Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra
![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Madame_Lucia_Sturdza_Bulandra_in_La_Folle_de_Chaillot.jpg/220px-Madame_Lucia_Sturdza_Bulandra_in_La_Folle_de_Chaillot.jpg)
Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra (25 August 1873 – 19 September 1961) was a Romanian actress and acting teacher. She is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Romanian theater.[1]
In addition to her acting career, she played an important role in shaping an entire generation of Romanian actors and directors,[2] her students including the likes of George Calboreanu, Dina Cocea, Haig Acterian, Radu Beligan and Victor Rebengiuc.[3][4] She is the namesake of the Bulandra Theatre in Bucharest.
Early life
[edit]She was born on 25 August 1873 in Iași, the daughter of Emil Sturdza and Magda (nee Diamandy). She was a descendant of the aristocratic Sturdza family, which held great political power in Moldavia and later Romania.
She initially planned to pursue a career in education, but after graduating from the faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Bucharest, she became interested in acting.[5] She was forbidden from using her family name in the theater by her paternal grandparents, but ignored the order.[1][5]
Career
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Bucharest_-_Bulandra_Theater_%2820341625096%29.jpg/220px-Bucharest_-_Bulandra_Theater_%2820341625096%29.jpg)
She made her stage debut in 1898, at the National Theatre Bucharest, in Édouard Pailleron's play Pendant le bal. Soon afterwards, she joins the Bucharest Conservatoire, studying under Aristizza Romanescu.[5]
In 1914 she started her own private theater company, the Queen Maria Theatre, alongside her husband, Tony Bulandra.[1] In 1941, with Romania joining World War II, her company was disbanded. The following years were hard, being characterized by unemployment, poverty, and the death of Tony in 1943.[1]
In 1947 she joins the newly reopened Municipal Theater in Bucharest and acts as its director until her death in 1961. During her tenure as director, the "Municipal" grew from a small company of just nine performs to one of Bucharest's foremost theatrical institutions.[2] After her death, the theater was renamed in her honour and is now known as the Bulandra Theatre.[1][6][7]
Sturdza-Bulandra was awarded the Benemerenti medal, 1st class; the Order of Cultural Merit (Romania) , 1st and 2nd class; the Order of the White Eagle (Serbia); the Labor Order (Romania) , 1st class; and the Order of the Star of the Romanian People's Republic, 1st class (1953).[8]
Personal life
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/SfVineri_190222_58.jpg/220px-SfVineri_190222_58.jpg)
She married fellow actor Tony Bulandra .[9] She died in Bucharest în 1961, as a result of an accidental fall.[8][10]
Legacy
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Lucia_Sturdza-Bulandra_1996_Romania_stamp.jpg/220px-Lucia_Sturdza-Bulandra_1996_Romania_stamp.jpg)
The ”Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra Prize for Best Performance by an Actress” is named for her.[7] In 2013, the National Bank of Romania issued a commemorative silver coin with a nominal value of 10 lei to commemorate 140 years since her birth.[11]
Streets in Cluj-Napoca and Iași bear her name.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Manea, Aureliu (2020). Imaginary Performances in Shakespeare. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-07414-7.
- ^ a b Osnes, Beth; Osnes, Mary (2001). Acting: An International Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA, Denver, CO and Oxford: ABC-CLIO. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-87436-795-9.
- ^ Bejan, Cristina A. (2019). Intellectuals and Fascism in Interwar Romania: The Criterion Association. Modernity, Memory and Identity in South-East Europe. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. p. 35. ISBN 978-3-030-20165-4.
- ^ "GALA PREMIILOR GOPO – Ediția a VIII-a". arcub.ro. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Arina, Avram (2016). Femei celebre din România. Mică enciclopedie (in Romanian). Vol. II. Bucharest, Romania: ALLFA. ISBN 978-973-724-848-0.
- ^ Zirin, Mary; Livezeanu, Irina; Worobec, Christine D.; Farris, June Pachuta (2015) [2007]. Women and Gender in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Eurasia: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Vol. I: Southeastern and East Central Europe. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-45196-9.
- ^ a b Ghițulescu, Mircea (2014) [1994]. "Romania". In Rubin, Don (ed.). World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre. Vol. 1: Europe. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 686–687. ISBN 978-1-136-11804-3.
- ^ a b Moceanu, Răzvan (25 August 2021). "Lucia Sturdza Bulandra – personalitate excepțională a teatrului românesc" (in Romanian). Radio România Cultural. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ Mitu, Rodica (5 April 2016). "Tony Bulandra, căsătorit cu "Marea Doamnă a Teatrului"". Ziua de Constanța (in Romanian). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ Bouleanu, Elisabeth (27 February 2017). "Fascinanta poveste a divei Lucia Sturdza Bulandra. De ce a rămas în istorie drept "marea doamnă a teatrului românesc"". Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "Emisiune numismatică: monedă din argint – 140 de ani de la nașterea Luciei Sturdza-Bulandra". bnr.ro. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- Romanian theatre people
- Romanian actresses
- 19th-century Romanian actresses
- 20th-century Romanian actresses
- Romanian stage actresses
- Sturdza family
- Actors from Iași
- 1873 births
- 1961 deaths
- Accidental deaths in Romania
- Recipients of the Benemerenti medal
- Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (Romania)
- Recipients of the Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic
- University of Bucharest alumni
- Burials at Sfânta Vineri Cemetery