Ruska Mihaylova Manuilova ( bg, Руска Михайлова Мануилова, 1879 – 11 April 1949) or better known as her stage name Roza Popova ( bg, Роза Попова), was a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

actress and theater director and the wife of the Bulgarian writer Chicho Stoyan.

Biography

Early life and debut

Roza Popova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1879. She married in secret a little past her 16th birthday. She studied theatrical arts under the direction of Konstantin Sapunov. During her high school education, she found her passion of acting and joined the traveling theatrical troupe "Zora". In 1897, Roza Popova makes her debut with her role of Sophia in "Iskreno Priyatelstvo" by Sardu in Veliko Tarnovo, the old capital of Bulgaria. However, official records state that her first major role and debut was in the play by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

–

Lucrezia Borgia (play) ''Lucrezia Borgia'' (french: Lucrèce Borgia) is an 1833 play by the French writer Victor Hugo. It is a historical work portraying the Renaissance-era Italian aristocrat Lucrezia Borgia. The play (along with '' Angelo, Tyrant of Padua'') is belie ...

in the role of Lucrezia, with the collaboration of the most successful Bulgarian troupe – "Salza i Smyah". She then proceeded to play in the troupe alongside her husband, leading the troupe herself between 1900 and 1902. Afterward, she joined the Croatian troupe of M. Stoikovich.

Middle years

In 1900 she was stalked by her admirer Todor Bogdanov, who was her teacher from Vratsa. On January 20, 1903, he shot her and himself, and died. She regained her strength despite the bad wound. She was also released from the service of the theater in the same year. In the period between 1904 and 1906, she joined the troupe in

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

. The next town she went to was Vienna, where she studied literature and medicine in the

Vienna University The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public university, public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the Geogra ...

. During 1910 she was appointed as the first director in the

Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...

theater. In 1918 she founded her own theater "Roza Popova".

Theatre roles

Major theatre roles in which Roza Popova acted: * Antigone – '' Antigone'' by Sophocles * Medea – ''Medea: A Tragedy in Three Acts'' by Ernest Legouvé * Vela and Malama – ''Vampire'' by

Anton Strashimirov Anton Strashimirov ( bg, Антон Страшимиров) (Varna, 15 June 1872 – Vienna, 7 December 1937) was a Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in South ...

* Margarita Gauthier – '' The Lady of the Camellias'' by Alexandre Dumas fils * Sappho – ''Sappho'' by Franz Grillparzer * Sonya and Elena Andreevna – '' Uncle Vanya'' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

In 1926, Teodor Trayanov devoted a poem "Skitnishki napev" to her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popova, Roza 1879 births 1949 deaths Bulgarian stage actresses 20th-century Bulgarian actresses Bulgarian women theatre directors Actresses from Sofia