Karatza, Rallou (1778–?)
Karatza, Rallou (1778–?)
Greek theater producer and freedom fighter. Born in 1778 in Walachia, Rumania; the daughter of a Greek prince.
Born in 1778 to a Greek prince living in Walachia, Rumania (belonging to the Ottoman Empire of which Greece was a part), Rallou Karatza was educated in the arts and culture of Europe. She became particularly interested in the theater and was the first Greek woman to organize her own theater group, recruiting her actors from the Greek School in Bucharest. When Karatza became a member of the secret society "Philiki Etaireia" which organized the Greeks to fight against the Turks, she began to use her theater group for propaganda purposes. Presenting revolutionary plays espousing freedom, she did much to raise the political fervor among the Greeks that led to the uprising of 1821. Karatza presented an international repertory of didactic dramas which she translated herself, and she also directed many of her productions. She even provided scholarships for her actors to go to Paris and study. In 1829, after Greece had won its independence, Karatza moved to Athens, where she resided until her death.