Agatha Bârsescu

Agatha Bârsescu was born in Bucharest, then part of the Principality of Wallachia, on 9 September 1857. She was born into a military family, with her father being a colonel who was on good terms with the royal family, and her uncle being the minister of war. Her brother would become a general and her sister married a colonel. She spent part of her childhood in Bârsești where her father was stationed. At the age of 8, she was sent by her family, together with her cousin, to a boarding school in Sibiu, some 275 km north-west of Bucharest, where she learned German. Later, she went to the Ursulinenkloster, a school run by nuns in Vienna, for a time wanting to be a nun herself. Returning home, she enrolled in the Bucharest Conservatory. She was seen performing in a charity show by Queen Elizabeth of Romania, who then persuaded her parents to send her to Paris and devote herself fully to opera. However, en route to Paris she stopped over in Vienna and chose to stay there and take canto lessons, later becoming a student at the Vienna Conservatory, where she took classes on literature, aesthetics, choreography, duel, costume and foreign languages, winning a gold medal at the end of her first year.[1][2][3]

Bârsescu was given a long-term contract by a theatre in Berlin but wished to return to Vienna and managed to extricate herself from the contract. In Vienna, she made her professional debut on 22 November 1883 at the Burgtheater, also known as the Imperial Court Theatre, performing as Hero in Franz Grillparzer's Hero and Leander. One newspaper, noting that the Burgtheater was in financial difficulties, wrote that "Burgtheater has found its fortune! May it last." The very favourable reception earned her other roles, such as Ophelia in Hamlet, Desdemona in Othello, and Margareta in Faust. This was followed by a lifetime contract being offered by the theatre and the title of "Court Actress" awarded by imperial decree. She then had starring roles in Grillparzer's Medea and Sappho, Antigone by Sophocles, Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller, and as the queen in Victor Hugo's Ruy Blas.[1][2][3][4][5]

In addition to her professional performances, Bârsescu was well known for organizing charity performances. She became a popular figure, such that she could not go out on the balcony of her home in Vienna without attracting admirers in the street. Poems were written about her, including by Heinrich Glücksmann. When she visited Romania, she was invited to the Royal Court and given several decorations. In Vienna, she was received by Emperor Franz Joseph and was surrounded by the nobility. In 1890 she moved to the Stadttheater in Hamburg, receiving 12 standing ovations after her last performance in Vienna. In 1893 she undertook a long tour of Romania, performing works by Schiller and Hermann Sudermann. She then worked at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, following this with stays in Paris, Budapest, and several other cities.[1][2][3][4]

In 1905, Bârsescu sailed to New York City, falling sick as a result of the rough passage. After recovery, she performed in 20 shows at the Irving Place Theatre, a German-language theatre. She was offered a long-term contract, but had to return to Europe to honour previous commitments. In 1912, under the name Agathe Barcesque, she played the role of the abbess in the German silent film, The Miracle, an Austro-German co-production. The film, initially directed by Max Reinhardt and concluded under the direction of the French director, Michel-Antoine Carré, which was an adaptation of the novel The Miracle by Karl Vollmöller, with music by Engelbert Humperdinck, was shot mainly in Vienna. After this, Bârsescu decided to return to America. She starred in several successful shows, but then World War I began and she ended up spending ten years in the US. She spent time in New York taking part in shows at the Irving Place with immigrant Romanian Jews.[1][2]

In 1925 Bârsescu returned to Romania, settling in Iași, where she taught at the Conservatory of Dramatic Art for almost 15 years. She appeared sporadically on the stage of the Iași National Theatre and the National Theatre in the roles that had made her famous.[1][2]

Following the deaths of her mother and her sister, Zoe, Bârsescu became responsible for Zoe's two children. She had also broken her engagement with the Prince of Ghica‐Comăneşti. These were perhaps reasons why she decided to start life anew by moving to Hamburg. She stayed there for three years, after which she was forced to move again to be freed from the unwanted attention she had been receiving from an admirer. In 1907. Bârsescu married the actor ro:Constantin Radovici (1864-1916). They separated in 1910 after he suddenly decided to return to Romania.[2]

Bârsescu died in Iași on 22 November 1939 and was buried in the Eternitatea cemetery in Iași. The following inscription was engraved on her funeral plaque: “Here rests the brilliant tragic actress, Agata Bârsescu, glory of the Romanian nation, who performed to perfection, in the country and abroad.” The street on which is situated the Iași National Theatre is named in her honour. A postage stamp was issued in her honour in 1983.[1][2]