Zaharia Bârsan ( – December 13, 1948) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

-born

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n playwright, poet and actor. He was born in

Sânpetru Sânpetru (German: ''Petersberg''; Hungarian: ''Barcaszentpéter'') is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania, located just north of the county seat, Brașov. It is composed of a single village, Sânpetru. The commune is located in ...

Brassó County Brassó was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (south-eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Brassó (''Brașov'' in Romanian, ''Kronstadt'' in German). Geograph ...

, in what was then the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

region of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. 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 The Romanian Old Kingdom ( ro, Vechiul Regat or just ''Regat''; german: Regat or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia ...

. Settling in its capital

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, he earned a degree from Gheorghe Lazăr High School.Justin Ceuca, ''Zaharia Bârsan: monografie'', p. 8. Editura Dacia, Bucharest, 1978. He subsequently enrolled in the Dramatic Arts Conservatory, studying under Constantin Nottara and graduating in 1901. An employee of the

National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest ( ro, Teatrul Naţional "Ion Luca Caragiale" București) is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest. Founding It was founded as the ''Teatrul cel Mare din București'' ("Gra ...

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 Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

Prince Hamlet A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

, Karl Moor, and

Ruy Blas ''Ruy Blas'' is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play was initially met with only average ...

. Bârsan's first published work consisted of verses that appeared in ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...

'' 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 word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

''; the 1914 drama ''Se face ziuă'', about the

Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan The Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan (; 31 October – 14 December, 1784) began in the Metaliferi Mountains, Transylvania, but it soon spread throughout all Transylvania and the Apuseni Mountains. The leaders were Horea (Vasile Ursu Nicola ...

; 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.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 433. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barsan, Zaharia 1878 births 1948 deaths People from Brașov County Romanian Austro-Hungarians Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Romania Gheorghe Lazăr National College (Bucharest) alumni Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography alumni Romanian male stage actors Romanian theatre directors 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian poets Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers Romanian novelists Romanian memoirists 20th-century Romanian male writers