Paul Porel, ''né'' Désiré Paul Parfouru (25 October 1843 – 4 August 1917), was a French actor, director and theatre manager. He was for many years closely associated with the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris, where he was first an actor, and then stage director, and, from December 1884 to May 1892, general director. The Odéon was at that time ranked as the second French theatre, after the Comédie Française."Paul Porel"
Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe. Retrieved 17 July 2020 Under Porel's management the Théâtre de l'Odéon was fully illuminated with electricity, in 1888. In June 1892 he applied for the post of director of the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

. He was unsuccessful, and in disappointment, he resigned from the management of the Odéon. He moved to the

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

, where he remained in charge until his death.Gignoux, Regis
"Porel"
''Le Figaro'', 5 August 1917, p. 1 Between 1893 and 1905 Porel was married to the actress

Gabrielle Réjane Gabrielle Réjane (), ''née'' Gabrielle Charlotte Réju (6 June 1856 – 14 June 1920), was a French actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The daughter of a former actor, Réjane studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'ar ...

with whom he had two children."Réjane, Madame, (Gabrielle Réju), (6 June 1857–14 June 1920), actress"
''Who's Who & Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2020 He died in Paris at the age of 73.

References

1843 births 1917 deaths French male stage actors {{France-actor-stub