Zaharia Bârsan ( – December 13, 1948) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

-born

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 playwright, poet and actor. He was born in Sânpetru,

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). Geography ...

, in what was then the

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

region of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. 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 ( or just ''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 and Moldavia. The union of the ...

. Settling in its capital

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 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 Constantin I. Nottara (June 5, 1859–October 16/17, 1935) was a Romanian stage actor and director. Born in Bucharest into a middle-class family of Byzantine Greek origin, he attended a private school from 1866 to 1870, followed by Saint Sav ...

and graduating in 1901. An employee of 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 ...

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 (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

Prince Hamlet Prince Hamlet is the title character and protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew of the usurping King Claudius, Claudius, and son of King Hamlet, the previous King of Denmark. At ...

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

Karl Moor Karl Vital Moor (11 December 1852 – 14 June 1932) was a Swiss communist, and a channel for German financing of the 19th-century European Bolshevik movement. Born in Fribourg, he was the illegitimate son of Swiss citizen Mary Moor of Vor ...

, 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 ave ...

. Bârsan's first published work consisted of verses that appeared in '' Convorbiri Literare'' 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 1914 drama ''Se face ziuă'', about the

Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

; 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 Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Romania Gheorghe Lazăr National College (Bucharest) alumni Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film 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