Aleksandar "Aleksa" Bačvanski ( Temesvár,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, 1832 —

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

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, 26 March 1881) was a Serbian actor and theater director. He was an interesting personality in the history of the modern Serbian theatre with an international career but tragic personal and artistic fate. He brought

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...

to the art of the theatre.

Biography

Aleksa Bačvanski graduated from the gymnasium in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

and continued his education in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

in 1846. After the defeat of the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

in which he participated as a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

student, he established an

amateur theater Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

in Szeged. After graduating from the city's

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

he entered the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in Pest and

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...

. His love for theater led him to quit his job and join a Hungarian

touring theatre A touring theatre company travels to different locations to perform Theatre, plays and Musical theatre, musicals. Touring theater refers to a dynamic form of Theatre, theatrical performance by its presentation in various location instead of a f ...

, where he developed into a character actor. He played in Pest using the theatrical name of Varhidi. In Pest, the painter

Stevan Todorović Stevan Todorović ( sr-cyr, Стеван Тодоровић; Novi Sad, 1832–Belgrade, 1925) was a Serbian painter and the founder of modern fencing and Sokol movement in Yugoslavia. Biography Born in Novi Sad, Todorović moved in 1839 to Szeg ...

hired him as a member of the

National Theater in Belgrade National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. In addition to acting, he distinguished himself as a master of directing, which he raised to an enviable height, preparing for the work of Adam Mandrović of Dubravka fame, Miloš Cvetić, Vela Nigrin, Milka Grgurova, Pera Dobrinović, Milorad Gavrilovic, and Toša Jovanović. He was a master at directing epic scenes. He stopped directing in 1874, suffering from eye disease after an unfortunate fall and concussion. Together with the writer and founder of the National Theater,

Jovan Đorđević Jovan Đorđević (13 November 1826 – 9 April 1900) was a Serbian writer, dramatist, Minister of Education and the co-founder of the Novi Sad Serbian National Theatre in 1861, the National Theatre in Belgrade in 1868 and the Academy of Dramat ...

, he founded and managed the first modern School of Acting in 1870. As an actor, he was representative of the character's personality and stood out with realistic suggestive play. His main roles were:

Shylock Shylock () is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Merchant of Venice'' ( 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal villain. His defeat and forced conversion to Christianity form the climax ...

(

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

), Harpagon (

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

The Miser ''The Miser'' (; ) is a five-act comedy in prose by the French playwright Molière. It was first performed on September 9, 1668, in the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), theatre of the Palais-Royal in Paris. This is a character com ...

Đurađ Branković Đurađ Vuković Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ Вуковић Бранковић, ; 1377 – 24 December 1456) served as the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456, making him one of the final rulers of medieval Serbia. In 1429, Branković was form ...

(''Obernik Đurađ Branković''),

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

(

Casimir Delavigne Jean-François Casimir Delavigne (; 4 April 179311 December 1843) was a French poet and dramatist. Life and career Delavigne was born at Le Havre, but was sent to Paris to be educated at the Lycée Napoleon. He read extensively. When, on 20 Ma ...

's Louis XI) and others in which he played after a serious illness when he became blind. He bid farewell to the Belgrade audience on 25 March 1881 in the role of

Abbé Faria Abbé Faria () (born José Custódio de Faria; 31 May 1756 – 20 September 1819) was a Portuguese Catholic priest who was one of the pioneers of the scientific study of hypnotism, following on from the work of Franz Mesmer. Unlike Mesmer, ...

(

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

). Shortly after the play, Bačvanski died. "In the history of Serbian theater, he represents one of the most tragic figures".Проф Живојин Петровић у Енциклопедији Југославије ЈЛЗ 1980. том 1 стр. 413.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacvanski, Aleksa Actors from Timișoara 19th-century Serbian actors

Biography

See also

References