Constantin Tanase
Encyclopedia
Constantin Tănase was a Romania
n actor and writer for stage, a key figure in the revue
style of theater in Romania.
, Romania. An adequate but unexceptional student (although he did apparently learn good German
), his first exposure to the stage was by attending plays at "Pârjoala" 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 Meşterul Manole, Căpitanul Valter Mărăcineanu 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
. Despite his wish to become an actor, at his parents behest he enrolled in the Military School at Iaşi
, but his rebellious behavior there quickly got him booted out. He headed to Brăila
, where he briefly attended the "Nicolae Bălcescu" High School, but after a few weeks he dropped out due to lack of funds.
In Brăila he met the 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 Hârşoveni, Poeneşti, where poet Alexandru Vlahuţă
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 trip
s 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 have him fired.
Out of work, he headed for Bucharest
on October 14, 1899, where he volunteered to join a military regiment, the 1st Engineer Regiment (Regimentul 1 Geniu). After his military service, he worked in theater, and in 1917, he married Virginia Niculescu.
In Bucharest in 1919, he founded the theater troupe "Cărăbuş" (meaning cockchafer
). 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 "Cărăbuş" at 33-35 Calea Victoriei
in the heart of Bucharest. At "Cărăbuş", Tănase launched the careers of numerous performers, notably Maria Tănase
and Horia Şerbănescu. "Cărăbuş" 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.
on August 29, 1945, in Bucharest (IMDB states that Tănase died in Berlin
in 1945).
However, it is rumored that he was killed by the invading Red Army
, as reported in the following account. Tănase was still performing in Bucharest a year after the arrival of the Russians, and was killed for satirizing the Red Army soldiers' habit of "requisitioning" all personal property in sight, in particular of taking people's watches, demanding them by saying, "Davai ceas" (davai - Russian for "Give me", and ceas - Romanian for "watch"). Tănase made up a verse:
Another variant of these verses in loose translation:
After several performances he was arrested, threatened with death, and told not to do the sketch again. However, Tănase was not a man to be intimidated. At the next performance, he came on stage in a giant overcoat, with his arms festooned in watches. The audience applauded wildly as he simply stood there. Then he opened the overcoat, revealing a pendulum clock. Pointing to it, he said "El tic, eu tac, el tic, eu tac" (punning on tic-tac, the Romanian equivalent of "tick-tock", but also meaning "It ticks, I am silent, it ticks, I am silent"). Two days later he was dead.
He is buried in Bellu
cemetery, in Bucharest.
(who died soon afterwards in the 1977 Bucharest Earthquake
) as "Caratase" - a mixture of Caragiu and Tănase and a transparent allusion to Tănase. However, even with Romania's increased independence from the Soviet Union, it was politically impossible to show the Red Army as responsible for his death; in the screenplay, only the conflict with the Iron Guard
is illustrated, repeatedly irritating them with antifascist satire. His death is caused by a heart attack.
.
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 actor and writer for stage, a key figure in the revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
style of theater in Romania.
Life
Born into a working-class family living in a peasant house in VasluiVaslui
Vaslui , a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Moldavia.The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu and Viişoara.-History:...
, Romania. An adequate but unexceptional student (although he did apparently learn good German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
), his first exposure to the stage was by attending plays at "Pârjoala" 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 Meşterul Manole, Căpitanul Valter Mărăcineanu 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
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. Despite his wish to become an actor, at his parents behest he enrolled in the Military School at Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, but his rebellious behavior there quickly got him booted out. He headed to Brăila
Braila
Brăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County, in the close vicinity of Galaţi.According to the 2002 Romanian census there were 216,292 people living within the city of Brăila, making it the 10th most populous city in Romania.-History:A...
, where he briefly attended the "Nicolae Bălcescu" High School, but after a few weeks he dropped out due to lack of funds.
In Brăila he met the schoolteacher and writer Ion Adam, who suggested that the 18-year-old Tănase take over his teaching post in Curseşti, Rahova
Rahova
Rahova is a neighbourhood of southwest Bucharest, Romania, situated in Sector 5, west of Dâmboviţa River. It is named after the Bulgarian town Rahovo , site of a battle in the Romanian War of Independence....
, since Adam was headed to take some courses in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. 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 Hârşoveni, Poeneşti, where poet Alexandru Vlahuţă
Alexandru Vlahuta
Alexandru Vlahuţă was a Romanian writer. His best known work is România pitorească, an overview of Romania's landscape in the form of a travelogue. He was also the main editor of Sămănătorul magazine, alongside George Coşbuc....
also taught. Tănase promptly developed his own style of teaching, bringing music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
to a central role, which drew new students to the school. He also involved his students' parents through field trip
Field trip
A field trip or excursion, known as school trip in the UK and school tour in Ireland, is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment...
s which he used to teach history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. 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 have him fired.
Out of work, he headed for 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....
on October 14, 1899, where he volunteered to join a military regiment, the 1st Engineer Regiment (Regimentul 1 Geniu). After his military service, he worked in theater, and in 1917, he married Virginia Niculescu.
In Bucharest in 1919, he founded the theater troupe "Cărăbuş" (meaning cockchafer
Cockchafer
The cockchafer is a European beetle of the genus Melolontha, in the family Scarabaeidae....
