Matei Millo

Matei or Mateiu Millo (also Milo or Milu; Romanian pronunciation: [maˈtej miˈlo]; November 24/25, 1813 or 1814 – September 9, 1896) was a Moldavian, later Romanian stage actor, singer, producer and playwright, noted as a founding figure in local theater. Hailing from two lineages of boyar aristocrats (one of which was originally French), he appeared in amateur productions around the age of twenty, alongside Vasile Alecsandri—who, later in life, was Millo's main literary backer. Violently shunned by his parents for what was seen as a lowly profession, he spent some time in Paris, possibly studying acting, and experienced there a form of material destitution that would plague him throughout his career. He returned to a position as art director of Moldavia's National Theater in Iași, pushing through an agenda of subversive Romanian nationalism, then playing some part in the liberal uprising of 1848. Late that year, Millo created an all-Romanian sensation by writing, producing, and starring in the first local operetta, Baba Hârca. His performances in travesti, and his penchant for naturalness, became hugely popular with theatergoers of all classes. They prompted Alecsandri to use Millo for a long series of Coana Chirița comedies.

Touring all Romanian-inhabited provinces, which at the time straddled three empires, Millo settled in Wallachia during 1852; he took charge of the Grand Theater in Bucharest, while also teaching at the Conservatory, and involved himself in the effort toward Moldo–Wallachian unification. He was a high-ranking Freemason, and as such involved in political intrigues before and during the creation of a Romanian Principality. Millo had renounced his boyar title and had championed the common folk, but, finding himself challenged by younger professionals such as Mihail Pascaly, fell back on conservative elitism.