ALUCA, "PRINCESS" IN EXILE

Second Issue (P. 79)

By Sabrina Johnson

Daria! contributor, Sabrina Johnson, takes a close look at the life and legacy of Aluca Maria Moldoveanu. With exclusive access to her diaries, she offers a glimpse into her struggle filled with challenges, which include a turbulent upbringing during political turmoil in her native country of Romania after the WWII.

The Second World War was ravaging all of Europe as Nazism was being defeated. The consequences of this conflict were devastating for civilians in indescribable ways. One of the results for many, consisted of abandoning their homes and finding refuge in an uncertain future.

Aluca’s past reflects this particular reality and its path is filled with hardships and wonders that introduced her to experience accentuated emotions ranging from humility, sadness, uncertainty and despair to happiness, satisfaction and appreciation.

In Monaco, where she has been residing for the past 28 years, only a handful of people are aware of her origins and they refer to her as "Princess". Her distinguished career, however, began at the tender age of nine and blossomed into a triumph of the international stage, as she became Prima Ballerina at seventeen years of age.

Her father, Count Nicolai Babeanu, was a landowner and a descendant of the Hirgot family since the 1900’s and he was a close officer of the former Royal Court of Romania. Her mother, Adelaida Freifrau Von Kapri, instilled the rigor and discipline of a German education in Aluca, using a soft approach that was synonymous with her Polish origins.

Due to her family’s ancestry, a period of uncertainty dawned with the establishment of Communism, as they had to suddenly grow accustomed to the lack of special status affiliated with family lineage. This involved living precariously and often encountering deficiencies of sufficient food and other basic necessities. In addition, her family was closely scrutinized as a result of its links to the former Romanian aristocracy.

The countryside was Aluca’s fairy tale domain and its majestic natural wisdom brought her consolation. Although she sheltered herself in this environment from the adversities around her, destiny rang at her doorbell during an unlikely chance encounter in Bucharest, while on a streetcar at the age of seven. Aluca describes Yolanda Manole Pascaluta as her guardian angel.

Yolanda suggested that Aluca be registered in a competition exam to determine her eligibility for attending the Choreography School of Romania. Her mother chose to ignore the suggestion and intentionally forgot about it….but not for long. Destiny tried to reach Aluca a second time in another unlikely chance encounter. This time, a year after the first, Aluca met her guardian angel, Yolanda, as she found her sitting right beside her in the midst of 4,000 people in a soccer stadium where her mom was working as a translator and interpreter.

After Yolanda gently reproached her mother for not following her advice, a decision was taken for her to accompany them to obtain a private exam with the Director of the school.

As suggested by Yolanda, Aluca’s aristocratic origins were falsified by declaring that she was the daughter of rich farmers. The failure to choose this option, would have jeopardized her enrollment in the school, instead, she passed the exam and became the best student. She became the representation of the school’s pride at the national level.

Aluca’s career progressed to include the credits of soloist and Prima Ballerina at the Opera of Bucharest at seventeen. She passionately shares a story describing an event that happened then, which drastically changed her life: "A ray of light appeared. While performing an Argentine Tango in a – Recital of Opera and Dance –, a red camellia in my hair, I felt as though glaring black eyes were looking at me. It was the beautiful tenor Vasile Moldoveanu, who was due to perform there during that same evening. It was love at first sight." Three months later, they were married in the village of Poiama, where she grew up as a child. Aluca refers to her married life as a mixture of love, passion and sacrifice.

Her career flourished from 1972 to 1974, as she performed at the Bayerishe Staats Oler Munchen (Opera of Munich) and she was later offered to train in Monte Carlo with Marika Bresobrasova, where Nureyev was training at the same time. Aluca eventually relocated to New York, after Vasile signed a ten-year contract with Columbia Artist Management and where he performed at the Metropolitan Opera. She eventually moved to Monaco.

The fascinating diaries of the "Princess" in exile, detail many more intimate thoughts and describe many situations she experienced. These would lead many people to consider themselves very fortunate with their own lives and, yet, the experiences are so varied that a myriad of others would consider their own lives to compare very miserably by comparison. D

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