Mihai Eminescu National Theatre of Moldova: 100th anniversary of foundation

Chisinau, 17 May /MOLDPRES/- The 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre (TNME) with status of national theatre will be marked on 6 October. The institution’s foundation was influenced by more initiatives coming from personalities of the Romanian culture and culture institutions. The most beloved actress of the National Romanian Theatre from Chisinau was Maria Cosmacevscaia.   

TNME director Petru Hadarca said that, in the 1930s, the audience from Chisinau had had already its well-known actors, it was admiring: Iancu Teodoru, Dumitru Moruzan, Tanți Braun, Puica Periețeanu, Ovid Brădescu and others. Nevertheless, the favourite of the audience was Maria Cosmacevscaia – the most beloved actress of the Chisinau-based National Theatre. ‘’She was beautiful and intelligent, gifted and charismatic and besides these qualities, which are ‘’fatal for the success of an actor,’’ just as a commentator of that times was saying, Maria Cosmacevscaia was regarded ‘’their’s’’ both by the Romanians and the Russians, the TNME director noted.    

According to Hadarca, Cosmacevscaia was born in Chisinau and studied at the theatre school of the Suvorin association of literature and art from St. Petersburg. She deputed on the local imperial stage and then she played at the Russian theatre from Kiev. Because of the revolution, Cosmacevscaia returned home and was employed as actress of the Russian theatre from Chisinau, led by I. Dubrovin.   

The moment when Maria Cosmacevscaia got on the stage of the Romanian National Theatre was recorded in detail on pages of the local newspaper. Dreptatea (The Justice). This happened on 9 February 1922, when the second performance was played with the drama Manasse by Ronneti-Roman. The commentator understood the differences of accent, but for him, they did not sound as an offence brought to the language, on the contrary: ‘’an alien accent is felt sometimes; yet this difficulty is compensated by a strong artistic feeling she possesses. She is an intelligent, delicate artist, with vocation for theatre, who can really animate and impress.’’   

During several years, Maria Cosmacevscaia studied a perfect Romanian language, so that she could no longer be distinguished from the Romanian actors.   

‘’Maria Cosmacevscaia became an emblem and legend of the National Romanian Theatre from Chisinau. She was a living example of the fact that love and respect for the culture of your fellows were bringing together heterogeneous spectators in the theatre hall, but who had a common artistic emotion. The theatre is an art of emotions and intelligence, which is experienced in reality and can stir up the spirit and reunite hearts,’’ Petru Hadarca also said.   

The schedule of the 2021 Centenary Year of the Chisinau-based Mihai Eminescu Theatre is carried out under the high patronage of President Maia Sandu and the one of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.