). Over the course of 20 years, he would establish a tradition of humorous cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
/revue theater that still continues in Romania today, most notably at the "Constantin Tănase" Revue Theatre, the former home of "Cărăbuş" at 33-35 Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei is a major avenue in central Bucharest. It leads from Splaiul Independenţei to the north and then northwest up to Piaţa Victoriei, where Şoseaua Kiseleff continues north....
in the heart of Bucharest. At "Cărăbuş", Tănase launched the careers of numerous performers, notably Maria Tănase
Maria Tanase
Maria Tănase was a renowned Romanian singer of Romanian traditional or non-contemporary folklore.-Biography:Born in the Bucharest suburb of Cărămidari, Maria Tănase's Primary School was nr. 11 Tăbăcari. She made her stage debut in Cărămidarii de Jos, at the Ion Heliade Rădulescu High School...
and Horia Şerbănescu. "Cărăbuş" frequently toured Romania and on at least one occasion toured Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Tănase himself also performed in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
According to at least one source, he also founded 3 schools for children and a church.
Death
According to the official account, he died of complications from a tonsillitisTonsillitis
Tonsillitis is an inflammation of the tonsils most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infection. Symptoms of tonsillitis include sore throat and fever. While no treatment has been found to shorten the duration of viral tonsillitis, bacterial causes are treatable with antibiotics...
on August 29, 1945, in Bucharest (IMDB states that Tănase died in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1945).
However, it is rumored that he was killed by the invading Red Army
Soviet occupation of Romania
The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania...
, as reported in the following account. Tănase was still performing in Bucharest a year after the arrival of the Russians, and was killed for satirizing the Red Army soldiers' habit of "requisitioning" all personal property in sight, in particular of taking people's watches, demanding them by saying, "Davai ceas" (davai - Russian for "Give me", and ceas - Romanian for "watch"). Tănase made up a verse:
- Rău era cu "der, die, das"
- Da-i mai rău cu "davai ceas"
- De la Nistru pân' la Don
- Davai ceas, davai palton
- Davai ceas, davai moşie
- Haraşo tovărăşie
- It was bad with "der, die, das"
- But it's worse with "davai ceas"
- From DniesterDniesterThe Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
to DonDon River (Russia)The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov.... - Davai watch, davai overcoat
- Davai watch, davai land
- Haraşo comradeship
Another variant of these verses in loose translation:
- It was bad with "der, die, das"
- But it's worse with "davai ceas"
- From the DniesterDniesterThe Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
to the DonDon River (Russia)The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov.... - Davai watch, coat and long-johns,
- You can forego your ownership,
- Haraşo comradeship
After several performances he was arrested, threatened with death, and told not to do the sketch again. However, Tănase was not a man to be intimidated. At the next performance, he came on stage in a giant overcoat, with his arms festooned in watches. The audience applauded wildly as he simply stood there. Then he opened the overcoat, revealing a pendulum clock. Pointing to it, he said "El tic, eu tac, el tic, eu tac" (punning on tic-tac, the Romanian equivalent of "tick-tock", but also meaning "It ticks, I am silent, it ticks, I am silent"). Two days later he was dead.
He is buried in Bellu
Bellu
Bellu is the most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania.It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu...
cemetery, in Bucharest.
Works
Tănase's theater was often political and avant garde. Simona Pop quotes some lines from a song or his as typical: [Pop, 2001]- În ţara asta, ţara pâinii
- Să aibă pâine până şi câinii
- Guvernul nostru ne obligă
- S-avem o zi de mămăligă
- Lor ce le pasă cum e trăiul
- Scumpiră trenul şi tramvaiul
- Scumpiră tot, la cataramă
- Până şi pâinea şi tutunul
- Şi când înjuri pe şleau de mamă
- Ei, cică, eu fac pe nebunul.
- In this land, the land of bread
- Even the dogs should eat bread
- Our government obliges us
- To have a day of mămăligăMamaligaMămăligă is a porridge made out of yellow maize flour, traditional in Romania and Moldova. It is similar to the Italian polenta.In Transylvania and in Carpathia mămăligă is also called puliszka...
- What do they care how good the living is?
- Expensive trains and trams
- Expensive everything, to the limit
- Even bread and tobacco
- And when I openly curse their mother
- They claim I'm playing the fool.
- Teoria mea-i uşoară
- Toată viaţa e o scară
- Care, pe rând, ca şi la moară
- Toţi o urcă şi-o coboară".
- My theory is easy
- All life is a staircase
- Which, by turn, just like at a mill
- Everyone climbs and descends.
Works about Tănase
The 1975 film Actorul şi sălbaticii ("The Actor and the Savages") starred Toma CaragiuToma Caragiu
Toma Caragiu was a prolific Romanian theatre, television and film actor.He was born in an Aromanian family, in the Greek village of Aetomilitsa, in the region of Epirus on August the 21st 1925. Toma Caragiu was one of the best Romanian actors, with a rich activity in both film and theatre...
(who died soon afterwards in the 1977 Bucharest Earthquake
1977 Bucharest Earthquake
The 1977 Vrancea Earthquake occurred on Friday, 4 March 1977, 21:20 local time and was felt throughout the Balkans. It had a magnitude of 7.2 with an epicenter in Vrancea at a depth of ....
) as "Caratase" - a mixture of Caragiu and Tănase and a transparent allusion to Tănase. However, even with Romania's increased independence from the Soviet Union, it was politically impossible to show the Red Army as responsible for his death; in the screenplay, only the conflict with the Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
is illustrated, repeatedly irritating them with antifascist satire. His death is caused by a heart attack.
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, Tănase's Dream)
- Răbdare Tănase! (1943, Have patience, Tănase!)
Legacy
From the time Tănase moved to Bucharest, his only visit to Vaslui and to his parents was on a tour by his theater troupe. Nonetheless, Vaslui has named one Casa de Cultură ("House of Culture") after him (one of two such institutions in Vaslui), 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 caricatureCaricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
.