George Stephănescu (13 December 1843 – 25 April 1925) 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 composer, one of the main figures in Romanian national

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. Stephănescu was born and died 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 graduated from the Bucharest Academy of Music. In 1877, Stephănescu was appointed conductor of the National Theater orchestra and Singing teacher at the Academy. While teaching the opera singers at the Academy, he aimed to gradually develop the National Theater's musical repertoire from vaudevilles to musical comedies and finally to opera. In 1885, he founded the first opera company in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. It disbanded in 1902 when the government cut its financial support. Stephănescu is noted for having used works by many poets as

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

s or texts for his compositions — among them, the locals

Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanians, Romanian Romanticism, Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Emin ...

Traian Demetrescu Traian Rafael Radu Demetrescu (; also known under his pen name Tradem or, occasionally, as Traian Demetrescu-Tradem; December 5, 1866 – April 17, 1896) was a Romanian poet, novelist and literary critic, considered one of the first symbolist auth ...

, Alexandru Vlahuţă and the foreigners

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

and

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

. His son was the writer Eugeniu Ștefănescu-Est.

Works

*''Symphony in A Major'' (1869) *''Peste Dunăre'' (opera, 1880) *''Sânziana şi Pepelea'' (opera, 1880) *''National Overture'' (1882) *''Scaiul bărbaţilor'' (opera, 1885) *''Cometa'' (opera, 1900) *''Petra'' (opera, 1902)

External links

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Romanian opera composers 1843 births 1925 deaths Romanian male classical composers 19th-century classical composers 20th-century Romanian classical composers National University of Music Bucharest alumni Academic staff of the National University of Music Bucharest 20th-century Romanian male musicians 19th-century Romanian male musicians {{Romania-composer-stub