Georges de Porto-Riche (20 May 1849,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

, Gironde – 5 September 1930, Paris) was a French dramatist and novelist.

Biography

Georges was born into a Jewish-Italian assimilated family. At the age of twenty, his pieces in verse began to be produced at the Parisian theatres; he also wrote some books of verse which met with a favorable reception, but these early works were not reprinted. In Germaine, the passionate and exacting heroine of ''Amoureuse'', Mme Réjane found one of her best parts. In 1898 he published ''Théâtre d'amour'', which contained four of his most celebrated pieces: ''La Chance de Françoise'', ''L'Infidèle'', ''Amoureuse'', and ''Le Passé''. The title given to this collection indicates the difference between the plays of Porto-Riche, which focus on human emotion and psychological drama, and the political or sociological pieces of many of his contemporaries. Even in ''Les Malefilâtres'' (Odéon, 1904), whose characters are drawn from the working class, love remains the central focus. He was elected to the 6th seat of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in 1923. However, he was never officially received to the Académie, because the reading committee found the eulogy he wrote for his predecessor unsatisfactory, and he refused to rewrite it. Porto-Riche was also named a Grand officier in the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. He died in 1930 and was buried in the

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

of Saint Valery in

Varengeville-sur-Mer Varengeville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Varengeville on Sea'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography A forestry and farming commune situated by the coast of the English Channel and ...

, Normandy.

Works

*1872: ''Primo Verba'', poems *1873: ''Le Vertige'', comedy in 1 act and in verse, Paris, Odéon, 27 June *1874: ''Pommes d'Ève'' (1874) *1875: ''Un drame sous Philippe II'', drama in four acts and in verse, Paris, Odéon, 14 April *1877: ''Tout n'est pas rose'', poems (1877) *1878: ''Les Deux Fautes'', one-act comedy, Odéon, 18 December *1878: ''Vanina'', fantaisie vénitienne in 2 parts and in verse *1888: ''La Chance de Françoise'', one-act comedy, in prose *1889: ''Bonheur manqué, carnet d'un amoureux'' *1890: ''L'Infidèle'', comedy in 1 act and in verse, music by Francis Thomé, Paris, Théâtre d'Application, 19 April *1891: ''Amoureuse'', three-act comedy, Odéon, 25 April *1897: ''Le Passé'', five-act comedy,Odéon, 30 December ; reduced to 4 acts at the revival at the Théâtre-Français in 1902. *1904: ''Les Malefilâtre'', two-act comedy,

Théâtre de la Renaissance The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on t ...

, 28 April *1911: ''Le Vieil homme'', five-act play, Paris, Renaissance, 12 January *1912: ''Zubiri'', fantasy in 1 act drawn from a story by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

in ''Choses vues'', Paris, Comédie royale, 1 February *1915: ''Quelques vers d'autrefois'' *1918: ''Le Marchand d'estampes'', three-act drama *1920: ''Anatomie sentimentale, pages préférées'' *1923: ''Veux-tu que je sois ta femme ?'', short story *1927: ''Sous mes yeux'' *1929: ''Les Vrais Dieux'', fantaisie antique in 2 parts, Paris, Théâtre Albert Ier, 22 November

Bibliography

Henry Marx Richard Henry Marx (April 12, 1924 – August 12, 1997) was an American jazz pianist and arranger. He also composed for film, television, and commercials. Personal life Marx and wife Ruth (née Guildoo) had a son, Richard Marx, pop singer, s ...

: Georges de Porto-Riche, son œuvre, La Nouvelle Revue Critique, Paris, 1924 * Wolfgang Asholt: ''Gesellschaftskritisches Theater im Frankreich der Belle epoque (1887–1914)'' (Studia Romanica; 59). Verlag, Winter, Heidelberg 1984. (zugl. Habilitationsschrift, Universität Münster 1983). * Hermann Bahr: ''Glossen zum Wiener Thewater (1903–1906)''. S. Fischer, Berlin 1907. *

Hendrik Brugmans Hendrik Brugmans (13 December 1906 in Amsterdam – 12 March 1997 in Bruges) also known as Hendrik Bupatis was the son of historian Hajo Brugmans and Maria Keizer. He studied history of French literature at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and the ...

: ''Georges de Porto-Riche. Sa vie, son oeuvre''. Droz, Paris 1934. * Arthur Eloesser: ''Literarische Portraits aus dem modernen Frankreich''. S. Fischer, Berlin 1904. * W. Müller: ''Georges de Porto-Riche''. Vrin Paris 1934.

References

* * Georges de PORTO-RICHE on the site of the Académie-Française. {{DEFAULTSORT:Porto-Riche, Georges de 1849 births 1930 deaths Writers from Bordeaux Members of the Académie Française Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 19th-century French poets 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights