Opera Națională a lui Gheorghe Neaga „Glira” (pe baza materialelor din presa republicană)
National Opera “Glira” of Gheorghe Neaga (based on materials from the Republican press)

Summary/Abstract: In this article, the author makes an attempt to recreate the history of writing, staging, the premiere and subsequent events associated with Gheorghe Neaga’s opera “Glira” (“Barbu Lautaru”) by making use of the publications in the Republican press. In light of the awakening of national identity among the Gypsy / Roma community, when interest in cultural persons, events, and facts related to Roma history and culture is growing day by day, the opera “Glira”, written by composer Gheorghe Neaga, son of the famous Moldovan composer Stefan Neaga, acquires special significance. Born in Romania, G. Neaga, as a musician and composer, was already educated in Soviet times: first, he studied in Bucharest, then in Moscow, and finally in Chisinau. Cherishing from early youth, according to the composer himself, the idea of a stage embodiment of the theme of slavery of the Gypsies / Roma of Moldova, Gheorghe Neaga was ahead of his time. In 1974, during the domination of Brezhnev’s stagnation era, he made an entrance onto the stage of the Moldovan Opera and Ballet Theatre with an opera incompatible with the tasks and the goals set by the leadership of the theater. The opera, whose main character was a gypsy serf, did not fit in any way into those heroic and classical canons, approved from the above. Not even Maria Biesu, who created the image of Glira so rich and significant with her magnificent performance, could save the opera “Barbu Lautaru”. Thus, it was decided to rename the opera to “Glira” for a preview in the Union of Composers of the MSSR.

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