottara and graduating in 1901. An employee of the National Theatre
Bucharest from that point, he also participated in numerous traveling
shows; between 1903 and 1913, he was a central figure of theatrical
life in Transylvania. Following the province's 1918 union with
Romania, Bârsan became the first director of the Romanian-language
Cluj National Theatre, serving from 1919 to 1927, from 1931 to 1933
and finally from 1934 to 1936. Using a romantic, incantatory style, he
performed tragic roles that included Oedipus, Prince Hamlet, King
Lear, Macbeth, Karl Moor and Ruy Blas.Bârsan's first published work
consisted of verses that appeared in Convorbiri Literare in 1897. His
poems, which had romantic and Sămănătorist elements, appeared in
book form as Visuri de noroc (1903) and Poezii (1907; 1924). His prose
books Ramuri (1906) and Nuvele (1909) display marked Sămănătorist
tendencies. Bârsan's most influential writings were his plays: the
melodrama Sirena, first performed in 1910, in which the destiny of a
maladjusted artist meets that of a domestic lady of the camellias; the
1914 drama Se face ziuă, about the Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and
Crișan; and the dramatic poems Trandafirii roșii (1915) and Domnul
de rouă (1938). His 1908 memoir Impresii de teatru din Ardeal is
important both for its literary style and its documentary value.
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