Ștefan Vellescu (December 24, 1838October 2, 1899) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n stage actor and drama teacher. Born in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

, he ran away from school at age 16, joining the local troupe of Costache Mihăileanu. Removed thence by his family and sent to continue his education in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, he again fled shortly afterward, appearing in minor theatrical roles. He then joined

Matei Millo Matei Millo (; November 24/25, 1814 – September 9, 1896) was a Moldavian, later Romanian stage actor and playwright. Born in Stolniceni-Prăjescu, Iași County, his grandfather was the poet Matei Milu; his parents were Vasile Millo and Zamfira ...

’s troupe at Sala Bossel. Four years later, Vellescu entered Elena Theodorini’s company at Craiova, earning plaudits in roles from ''Caterina Howard'' (

Errico Petrella Errico Petrella (10 December 18137 April 1877) was an Italian opera composer. Life and career Petrella was born at Palermo, capital of the Kingdom of Sicily. A conservative of the Neapolitan school, he was the most successful Italian composer, ...

), ''

La Dame aux Camélias ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (), sometimes called ''Camille'' in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas ''fils''. First published in 1848 and subsequently adapted by Dumas for the stage, the play premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in P ...

'' ( Alexandre Dumas ''fils''), ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' (

William 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 nation ...

) and ''Les Filles de marbre'' (

Théodore Barrière Théodore Barrière (1823 – 16 October 1877), French playwright, was born in Paris. He belonged to a family of map engravers which had long been connected with the war department, and spent nine years in that service himself. The success o ...

), Dimitrie R. Rosetti, ''Dicționarul contimporanilor'', pp. 191-92. Bucharest: Editura Lito-Tipografiei Populara, 1897 as well as playing the lead in

Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (; 27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticism, Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to wh ...

’s ''Chatterton''. Vellescu then returned to Bucharest, subsequently moving to

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, where he played in ''

Don César de Bazan ''Don César de Bazan'' is an opéra comique in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery, Philippe-François Pinel " Dumanoir" and Jules Chantepie, based on the play by d'Ennery and Dumanoir, which was first perform ...

'' (

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

) and ''The Barber of Seville'' (

Pierre Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three #Figaro plays, Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watc ...

). Briefly stopping in Bucharest again, he played the title role in V. A. Urechia’s '' Vornicul Bucioc''. In 1867, sent by Urechia,"Velescu, Ștefan"
at the Alexandru and Aristia Aman County Library he left for Paris, studying drama under

François-Joseph Regnier François-Joseph-Philoclès Regnier de La Brière called Regnier (1 April 1807, in Paris – 27 April 1885, in Paris) was a 19th-century French actor and playwright. The comedian Alcide Tousez was his uncle. Biography After he studied at the ...

. Three years later, he returned to the stage, distinguishing himself in ''Le Supplice d'une femme'' (Dumas ''fils''), '' King John'' (Shakespeare) and ''Le gamin de Paris'' (

Jean-François Bayard Jean-François Alfred Bayard (; 17 March 1796, Charolles, Saône-et-Loire – 20 February 1853, Paris) was a French playwright. He was the nephew of fellow playwright Eugène Scribe. Life As a law student and a lawyer's clerk, Bayard wrote with ...

), the latter in 1877. In 1873, Vellescu was named professor of declamation at the

Bucharest Conservatory The National University of Music Bucharest (, UNMB) is a university-level school of music located in Bucharest, Romania. Established as a school of music in 1863 and reorganized as an academy in 1931, it has functioned as a public university since ...

, where his students included

Grigore Manolescu Grigore Manolescu (March 28, 1857–July 14, 1892) was a Romanian stage actor. Born in Bucharest, Dimitrie R. Rosetti, ''Dicționarul contimporanilor'', p. 121. Bucharest: Editura Lito-Tipografiei Populara, 1897 he left his family at age 14 i ...

, Constantin I. Nottara and

Ion Brezeanu Ion or Iancu Brezeanu (December 1, 1869–March 17, 1940) was a Romanian stage actor. His jovial figure made Brezeanu ideal for comedic roles, above all in the works of Ion Luca Caragiale, whose favorite he was. In 1888, while still a student ...

.Doina Pană, “Din trecutul învățământului teatral din România. Institutul de teatru ‘Szentgyörgyi István’ din Târgu-Mureș”, in ''Sargetia'', nr. V (XLI)/2014, p. 408 Among his publications are ''Istoria artei dramatice'' in ''Revista românească'' and ''Curs de declamațiune'' in ''Revista literară'', as well as criticism. He wrote several dramas and comedies that appeared at the

National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest () 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'' ("Grand Theatre of Bucharest") in 1852, its first director ...

, where he was assistant director: ''Lăpușneanul'', ''Banul Craiovei'', ''Prea târziu'', ''Mincinosul'' (in which

Aristizza Romanescu Aristizza Romanescu (December 24, 1854, Craiova – June 4, 1918, Iași) was a Romanian stage actress, active 1872–1918.George Marcu (coord.), Dicţionarul personalităţilor feminine din România, Editura Meronia, București, 2009. Life In 191 ...

played), ''Blond sau Brun'' and ''Hagi-Bina''. He authored several poems and short stories, including “Din Florești”, “Moș Tudor” and “Schițe din viața contimporană”. He served on the

Bucharest City Council The General Council of Bucharest (Romanian: ''Consiliul General al Municipiului București'') is the legislative body of the Municipality of Bucharest, and is made up of 55 councillors elected every four years. Together with the Mayor of Buchar ...

and, from 1890 to 1895, was employed by the vital records division.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vellescu, Stefan 1838 births 1899 deaths People from the Principality of Moldavia Romanian male stage actors 19th-century Romanian male actors Romanian male Shakespearean actors Romanian theatre critics Romanian theatre managers and producers People from Craiova Academic staff of the National University of Music Bucharest Romanian civil servants Councillors in Romania 19th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights