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| "Carabus" frequently toured Romania and on at least one occasion toured ]; Tănase himself also performed in ]. According to at least one source, he also founded 3 schools for children and a church. | "Carabus" frequently toured Romania and on at least one occasion toured ]; Tănase himself also performed in ]. According to at least one source, he also founded 3 schools for children and a church. | ||
| ==Works== | |||
| Tănase's theater was often political and ''avant garde''. Simona Pop quotes some lines from a song or his as typical: | Tănase's theater was often political and ''avant garde''. Simona Pop quotes some lines from a song or his as typical: | ||
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| :Even the dogs eat bread | :Even the dogs eat bread | ||
| :Our government obliges us | :Our government obliges us | ||
| :To have a day of '']'' | :To have a day of '']'' <sup>]</sup> | ||
| :That which passes for life | :That which passes for life | ||
| :Expensive trains and trams | :Expensive trains and trams | ||
| :Expensive everything, to the limit | :Expensive everything, to the limit <sup>]</sup> | ||
| :Even bread and tobacco | :Even bread and tobacco | ||
| :And when I swear openly on my mother | :And when I swear openly on my mother | ||
| :They say I'm taking them for a fool. | :They say I'm taking them for a fool. | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| :''Teoria mea-i uşoară'' | :''Teoria mea-i uşoară'' | ||
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| Tănase died in ] in 1945. According to ], it is rumored that he was killed by the invading ]. | Tănase died in ] in 1945. According to ], it is rumored that he was killed by the invading ]. | ||
| ==Legacy== | |||
| From the time he moved to Bucharest, his only visit to Vaslui and to his parents was on a tour by his theater troupe. However, Vaslui has named one of its two Casas de Cultura ("Houses of Culture") after him, his personal archives and many of his possessions now reside in the Vaslui county museum, and since 1970 Vaslui has memorialized him with a theater festival under the leadership of another native son of Vaslui, ], which at least since 1980 has drawn comedians from all over Romania. The festival is now also an international festival of ]. | From the time he moved to Bucharest, his only visit to Vaslui and to his parents was on a tour by his theater troupe. However, Vaslui has named one of its two Casas de Cultura ("Houses of Culture") after him, his personal archives and many of his possessions now reside in the Vaslui county museum, and since 1970 Vaslui has memorialized him with a theater festival under the leadership of another native son of Vaslui, ], which at least since 1980 has drawn comedians from all over Romania. The festival is now also an international festival of ]. | ||
| == |
===Notes=== | ||
| ⚫ | <sup>1</sup> ]. | ||
| ⚫ | <sup>2</sup> Literally "at the belt-buckle". | ||
| ===Quotations=== | |||
| "Ideals are like stars: you can't actually reach them, but you can orient yourself by them." | "Ideals are like stars: you can't actually reach them, but you can orient yourself by them." | ||
| ==Filmography== | ===Filmography=== | ||
| *''Peripiţiile călătoriei lui Rigadin de la Paris la Bucureşti'' (1924, silent, ''The Adventures of Rigadin During His Travel from Paris to Bucharest'' | *''Peripiţiile călătoriei lui Rigadin de la Paris la Bucureşti'' (1924, silent, ''The Adventures of Rigadin During His Travel from Paris to Bucharest'' | ||
| *''Visul lui Tănase'' (1932, ''Tanase's Dream'') | *''Visul lui Tănase'' (1932, ''Tanase's Dream'') | ||
Revision as of 04:03, 20 January 2005
This is an article about the early 20th century actor and writer for stage. This is not an article about the present-day Romanian reporter of the same name.
Constantin Tănase (July 5, 1880 – 1945) was a key figure in the revue style of theater in Romania.
Life
Born into a working-class family living in a peasant house in Vaslui, Romania. An adequate but unexceptional student (although he did apparently learn good German, his first exposure to the stage was by attending plays at "Pirjola" garden, where he saw popular theater, including actors such as Zaharia Burienescu and I.D. Ionescu. This inspired him to start an amateur theater group among his friends; they worked up scenes from the plays Mesterul Manole, Capitanul Valter Maracineanu and Constantin Brâncoveanu; their closest thing to a stage was a barn.
