Radio Romania 95. Collectable Performances

The National Radiophonic Theater has launched on www.eteatru.ro a new collection of sound performances, compiled on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of Radio Romania

Corina Sabău, 21.01.2024, 12:25

The National Radiophonic Theater has launched on www.eteatru.ro a new collection of sound performances, compiled on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of Radio Romania, on November 1st. The collection includes the best radio productions of all time, based on important texts of national and universal dramaturgy. The performances bear remarkable directorial signatures and are performed by important Romanian actors, who have permanently collaborated with the National Radiophonic Theatre. “Radio Romania 95. Collectable Performances” collects, on the website www.eteatru.ro, representative titles from 8 decades of theatre radio, starting from the 50s of the last century. The oldest show preserved on tape was made in 1951: “Hagi Tudose” by Barbu Ştefănescu Delavrancea, directed by Ion Şahighian, with Nicolae Bălţățeanu in the leading role. Here is Attila Vizauer, editor-in-chief of the National Radiophonic Theatre.

“This play is in the new collection were bringing to radio theater listeners. Recordings are grouped chronologically, and they belong to eight decades of radio theater. We start with the 50s, years in which important actors of the Romanian theater were at the radio microphone and gave outstanding performances. One of the gretest actors of that time was Radu Beligan, who had a close connection with the radio theater until the end of his life. I remember that he was in his 90s and he still came to the studios of the Radiophonic Theater to perform roles in the shows we produced. And because we are talking about those extraordinary generations who left their mark on our culture, I would also mention Sică Alexandrescu, a famous director of the 50s, who together with actors like Alexandru Giugaru, Grigore Vasiliu Birlic, Evira Godeanu and many others gave memorable performances. The collection continues with the 60s and 70s, decades that also enjoyed formidable generations of actors. There are also the years when the great director Liviu Ciulei staged great performances, which were then taken over by the radio theater. Im thinking, for example, of “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare, an extraordinary show of the 60s, which benefits from the radio adaptation of Mihai Zira, a great radio theater director. The cast includes, among others, the great Victor Rebengiuc and Clody Bertola. It is interesting that in this show, “As you like it”, there is a monologue by Jacques the Melancolic performed by Liviu Ciulei himself, who was part of the cast. Its a collection of performances that are worth listening to because they have tremendous theatrical value.”

Another collection recently launched by the National Radiophonic Theater is “Radio Romania 95. 95 years of Radio – 95 years of literature. Radio adaptations of world literature”. The new collection of radio performances, launched at the Gaudeamus Book Fair, includes sound transpositions of famous titles from national and universal literature (theatre and radio dramatized prose). The radio productions, based on Romanian and foreign books published in the last 95 years, are grouped in links, dedicated to the 30s, 40s, 50s. Attila Vizauer has more:

“We wanted to be present in the extraordinary space of the Gaudeamus Fair with a radio theater collection dedicated to books, literary masterpieces created over the years. Anyone interested in listening to the radio versions of the great Romanian literary works, but also universal ones, can access this collection that was launched with the opening of the Gaudeamus Book Fair: “Radio Romania 95. 95 years of Radio – 95 years of literature. Radio adaptations of world literature”. If you are interested in discovering a radio version of the famous novel Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, you can find it on www.eteatru.ro. In the same collection, there are adaptations of the works of Lucian Blaga or Camil Petrescu, to cite a few examples. They are shows that the radio theater can offer because it has a very rich sound library and has a selection of important titles, masterpieces of Romanian and universal literature.”

Liviu Rebreanu, Mihail Sadoveanu, Mircea Eliade, Tudor Mușatescu, Mihail Sebastian, Marin Sorescu, Marin Preda, Matei Vișniec, Ema Stere, , Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Mann, Jean-Paul Sartre, Eugene ONeill, Tennessee Williams, Mario Vargas Llosa are just some of the authors you can find on the www.eteatru.ro platform, in original directorial visions, featuring important actors of the stage and radio theater. (MI)