François-Frédéric-Raoul Toché (7 October 1850 – 18 January 1895 was a French playwright and journalist.

Life and career

Toché was born on 7 October 1850 in Rueil, now known as

Rueil-Malmaison Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Par ...

, near Paris. As a playwright he is known for his collaborations with

Ernest Blum Ernest Blum (15 August 1836 – 18 September 1907) was a French playwright. Biography He made his debut as a writer at the age of sixteen with ''Une femme qui mord''. As a journalist, he was associated with ''Le Charivari'', '' Le Rappel'', ''Le ...

. He also collaborated with

Émile de Najac Comte Émile de Najac (December 1828 – 11 April 1889) was a French librettist. He was a prolific writer during the Second Empire and early part of the Third Republic, supplying plays and opéra comique librettos, many in one act. Biography É ...

and

Paul Siraudin Pierre-Paul-Désiré Siraudin (18 December 1812 – 8 September 1883) was a French playwright and librettist. He also used the pen names Paul de Siraudin de Sancy, Paul Siraudin de Sancy and M. Malperché. Biography He wrote many plays, mai ...

. He contributed to libretti for

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...

Gaston Serpette Henri Charles Antoine Gaston Serpette (4 November 1846 – 3 November 1904) was a French composer, best known for his operettas. After winning the prestigious Prix de Rome as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, he was expected to pursue ...

and

Théodore Dubois Clément François Théodore Dubois (24 August 1837 – 11 June 1924) was a French Romantic composer, organist, and music teacher. After study at the Paris Conservatoire, Dubois won France's premier musical prize, the Prix de Rome in 1861. He bec ...

. As a journalist he edited ''

Le Gaulois ''Le Gaulois'' () was a French daily newspaper, founded in 1868 by Edmond Tarbé and Henry de Pène. After a printing stoppage, it was revived by Arthur Meyer in 1882 with notable collaborators Paul Bourget, Alfred Grévin, Abel Hermant, and E ...

'' under the pseudonym "Frimousse". His other pen names included Escopette, Raoul Tavel, Robert Triel and Gavroche."Parisian Topics", ''Evening Standard'', 21 January 1895, p. 5 Between 1881 and 1885 he published annual retrospectives of theatrical productions in Paris Toché was made a chevalier of the

Legion of Honour 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, ...

in 1893. In desperate financial straits, caused by gambling debts, he killed himself on 18 January 1895 at

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

by shooting himself in the head.

Stage works

Works to which Toche contributed include: *1877 – ''Chanteuse par amour'' *1878 – ''La revue des Variétés'' *1880 – ''

Belle Lurette ''Belle Lurette'' is a three-act opéra comique with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Ernest Blum, Edouard Blau and Raoul Toché. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris, on 30 October 1880. The composer died before ...

'' *1881 – ''La Noce d'Ambroise'' *1884 – ''Le Château de Tire-Larigot'' *1885 – ''Le Gazier'' *1885 – ''Le Petit chaperon rouge'' *1888 – ''Les Femmes nerveuses'' *1889 – ''Le Parfum'' *1890 – ''Les Miettes de l'année'' *1890 – ''Le Collectionneur'' *1890 – ''Le Cadenas'' *1890 – ''Paris fin de siècle'' *1892 – ''Le Monde ou l'on flirte'' *1893 – ''La maison Tamponin'' *1893 – ''Les Femmes des amis'' *1894 – ''Madame Mongodin.'' ::Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.Raoul Toché
Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 9 December 2022"Suicide of Raoul Toché", ''The New York Times'', 19 January 1895, p. 5

References

{{reflist 1850 births 1895 deaths 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French journalists French male journalists