National Theatre Bucharest

Ion Luca Caragiale National Theatre
Teatrul Național „Ion Luca Caragiale”

The National Theatre in April 2017, after renovation
Address 2 Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard, sector 1
Bucharest
 Romania
Owner Ministry of Culture and National Patrimony
Capacity 2,880
Construction
Opened 20 December 1973 (1973-12-20)
Rebuilt 2012–2014[1]
Years active 1973–present
Architect Horia Maicu, Romeo Belea, Nicolae Cucu (initial project)
Cezar Lăzărescu (1983 modification)
Romeo Belea (2012 remodeling)
Website
www.tnb.ro/ro

The National Theatre Bucharest (Romanian: Teatrul Naţional "Ion Luca Caragiale" Bucureşti) is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest.

Founding

The old building of the National Theatre in 1901–1904, photo by Alexandru Antoniu

It was founded as the Teatrul cel Mare din Bucureşti ("Grand Theatre of Bucharest") in 1852, its first director being Costache Caragiale. It became a national institution in 1864 by a decree of Prime Minister Mihail Kogălniceanu, and was officially named as the National Theatre in 1875; it is now administered by the Romanian Ministry of Culture.

In April 1836, the Societatea Filarmonica — a cultural society founded by Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Ion Câmpineanu — bought the Câmpinencii Inn to build a National Theatre on the site, and began to collect money and materials for this purpose. In 1840, Obşteasca Adunare (the legislative branch established under the terms of the Imperial Russian-approved Organic Statute) proposed to Alexandru II Ghica, the Prince of Wallachia, a project to build a National Theatre with state support. The request was approved on June 4, 1840. Prince Gheorghe Bibescu adopted the idea of founding the theatre and chose a new location, on the spot of the former Filaret Inn. There were several reasons to favor this locations: it was centrally located, right in the middle of Podul Mogoşoaiei (today's Calea Victoriei); the earthquake of 1838 had damaged the inn beyond repair, and it needed to be torn down.

Old building

The August 13, 1843, report of the commission charged with building the theatre determined that construction would cost 20,300 Austrian guilder (standard gold coins, a sum worth about US$45,000 at the time), of which only 13,000 gold coins were available. In 1846, a new commission engaged the Vienese architect A. Hefft, who came up with an acceptable plan.

Construction got under way in 1848, only to be interrupted in June by the Wallachian revolution. In August 1849, after Prince Barbu Dimitrie Ştirbei took power, he ordered that construction be completed.

The front of the Bucharest Novotel, on Calea Victoriei in 2010, replicates the exterior of the old Romanian National Theatre approximately in its original location

The theatre was inaugurated on December 31, 1852, with the play Zoe sau Amantul împrumutat, described in the newspapers of the time as a "vaudeville with songs". The building was built in the baroque style, with 338 stalls on the main floor, three levels of loges, a luxurious foyer with staircases of Carrara marble and a large gallery in which students could attend free of charge. For its first two years, the theatre was lit with tallow lamps, but from 1854 it used rape oil lamps; still later this was replaced by gaslights and eventually electric lights. In 1875, at the time its name was changed to Teatrul Naţional, its director was the writer Alexandru Odobescu.

The historic theatre building on Calea Victoriei — now featured on the 100-leu banknote — was destroyed during the Luftwaffe bombardment of Bucharest on August 24, 1944 (see Bombing of Bucharest in World War II).[2][3]

The modern theatre

The current National Theatre is located about half a kilometre away from the old site, just south of the Hotel Intercontinental at Piaţa Universităţii (University Square), and has been in use since 1973.

The new edifice reconstructed from 2010 to 2014, was inaugurated to the end of the year 2014, and with 7 halls, as the Grand Hall (Sala Mare) with 900 seats, is the biggest and the latest theater edifice of Europe.[4][5]

Chairmen

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Costin Iliescu (1 August 2014). "Ponta: În noiembrie vom avea cel mai frumos Teatru Național din Europa". Evenimentul Zilei.
  2. ↑ (in Romanian) "Cumpăna între nazism și comunism", Evenimentul Zilei, August 22, 2004; accessed June 16, 2013
  3. ↑ (in Romanian) Ioana Pârvulescu, "Cioburi din istoria Teatrului Naţional", România literară, nr.11/2007; accessed June 16, 2013
  4. ↑ National Theatre, Bucharest The new Edifice of the National Theatre Ion Luca Caragiale, Bucharest
  5. ↑ Sala Mare "The Grand Hall (Sala Mare) of National Theatre, Bucharest
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 George Oprescu, "Istoria teatrului în România", Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, 1965, v. 3 p.37

References

  • Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Bucureştilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre ("History of Bucharest. From the oldest times to our days"), Ed. Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966, p. 128, 141.
  • This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the ro: Romanian Wikipedia, accessed 20 July 2006. Which, in turn cites:
    • George Potra, Din Bucureştii de altădată ("In Old Bucharest"), ed. Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică, Bucharest, 1981.

Coordinates: 44°26′11.92″N 26°6′12.85″E / 44.4366444°N 26.1035694°E / 44.4366444; 26.1035694

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