Ghica family
Considered, together with the Wallachian Heliade Rădulescu, the founder of early Romanian theater, Asachi produced the first staging of a Romanian-language play, first performed for the public on 27 December 1816, at the Ghica family manor. The work was his own adaptation of "Myrtil et Chloé", a pastoral theme authored by Solomon Gessner and retaken by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian; in its printed version, the text also featured illustrations drawn by his own hand. Extremely popular, Asachi's play was celebrated for helping to counter the perceived xenophily of the early 19th century Moldavian cultural environment. Two Ghicas and a Sturdza were assigned parts in the first staging, and Veniamin Costachi was present in the audience.