Nicolae Massim
Encyclopedia
Nicolae Massim was a Romania
n theater director. A graduate of the School of Liberal Arts and Philosophy of the University of Cluj, Romania
, and of the Institute of Dramatic Arts and Cinematography (IATC) of Bucharest
, he made his directorial debut staging historical plays by the renowned historian Nicolae Iorga
at the Cultural League Theatre of the People's University that Iorga founded in the town of Vălenii de Munte
.
, Nicolae Massim made his debut as assistant director to Ion Sahighian, and during long and distinguished career with the National Theatre, Nicolae Massim directed many memorable hits such as Othello
, The House of Bernarda Alba or "The Glass of Water". In parallel with his activity at the National Theatre of Bucharest, Nicolae Massim was a professor, and for a while the dean of the Stage Directing department, within the Institute of Dramatic Arts and Cinematography (IATC) of Bucharest.
In 1945, together with Lucia Calomeri, an actress, Elena Pătrăşcanu and Lena Constante
, set design artists, Nicolae Massim founded the world-famous "Ţăndărica" Marionette and Puppet Theatre of Bucharest. Recruiting a first nucleus of talented and enthusiastic puppeteers such as Dorina Tǎnǎsescu, Antigona Papazicopol and Elvira Chladek, and using the voices of reputed actors from the National Theatre of Bucharest, Nicolae Massim directed the first marionette show in Romania "With Ţăndărica to the Southern Seas". After that, throughout his entire career, Nicolae Massim remained an enthusiastic contributor to the theatre being an artistic mentor of stage director Margareta Niculescu, his former student at IATC, who in 1949 replaced Lucia Calomeri as artistic director of the theatre.
' David Copperfield, Schiller
's The Brigands, Shakespeare
's Much Ado About Nothing, Shaw
's Bunbery and many others. In addition to helping young talents achieve stardom, Nicolae Massim was also diligent to bring back to the limelight established veterans of the Romanian stage, such as Maria Filotti, who had been condemned to oblivion by the communist authorities because of their "bourgeois" origins.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n theater director. A graduate of the School of Liberal Arts and Philosophy of the University of Cluj, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, and of the Institute of Dramatic Arts and Cinematography (IATC) of Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, he made his directorial debut staging historical plays by the renowned historian Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, poet and playwright. Co-founder of the Democratic Nationalist Party , he served as a member of Parliament, President of the Deputies' Assembly and Senate, cabinet minister and briefly as Prime Minister...
at the Cultural League Theatre of the People's University that Iorga founded in the town of Vălenii de Munte
Valenii de Munte
Vălenii de Munte is a town in Prahova County, southern Romania , with a population of about 13,309. It lies on the Teleajen River valley, 28 km north of the county seat of Ploieşti....
.
Career
At the National Theatre BucharestNational 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 Bucureşti in 1852, its first director being Costache Caragiale...
, Nicolae Massim made his debut as assistant director to Ion Sahighian, and during long and distinguished career with the National Theatre, Nicolae Massim directed many memorable hits such as Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, The House of Bernarda Alba or "The Glass of Water". In parallel with his activity at the National Theatre of Bucharest, Nicolae Massim was a professor, and for a while the dean of the Stage Directing department, within the Institute of Dramatic Arts and Cinematography (IATC) of Bucharest.
In 1945, together with Lucia Calomeri, an actress, Elena Pătrăşcanu and Lena Constante
Lena Constante
Lena Constante was a Romanian artist, essayist and memoirist, known for her work in stage design and tapestry. A family friend of Communist Party politician Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu, she was arrested by the Communist regime following the conflict between Pătrăşcanu and Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej...
, set design artists, Nicolae Massim founded the world-famous "Ţăndărica" Marionette and Puppet Theatre of Bucharest. Recruiting a first nucleus of talented and enthusiastic puppeteers such as Dorina Tǎnǎsescu, Antigona Papazicopol and Elvira Chladek, and using the voices of reputed actors from the National Theatre of Bucharest, Nicolae Massim directed the first marionette show in Romania "With Ţăndărica to the Southern Seas". After that, throughout his entire career, Nicolae Massim remained an enthusiastic contributor to the theatre being an artistic mentor of stage director Margareta Niculescu, his former student at IATC, who in 1949 replaced Lucia Calomeri as artistic director of the theatre.
Later life
After a long and distinguished directorial and teaching career, Nicolae Massim was forced to leave the National Theatre Bucharest for political reasons and accept an artistic director position of the less prestigious "Youth Theatre". At that theatre Nicolae Massim worked with young and promising actors such as Florin Vasiliu, George Marcovici, Olga Tudorache, Mircea Anghelescu, the Ciprian brothers or the Sahighian sisters, contributing to establishing them as stars in memorable plays such as a stage adaptation of DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' David Copperfield, Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
's The Brigands, Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Much Ado About Nothing, Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Bunbery and many others. In addition to helping young talents achieve stardom, Nicolae Massim was also diligent to bring back to the limelight established veterans of the Romanian stage, such as Maria Filotti, who had been condemned to oblivion by the communist authorities because of their "bourgeois" origins.