Antonio Reparaz (3 October 1831 – 14 April 1886) was a Spanish composer who gained renown for the success of his many operas.

Career

The son of a military musician, Reparaz was born in

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

Andalucia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

. As a child he sang in the choir of the

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...

. He conducted his first work at the age of 16 in

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

, and shortly afterwards, after receiving a scholarship from the provincial government of Vizcaya, he moved to Rome, Italy, to study. On his return to Spain, passing through Paris, he was hired as director of the Real Teatro San Juan in

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

where he stayed for several seasons from 1872. He spent a season conducting and premiering operas in several European and American capitals, returning to Porto in 1873. Later, he premiered several zarzuelas at the Teatro Circo in Madrid and some of his other operas at various theatres in Spain. In

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, he premiered the zarzuela ''The feudal castle''. In

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, he was a respected composer in the Teatro Circo for many years, and premiered ''Fifth and a Substitute'', ''Harry the Devil'', ''Pablo and Virginia'', in collaboration with

Emilio Arrieta Juan Pascual Antonio Arrieta Corera (20 October 1821 – 11 February 1894), also known as Emilio Arrieta, was a Spanish composer. Arrieta was born in Puente la Reina, Navarre. His Italian musical training led him, under the favour of Queen ...

and José Inzenga, ''A Throne and a Disappointment''. In

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, he worked in opera at the Teatro Principal in the season of 1882–83. At the same time, he approached the art of

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

with unequalled success. His production, although less in quantity to that of his contemporaries

Ruperto Chapí Ruperto Chapí y Lorente (27 March 1851 – 25 March 1909) was a Spanish composer, and co-founder of the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers. Biography Chapí was born at Villena, the son of a Valencian barber. He trained in his home to ...

Gerónimo Giménez Gerónimo Giménez y Bellido (10 October 1854 – 19 February 1923) was a Spanish conductor and composer, who dedicated his career to writing zarzuelas, such as ''La tempranica'' and ''La boda de Luis Alonso''. He preferred to spell his first nam ...

and

Manuel Fernández Caballero Manuel Fernández Caballero (Murcia, 14 March 1835 – Madrid, 26 February 1906) was a Spanish composer, notably of zarzuelas. His works were seminal works in the young Género chico form of zarzuela. The success of ''Los bandos de villafri ...

, is of a high quality.

Music

As a composer, he gained renown as a result of the success of his many operas and zarzuelas. During his career, he covered most of the musical genres of the Bourbon Restoration period (1875–1885), composed operas, zarzuelas as well as symphonic and chamber music. He adopted the most modern procedures, within the limitations of the genre. On the other hand, he wrote symphonic music with a singular insistence, at the same time in which in Spain great orchestral ensembles scarcely existed. His symphonies revealed a strong assimilation of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

and compositional techniques of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. His most successful works are those that feature a genuine Spanish character. During his last years, he composed several

symphonic poems A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

of clear and nostalgic character. In the genre of chamber music he wrote several works including (trios, quartets and a quintet), composed with a markedly classic point of view, influenced by French composers. He also wrote the music of ''A Mi Nazarena'' with

José Zorrilla José Zorrilla y Moral () was a Spanish poet and dramatist, who became National Laureate. Biography Zorrilla was born in Valladolid to a magistrate in whom Ferdinand VII placed special confidence. He was educated by the Jesuits at the Real Se ...

and ''El Beso del Poeta''.

Family

Reparaz was the father of six children, but only two survived longer than 18 years. Gonzalo's eldest son was a well-known reporter and journalist who gave lectures and wrote books about

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. In 1890, his daughter Virgilia married the well-known orchestral conductor

Antonio Videgain Antonio Videgain García (10 March 1869 – 9 February 1944) was a Spanish conductor and composer, who dedicated his career to writing zarzuelas, such as ''A vuelo de pájaro'' and ''El vals coqueto''. Biography Although the details of his ea ...

, and in 1892, his grandson

Antonio Videgain Reparaz Antonio Videgain Reparaz (November 1, 1892 in Madrid Spain – June 1, 1945 in Panama city) was a Spanish baritone and actor, who dedicated his career to zarzuelas and Operas. Biography Early life Videgain was born in Madrid son of Antonio Vid ...

was born. The 3rd soon, Ignacio, was a military man and guard who died in 1926. In the same decade, two of his daughters married military men and future generals of the Spanish army, their grandchildren being sons of the General-in-chief of the Spanish armies, Burguete Lana.

Selected works

He wrote six operas and many zarzuelas. * ''Gonzalo de Córdoba'', opera, premiered in

* ''Pedro el cruel'', opera * ''Ardides y cuchilladas'' * ''Pablo y Virginia'', opera, Teatro Novedades, 6 November 1862 * ''El paraiso de Madrid'', zarzuela in 3 acts * ''El magnetismo'' * ''La ventá encantada'', in honour of

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

1871, zarzuela in three acts in verse, libretto by

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida (17 February 1836 – 22 December 1870), better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (), was a Spanish Romantic poet and writer (mostly short stories), also a playwright, literary columnist, and talented ...

* ''La cruz del valle'', Madrid, Teatro Circo, 22 October 1860 * ''La gitanilla'',

Teatro de la Zarzuela The Teatro de la Zarzuela is a theatre in Madrid, Spain. The theatre is today mainly devoted to zarzuela (the Spanish traditional musical theatre genre), as well as operetta and recitals. History The theatre was designed by architect Jerónimo ...

, 27 September 1861 * ''La mina de oro'',Madrid, Teatro Circo, 19 November 1861 * ''Harry el diablo'', zarzuela in two acts, libretto by Narciso Serra and Miguel Pastorfido, Madrid, Teatro Circo, 21 February 1862 * ''Las bodas de camacho'', Madrid, Teatro Circo, 9 October 1866 * ''Un quinto y sustituto''

Bibliography

* ''La música española en el siglo XIX'' (Celsa Alonso González, 1995) * ''Asejo Barbieri'' (1996) * Begoña Lolo: ''Cervantes y el Quijote en la música: estudios sobre la recepción de un mito'' * ''Gustavo Adolfo Becquer y Reparaz'' * Biblioteca Comunidad of Madrid, Work 'Harry el diablo'

* Real academia de Bellas artes of Valladolid

* ''Antonio Reparaz, un músico en Oporto, nuevos datos'', University of La Rioja

* ''Life and work, biography, euskalbiographys'', Book of university Vasca

* ''Dates of life in Library national of Spain'', Biblioteca Nacional española

* Instituto Cervantes ''Cervantes y Reparaz''

* ''Un músico de la Restauración''.Antonio Reparaz Madrid: Instituto Complutense de Ciencias Musicales, 2002, Prensa en University Complutense of Madri

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reparaz, Antonio 1831 births 1886 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century classical violinists 19th-century conductors (music) Madrid Royal Conservatory Male classical pianists Male classical violinists Male conductors (music) Male opera composers Spanish classical composers Spanish classical pianists Spanish classical violinists Spanish conductors (music) Spanish male classical composers Spanish opera composers Spanish Romantic composers