105 Dacia street, district 2

Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

Descendant of an ancient Byzantine family of Greek origin, Constantin I. Nottara (1859-1935) was without doubt one of the great personalities of the Romanian theatre being an accomplished actor and an excellent educator. He studied at the Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in Bucharest and at the Odeon Theatre in Paris. He was renowned for important roles such as Lear and Hamlet from Shakespeare’s play or Shylock, in the Doctor’s Dilemma by Shaw, Vlaicu in "Vlaicu Voda" by Alexandru Davila, Ion from "Napasta" by Ion L. Caragiale and other notable ones in those times. The famous artists of the interwar period developed under his aegis, names such as Tony Bulandra, Ion Manolescu, Maria Ventura or Maria Filotti. At the end of his career, after a life spent for the Romanian theatre, his colleagues from the Union of Drama and Lyric Artists donated an important sum during the fund raising for building a house for master Nottara.

In 1931, on Boulevard Dacia, the area that hosts most of the architectural monuments in Bucharest, the "Nottara House" was built, which became the last residence of Constantin I. Nottara, but also the dwelling of his son, Constantin C. Nottara (1890 – 1951), the great composer.

Young Nottara studied at the Music Conservatory having D. G. Kiriac, Alfonso Castaldi and Robert Klenck as professors. At the age of seventeen, he started studying violin in Paris along George Enescu and Berthelier under the guidance of professors Dufay and Thodou. In 1914 he will play the first violin in the Charlottenburg Orchestra and in 1918 he returns in Romania as violinist of the Philharmonic but also professor at the Conservatory. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romanian Composers Society and in 1929 he founded the Bucharest Orchestra. The building constructed during the modern period in Bucharest, was built in a functional style, namely Art Deco, fitting perfectly the eclectic architecture of the entire boulevard.

In 1956 the C. I. and C. C. Memorial Museum was opened for the public in memory of the two great artists, at the initiative of Anna Nottara, the wife of C.C. Nottara. The house hosted the museum until 2016. Sources: Corina Iliescu, Museographer, "Muzicianul Constantin Nottara", https://no14plusminus.ro/2015/10/10/muzicianul-constantin-c-nottara/ Photo: Reptilianul C. I. and C.C. Nottara Museum (1956 - 2016) photo archive