Closed doors performances in Wallachia at the end of the 18th century

Lia Chisacof (Institute of South-Eastern European Studies, Bucharest, Romania) [BIO]

Email: lia_chisacof@yahoo.co.uk

 

ABSTRACT:

The sentimental poetry written in Romanian and Greek in the second half of the 18th cent.was in a way given much attention as its components are the first samples of modern Romanian poetry. In another way though it was disconsidered as too "soapy". This would be the running case if they were considered just like texts. Three manuscripts (on which our paper focuses) which can be attributed to one author, an important person too, seem to clarify the part this kind of poetry played in the towns of Bucharest and Constantinople. It is called by its author "dancing poetry" as dancers were hired to sing it for closed doors performances in aristocratic households. The repertoire is considerable (there are actually hundreds of them) including at times short prose which would have been read to the audience and the prevailing attitude towards ladies as this was a male production is no only courtly but humble too.