150 years ago, on April 6, 1876, Krustyo Sarafov was born

150 years ago, on April 6, 1876, the great Bulgarian actor Krustyo Sarafov (1876–1952) was born. He was part of the “golden” generation of master dramatists in Bulgaria who forged the National Theater’s reputation. In 1951, the current NATFA was named after Krustyo Sarafov on the occasion of the actor’s 75th birthday.

Krastyo Sarafov received professional training in acting at the Imperial Theatre School in Saint Petersburg. His theatrical career is primarily associated with the stage of the National Theater (where he worked from 1906 to 1952, with interruptions), but over the years he was a member of various theater groups—“Tears and Laughter,” “Free Theater,” “Renaissance,” and performed in theaters in Ruse, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv, and Belgrade. He also distinguished himself as a director.

In 1937, he went on tour in the United States and Canada. The National Historical Museum preserves pages from a notebook in which he kept notes on the role of Famusov during the tour in the United States. This document, along with the other exhibits, was donated to the National History Museum (NIM) by Ivan Sarafov.

The actor’s extensive repertoire includes over 200 roles. He has played leading roles in the most famous Bulgarian and international plays, and by the 1920s had become renowned for his portrayals of Vladikov in Ivan Vazov’s *The Hushovs*, Fedya Protasov in Leo Tolstoy’s *The Living Corpse*, Andrei from “Three Sisters” and Uncle Vanya from the play of the same name by A. P. Chekhov, Hristo from “The Bricklayers,” and Zmey Goryanin from “Zmey’s Wedding” by P. Y. Todorov. His signature roles include: Cyrano de Bergerac (by Edmond Rostand), Tartuffe and Argan (in Molière’s “Tartuffe” and “The Imaginary Invalid”), and Famusov (in Alexander Griboyedov’s “Woe from Wit”).

Krastyo Sarafov has enjoyed a long and distinguished career on stage. This is evidenced by the congratulatory message from his colleagues at the National Theater, marking his 50 years in the theater, which is on display in the permanent exhibition at the National History Museum (Hall 5). It was presented during the anniversary gala on March 5, 1946, at the National Theater, when the actor was 70 years old. In the celebratory performance, Sarafov took on his signature role of Famusov in the play *Woe from Wit*, directed by Nikolay Masalitinov. His final role was that of Yegor in Maxim Gorky’s play “Yegor Bulychov and Others,” in which he performed until 1949. He died on August 27, 1952.

Text: Mariana Parvanova