Dimitris Rontiris (; 1899 – 20 December 1981) was a Greek actor and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Biography

Rontiris was born in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

. He began his education at a military school and left to study law at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

. He began acting in 1919. Later, he went to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

to study theatre, art history and ancient Greek philosophy. He later moved on to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany, where he met the director

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...

. He returned to Greece and, at the Odeio Theatre he began directing with the musical drama by Kalomiri ''To daktili tis manas'' (Το δαχτυλίδι της μάνας, ''Mother's Ring''). In 1933, he was appointed director of the Royal Theatre and in 1937 he directed a production of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', starring

Aimilios Veakis Aimilios Veakis (; December 13, 1884 – June 29, 1951) was a Greek actor. An active member of the National Liberation Front during the Axis occupation of Greece, he was persecuted for his leftist beliefs during the White Terror. Biography Aim ...

Katina Paxinou Katina Paxinou (; 17 December 1900– 22 February 1973) was a Greek film and stage actress. She started her stage career in Greece in 1928 and was one of the founding members of the National Theatre of Greece in 1932. The outbreak of World War ...

, Alexis Minotis,

Manos Katrakis Emmanuel "Manos" Katrakis (; 14 August 1908 – 3 September 1984) was a Greek actor of theater and film.IMDb pro ...

. In 1938, he directed a production of

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

's ''

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

''. He was a director at the

National Theatre of Greece The National Theatre of Greece () is based in Athens, Greece. History The first permanent theatre in modern Greece had been the Boukoura Theatre from 1840, but it had difficulty in managing its operation and stood empty for long periods of tim ...

in Athens from 1946 until 1950 and from 1953 until 1955. He ran the ''Greek Scene'' (Ελληνική Σκηνή ''Elliniki Skini'') and the Piraeus Theatre in 1957, where he headlined several productions in many countries across Europe, North and South America and Asia and produced several theatrical shows. He directed works from classical to modern, including eleven Shakespeare works and other classic tragedies. He staged '' Electra (Shakespeare)'' and ''Hamlet'' with the Royal Theatre in 1932 in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He acted in the

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House ...

'' at the Herodes Atticus Odeum in Athens in 1949, presented by the political head of the country, Alexandros Diomidis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rontiris, Dimitris 1899 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Greek male actors Actors from Piraeus Greek expatriates in Austria Greek expatriates in England Greek expatriates in Germany Greek male stage actors Greek theatre directors Male actors from Athens National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni