Rallou Karatza

Princess Rallou Karatza (Greek: Ραλλού Καρατζά; Romanian: Ralu Caragea; 1799, Constantinople – 1870, Thonberg near Leipzig) was a Phanariote Greek artist. She was the daughter of the Prince of Wallachia, Ioannis Karatzas (r. 1812–1818).[1] She convinced her father to found a Royal Dramatic Society, and founded the first court theatre. She became an actress, theatre director, translator and participant in the Greek War of Independence.[2]

Biography

She was born in Constantinople in 1799, the youngest daughter of Phanariote Greek Prince of Wallachia, Ioannis Karatzas and his wife, Elena (née Skanavi), daughter of a banker from Constantinople.[2]

She had an early interest for theatre, both ancient and modern. She became the founder of the first theatre in Bucharest called "Cişmeaua Roşie", formed by students from the Greek School in Bucharest.[1][3] She became a member of the secret group Filiki Eteria, which worked for the independence of Greece from the Ottoman Empire, and became a great weapon in the propaganda for Greek independence through the plays she performed on stage.[2] She translated and directed plays from Western Europe and gave scholarships for actors to study in Paris. She moved to Athens in 1829. Married to George Argyropoulos, she died on 16 April 1870 in Thonberg near Leipzig.

References
  1. Puchner, Walter (15 June 2017). Greek Theatre between Antiquity and Independence: A History of Reinvention from the Third Century BC to 1830. Cambridge University Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-108-21026-3.
  2. Uglow, Jennifer (27 June 1991). Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography. Springer. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-349-12704-7.
  3. Puchner, Walter (16 September 2020). Theatrologia: Kleine Schriften zur Bühnenkunst und Theatergeschichte (in German). Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag. p. 213. ISBN 978-3-99012-613-4.

Sources
  • Marcu, George (ed.), Dicţionarul personalităţilor feminine din România, Editura Meronia, București, 2009.
  • Jennifer S. Uglow, The Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography, 1982.


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