Georges Pitoëff

Georges Pitoëff

Georges Pitoëff (Russian: Георгий Питоев; 4 September 1884 – 17 September 1939) was a Russian émigré with an Armenian background who became one of the leading actors and directors in France.

Early life and education

Pitoëff was born on 4 September 1884 in Tiflis, Russia (now Tbilisi, Georgia) to Russian-born of Armenian origins, he was the son of the Director of the Tiflis Theatre. After studying and graduating in law at Paris University, he switched his focus to a career in the theatre.

Career

In Russia, Pitoëff trained with Konstantin Stanislavski.^[1]:45 In France he became a theatre director and producer, noted for his popularization of the works of contemporary playwrights, especially George Bernard Shaw, Anton Chekhov, Arthur Schnitzler, Henrik Ibsen, and Eugene O'Neill. He was a founding member of the Cartel des Quatre (Group of Four), a group including Louis Jouvet, Charles Dullin, and Gaston Baty, dedicated to rejuvenating the French theatre.^[2]

Death

Pitoëff died on 17 September 1939 in Bellevue, near Geneva, Switzerland.

Family

One of his sons, Alexandre, known as Sacha Pitoëff, was himself a noted French theatre director and actor.

References

Further reading

• Jomarron, Jacqueline. Thèâtre Des Années Vingt: Georges Pitoëff metteur en scène. Lausanne, Switzerland: L'age D'homme publishers, 1979
• Pitoëff, Aniouta. Ludmilla, Ma Mère: The Life of Ludmilla and Georges Pitoëff. Paris, France: Juillard publishers, 1955.

External links

• Joël Aguet (2005). "Georges Pitoëff". In Andreas Kotte (ed.). Theaterlexikon der Schweiz / Dictionnaire du théâtre en Suisse / Dizionario Teatrale Svizzero / Lexicon da teater svizzer [Theater Dictionary of Switzerland] (in French). Vol. 2. Zürich: Chronos. pp. 1413–1414. ISBN 978-3-0340-0715-3. LCCN 2007423414. OCLC 62309181.