Grigore Manolescu (March 28, 1857–July 14, 1892) 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. Born 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 ...

, Dimitrie R. Rosetti, ''Dicționarul contimporanilor'', p. 121. Bucharest: Editura Lito-Tipografiei Populara, 1897 he left his family at age 14 in order to work in the theatre. He entered the Conservatory in 1871 under

Ștefan Vellescu Ștefan Vellescu (December 24, 1838October 2, 1899) was a Romanian stage actor and drama teacher. Born in Craiova, he ran away from school at age 16, joining the local troupe of Costache Mihăileanu. Removed thence by his family and sent to conti ...

, who was initially reluctant to admit the youth, perceiving a disproportionate body and defects of diction. Manolescu made his debut in 1873, in the play ''Un bal din lumea mare'', in the troupe of

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 ...

, at the Bossel Theatre. He acted in comedies for a time at the Walhala. In 1875, he began to appear at the

Iași National Theatre The Iași National Theatre (or Vasile Alecsandri National Theater; in Romanian: Teatrul Național Vasile Alecsandri) in Iași, Romania, is the oldest national theatre and one of the most prestigious theatrical institutions in Romania. In 1956, i ...

. In 1878, he made his debut 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 ...

, in the role of Quintus Fabius Maximus, in ''Rome vaincue'' by Dominique-Alexandre Parodi. His first prominent appearance was later that year as the title character in

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 ...

’s ''

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 ...

''. In 1879, he performed as ''Despot Vodă'' in the play by

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 ...

.Alterescu, p. 525 In 1880, Manolescu, together with

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 ...

, left on a scholarship for Paris, where they studied under Louis-Arsène Delaunay. Meanwhile, he was influenced by Italian ''

verismo In opera, , from , meaning 'true', was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an operatic ge ...

''. In 1881, he returned to Bucharest, where he was named scene director at the National Theatre; his major successes began at this point. He excelled in great tragic roles, while also playing comedies. His appearances included Răzvan (''Răzvan și Vidra'', by

Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu (; 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history. Life He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...

), Gallus (''Fântâna Blanduziei'', by Alecsandri), Ovidiu (also by Alecsandri), ''Kean'' (by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

), Karl Moore (''

The Robbers ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first dramatic play by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim and was inspired by Leisewitz's earlier play '' Julius of Taranto''. It was wr ...

'' by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

) and ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'' (also by Schiller). From

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 ...

, he played

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

in ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'',

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 ...

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

and, most notably,

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 ...

. Manolescu himself translated a French edition of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' into prose; its “efficient dialogue”, “suggestive phrasing” and “fluency of speech” made it suitable for performance. In 1891, together with Romanescu, he organized the first foreign tour of the National Theatre Bucharest, at Vienna. Among the plays performed were ''Hamlet'', ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', '' The Ironmaster'' by

Georges Ohnet Georges Ohnet (3 April 1848, in Paris – 5 May 1918) was a French novelist. Life and career Ohnet was educated at the Collège Sainte-Barbe and the Lycée Henri-IV, Lycée Napoléon. After the Franco-Prussian War he became editor of the magazi ...

and ''Nerone'' by

Pietro Cossa Pietro Cossa (25 January 1830 – 30 August 1881) was an Italian dramatist. Life Cossa was born at Rome, and claimed descent from the family of Antipope John XXIII. He manifested an independent spirit from his youth, and was expelled from a Jesu ...

. His final season began that autumn: wracked by cancer, he managed to perform some of his older roles at Bucharest, Iași and elsewhere in

Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...

. His final appearance was in ''Civil Death'' by

Paolo Giacometti Paolo Giacometti (1816–1882) was an Italian dramatist born at Novi Ligure. He was educated in law at Genoa, but at the age of twenty had some success with his play ''Rosilda'' and then devoted himself to the stage. Depressed circumstances made ...

, at

Piatra Neamț Piatra Neamț (; ; ) is the capital city of Neamț County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in northeastern Romania. Because of its very privileged location in the Divisions of the Carpathians, Eastern Carpathian mountains, it is con ...

. He died in Paris in July 1892; two weeks later, he was buried at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

. Manolescu was married to actress Anicuța Popescu; together with Romanescu, they formed a

love triangle A love triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with someone is simultaneo ...

of rivalry and jealousy.Brădățeanu, pp. 153-55

Notes

References

*Simion Alterescu (ed.), ''Istoria teatrului în România'', vol. II (1849-1918). Bucharest: Editura Academiei R.S.R., 1971 *Virgil Brădățeanu, ''Profiluri: Mari actori români'', vol. I. Bucharest: Editura Meridiane, 1973 {{DEFAULTSORT:Manolescu, Grigore 1857 births 1892 deaths Romanian male stage actors 19th-century Romanian male actors Romanian male Shakespearean actors Male actors from Bucharest National University of Music Bucharest alumni Deaths from cancer in France Burials at Bellu Cemetery