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The National Theatre -the jewel in the center of city

The National Theatre Vasile Alecsandriis the oldest palace of this kind in

Romania, built between 1894-1896, following the plans of the famous Viennese architects,

Fellner and Helmer. It was inaugurated on 1st December 1896. Once with the theatre, its

electrical factory was also inaugurated, this event marking the beginning of the electrical

illumination at Iasi. The 1418 electric lights and the chandelier with 109 Venetian crystal lamps

light up a playhouse with a unique architectural personality. In 1956 when they celebrated 140

years since the first performance in Romanian, the theatre in Iasi received the name of the

great poet, playwright and man of culture Vasile Alecsandri (1821-1890).

It was natural for a city positioned at the intersection of large commercial routes

connecting the country to Poland, to Russia and to the German lands,to host from time to time

together with merchants, carriers, foreign emissaries the odd menagerie, circus, carnival or

theatre troupe. At the end of the 18th

century and in the early 19th

century, the children of the

aristocracy went to school in France, Germany or Italy. There they became acquainted with the

much-appreciated ultured theatre The trend caught on, and soon the first animator of art and

culture in Moldavia, Gheorghe Asachi, staged, with the help of dilettantes from the Ghica and

Sturza families, the first play in the Romanian language, "Mirtil ?i Hloe", a one-act pastoral,

adapted from the works of Gessner and Florian.

With a Neoclassicexterior and a richly decorated interior in Rococoand Baroquestyles,

the building is considered one of the most elegant in Romania.The main auditorium is

organised in stalls, boxes and a balcony. The curtain painted by the Viennese M. Lenz, presentsin the middle, an allegory of life with its three stages and, to the right side, the allegory of

Romanian Unification. The left-hand side, painted by Lenz apprentice, differs from the rest of

the curtain in style and colouring. The Main Auditorium, with 750 seats, organised in stalls,

boxes and a balcony, impresses through the refinement, originality and lavishness of its

Rococo- and Baroque-inspired painted and sculpted ornaments.

The great names of the Ia?i stage continue to live their destinies in the memory of the

present: N. Luchian, Fanny Tardini, Mihail Pascaly, Mathilda Pascaly, Mihail Galino, Matei Millo,

and, later on, Grigore Manolescu, Aristizza Romanescu, Agatha B sescu, Aglae Pruteanu.

Important personalities of the literary world have become involved in the activity of the

National Theatre: A. D. Xenopol and Otilia Cazimir wrote theatre reviews and GarabetIbraileanu was part of the reading committee. The talent and vocation as good leaders of this

institution open towards universality was confirmed in the cases of Mihail Sadoveanu and

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others.

The repertoire,

centred on the artistic value of the texts suggested, based on troupe-use criteria, following the

directors offers and market tests, includes plays by classical and international playwrights,

aiming at the same time to promote new Romanian authors. Thus, the balance of such a

repertoire shows the multidirectional orientation of the cultural message, which is no longer

the exclusive prerogative of a formal framework, but instead creates increasingly diverse ways

for public contact. The National Theatre of Iai aspires towards a modern language, which

would satisfy the most diverse demands.