Joaquín "Quinito" Valverde Sanjuán (2 January 18754 November 1918) was a Spanish composer 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 ...

s. He was the son of

Joaquín Valverde Durán Joaquín Valverde Durán (27 February 1846 in Badajoz – 17 March 1910 in Madrid) was a Spanish composer, conductor and flute, flautist. As a composer he is known for his Classical music written in collaboration, collaborations on zarzuelas (he ha ...

, also a zarzuela composer, and was usually called Quinito Valverde to distinguish him from his father. In his day he was referred to as the "Tango King", the "

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life ...

of Spanish music" and the "Spanish Offenbach", and his dance tunes were known internationally. Now he is perhaps best known for a short song called "Clavelitos" (''Little Carnations''), which has been recorded by many sopranos.

Biography

Joaquín Valverde Sanjuán was born 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 ...

on 2 January 1875, the son of

. He studied at the Conservatory and under his father, and showed early promise, writing his first

''Con las de Caín'' at the age of 15. He wrote some works alone (''La mulata'', ''La galerna o El mirlo blanco'', ''Caretas y capuchones''),EPdLP
/ref> but, like his father, his best work came in

collaborations Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Mos ...

with other composers. These included Tomás López Torregrosa (''Los puritanos'', 1894); ''Los cocineros'' (1896); ''El pobre diablo'', 1897; ''El primer reserva'', 1897; ''Los chicos de la escuela'', 1903; ''El terrible Pérez'', 1903; ''El pobre Valbuena'', 1904; ''El pudín negro de Stornoway'', 1904, partly based on Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

's novel ''

The Black Dwarf ''The Black Dwarf'' (1817–1824) was a satirical radical journal of early 19th century Britain. It was published by Thomas Jonathan Wooler, starting in January 1817 as an eight-page newspaper, then later becoming a 32-page pamphlet. It was price ...

''), Ramón Estellés (''La marcha de Cádiz'', 1896);

Rafael Calleja Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...

(''El iluso Cañizares'', 1905); José Serrano (''El perro chico'', 1905; ''El iluso Cañizares'', 1905; ''El pollo tejada'', 1906; ''El amigo Melquíades'', 1914; ''El príncipe carnaval'', 1914); José Padilla (''Los viejos Verdes'', 1909); and others. After his father's death in 1910, Quinito Valverde moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He had great success there, and was also successful on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where ''A Night in Spain'' and ''The Land of Joy'' were staged in 1917-18. ''The Land of Joy'' was otherwise known as ''La Tierra de la Alegría''. Every major English-language newspaper in New York published rave reviews. It included some American actors, whose purpose was to supply some English dialogue in an otherwise Spanish-language production. The central figure was the dancer

Antonia Mercé y Luque Antonia Mercé y Luque (September 4, 1890 – July 18, 1936), largely known by her stage name, La Argentina, was an Argentine-born Spanish dancer known for her creation of the neoclassical style of Spanish dance. Considered one of the most ...

, "La Argentina", who had appeared in Valverde revues in 1910 in Paris.Ninotchka Bennahum: Antonia Mercé, "La Argentina": Flamenco and the Spanish Avant-Garde
/ref> Quinito Valverde was also well known for a popular song called "Clavelitos" (''Little Carnations'') with words by José Juan Cadenas, which has been sung and recorded by performers as diverse as

Conchita Supervía Conchita Supervía (8–9 December 1895 Steane (2003) – 30 March 1936) was a highly popular Spanish mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in opera in Europe and America and also gave recitals. Early life Supervía was born in Barcelona to an o ...

Lucrezia Bori Lucrezia Bori (24 December 1887 – 14 May 1960) was a Spanish operatic singer, a lyric soprano and a tireless and effective fundraiser for the Metropolitan Opera. Biography Lucrezia Bori was born on 24 December 1887, in Valencia, Spain. ...

Amelita Galli-Curci Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an Italian coloratura soprano. She was one of the most popular operatic singers of the 20th century, with her recordings selling in large numbers. Early life She was born as Am ...

Rosa Ponselle Rosa Melba Ponzillo, known as Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 – May 25, 1981) was an American operatic soprano. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the 20t ...

Antonina Nezhdanova Antonina Vasilyevna Nezhdanova (russian: Антони́на Васи́льевна Нежда́нова, – 26 June 1950), was a Russian and Soviet coloratura soprano. Nezhdanova was born in , near Odesa, Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire. ...

, María de los Ángeles Morales,

Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid- ...

, and

Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. S ...

.ArkivMusik
/ref> He died in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

on 4 November 1918 after an accident, while touring there. He was aged only 43.

References

Sources

zarzuela net: Joaquín “Quinito” Valverde Sanjuán

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valverdesanjuan, Joaquin 1875 births 1918 deaths Spanish opera composers Male opera composers Spanish classical composers Spanish male classical composers