His first professional experience as an actor was in the Yiddish-language theater troupe of Mordechai Segalescu: they were short an actor for a performance in Vaslui and drafted the youthful Tănase. In 1896 he completed gymnasium and, despite wishing to become an actor, at his parents behest he enrolled in the Military Liceu at Iaşi, but his rebellious behavior there quickly got him booted out. He headed to Brăila, where he briefly attended the Liceu "Nicolae Bălcescu", but after a few weeks he dropped out for lack of funds.
In Brăila he met schoolteacher and writer Ion Adam, who suggested that the 18-year-old Tănase take over his teaching post in Curseşti, Rahova, since Adam was headed to take some courses in Belgium. He didn't do badly at the job, but hit it off badly with the headmaster and some of the other teachers; with Adam's support he got another teaching job at Hirsoveni, Poeneşti, where poet Alexandru Vlahuta also taught. Tănase promptly developed his own style of teaching, bringing music and gymnastics to a central role, which drew new students to the school. He also involved his students' parents, through field trips which he used to teach history and geography. He soon became a generally beloved local figure, but apparently the local notary and certain lawyers disapproved of him and his methods and managed to get him fired.
Out of work he headed for Bucharest on October 14, 1899, where he volunteered to join Regimentul 1 Geniu Bucuresti. In 1917, he married Virginia Niculescu.
In Bucharest in 1919, he founded the theater troupe "Carabus": over the course of 20 years he would establish a tradition of humorous cabaret/revue theater that still continues in Romania today, most notably at the "Constantin Tănase" Revue Theatre, the former home of "Carabus" at 33-35 Calea Victoriei in the heart of Bucharest.
"Carabus" frequently toured Romania and on at least one occasion toured Turkey; Tănase himself also performed in Paris. According to at least one source, he also founded 3 schools for children and a church.
Works
Tănase's theater was often political and avant garde. Simona Pop quotes some lines from a song or his as typical:
- In ţara asta, ţara pâinii
- Să aiba pâine pâna si câinii
- Guvernul nostru ne obligâ
- S-avem o zi de mamaligă
- Lor ce le pasa cum e trăiul
- Scumpira trenul âi tramvaiul
- Scumpira tot, la cataramă
- Pâna şi pâinea şi tutunul
- Si cind injuri pe şleau de mamă
- Ei, cica, eu fac pe nebunul.
- In this land, the land of bread
- Even the dogs eat bread
- Our government obliges us
- To have a day of mamaligă
- That which passes for life
- Expensive trains and trams
- Expensive everything, to the limit
- Even bread and tobacco
- And when I swear openly on my mother
- They say I'm taking them for a fool.
- Teoria mea-i uşoară
- Toată viaţa e o scară
- Care, pe rând, ca şi la moară
- Toţi o urca şi-o coboară".
- Theory is hard for me
- All life is a staircase
- Which, by turns, death is as well
- All a climb and a descent.
At "Carabus", Tănase launched the careers of numerous performers, notably Maria Tănase and Horia Serbanescu.
Tănase died in Berlin in 1945. According to IMDB, it is rumored that he was killed by the invading Red Army.
Legacy
From the time he moved to Bucharest, his only visit to Vaslui and to his parents was on a tour by his theater troupe. However, Vaslui has named one of its two Casas de Cultura ("Houses of Culture") after him, his personal archives and many of his possessions now reside in the Vaslui county museum, and since 1970 Vaslui has memorialized him with a theater festival under the leadership of another native son of Vaslui, Valentin Silvestru, which at least since 1980 has drawn comedians from all over Romania. The festival is now also an international festival of caricature.
Notes
Polenta. Literally "at the belt-buckle".
Quotations
"Ideals are like stars: you can't actually reach them, but you can orient yourself by them."
Filmography
- Peripiţiile călătoriei lui Rigadin de la Paris la Bucureşti (1924, silent, The Adventures of Rigadin During His Travel from Paris to Bucharest
- Visul lui Tănase (1932, Tanase's Dream)
- Răbdare Tănase! (1943, Have patience, Tănase!)
External links
References
- Simona Pop, "Constantin Tanase si hazul de necaz", Evenimentul Zilei, July 7, 2001. (In Romanian)
- "Constantin Tănase" Revue Theatre, Official site in Romanian