Mihail Sorbul (pen name of Mihail Smolsky; October 16 (or 19),
1885â€"December 20, 1966) was a Romanian playwright and novelist.Born
in Botoșani, his parents were Anton Smolsky, a Polish uhlan
lieutenant, later a shareholder in a petroleum company, and his wife
Maria (née Moscovici). He attended high school in Iași, Ploiești
and Bucharest, graduating in 1905. From 1905 to 1906, he briefly took
courses at the law faculty of Bucharest University, followed by
Constantin Nottara's class at the Dramatic Arts Conservatory from 1906
to 1907. His debut was the 1906 play Eroii noștri, published under is
real name; the tragicomedy deals with the corrupted turn of the
century youth. Also under his birth name, Convorbiri Critice published
the plays Vânt de primăvară (1908), Poveste banală (later Poveste
studențească), Înviere and Două credințe (all 1909). Between 1910
and 1911, he published Scena magazine with Liviu Rebreanu. In 1913, he
was literary secretary of Marioara Voiculescu's acting company. His
dramatic sketch Săracul popă!, his tragicomedy Praznicul calicilor
(both published in Convorbiri Critice in 1909, under the pen name
Sorbul suggested by magazine chief Mihail Dragomirescu) and his 1914
drama Letopiseți introduced a prosaic-realist, anti-romantic vision
into the Romanian historical drama.[1]The tragicomedy called Amoruri
anormale in its first version (1908-1909) premiered in 1916 as Patima
roșie, with Elvira Popescu in the role of Tofana. Teatrul Mic
performed the play in its Paris tour of 1923, and the local press
compared its heroine to Phèdre. Sorbul's tragicomedy Dezertorul
(1917) and his drama Răzbunarea, a sequel to Patima roșie, were
staged at Iași. He headed Săgetătorul magazine from 1921 to 1922.
In 1923, he was a founding member of the Society of Romanian Dramatic
Authors, serving as its president from 1927. In 1931, he was chairman
of the Cluj National Theatre. The 1933 novel O iubești?, endowed with
an atmosphere of magical realism, features a protagonist without
special abilities who, fascinated by a friend's creative talent,
assumes his identity. Mângâierile panterei (1934) is an epic
novelization of the 1921 drama Prăpastia, in which the heroine is
haunted by a past crime. Adevărul și numai adevărul (1936) is a
detective novel, while Glasul nevesti-mi (1938) is a collection of
humorous sketches. He won the national prize for theatre in 1937.
Sorbul died in Bucharest.[1]
1885â€"December 20, 1966) was a Romanian playwright and novelist.Born
in Botoșani, his parents were Anton Smolsky, a Polish uhlan
lieutenant, later a shareholder in a petroleum company, and his wife
Maria (née Moscovici). He attended high school in Iași, Ploiești
and Bucharest, graduating in 1905. From 1905 to 1906, he briefly took
courses at the law faculty of Bucharest University, followed by
Constantin Nottara's class at the Dramatic Arts Conservatory from 1906
to 1907. His debut was the 1906 play Eroii noștri, published under is
real name; the tragicomedy deals with the corrupted turn of the
century youth. Also under his birth name, Convorbiri Critice published
the plays Vânt de primăvară (1908), Poveste banală (later Poveste
studențească), Înviere and Două credințe (all 1909). Between 1910
and 1911, he published Scena magazine with Liviu Rebreanu. In 1913, he
was literary secretary of Marioara Voiculescu's acting company. His
dramatic sketch Săracul popă!, his tragicomedy Praznicul calicilor
(both published in Convorbiri Critice in 1909, under the pen name
Sorbul suggested by magazine chief Mihail Dragomirescu) and his 1914
drama Letopiseți introduced a prosaic-realist, anti-romantic vision
into the Romanian historical drama.[1]The tragicomedy called Amoruri
anormale in its first version (1908-1909) premiered in 1916 as Patima
roșie, with Elvira Popescu in the role of Tofana. Teatrul Mic
performed the play in its Paris tour of 1923, and the local press
compared its heroine to Phèdre. Sorbul's tragicomedy Dezertorul
(1917) and his drama Răzbunarea, a sequel to Patima roșie, were
staged at Iași. He headed Săgetătorul magazine from 1921 to 1922.
In 1923, he was a founding member of the Society of Romanian Dramatic
Authors, serving as its president from 1927. In 1931, he was chairman
of the Cluj National Theatre. The 1933 novel O iubești?, endowed with
an atmosphere of magical realism, features a protagonist without
special abilities who, fascinated by a friend's creative talent,
assumes his identity. Mângâierile panterei (1934) is an epic
novelization of the 1921 drama Prăpastia, in which the heroine is
haunted by a past crime. Adevărul și numai adevărul (1936) is a
detective novel, while Glasul nevesti-mi (1938) is a collection of
humorous sketches. He won the national prize for theatre in 1937.
Sorbul died in Bucharest.[1]
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