Margarita Xirgu Subirá (18 June 1888,

Molins de Rei Molins de Rei () or Molins de Rey in Spanish is a municipality located 18 km from Barcelona's city centre, in the ''comarca'' of Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Llobregat river, on the A-7 ''au ...

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– 25 April 1969, Montevideo,

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

), also Margarida Xirgu, was a Spanish

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

actress, who was greatly popular throughout her country and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. A friend of the

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Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

, she was forced into exile during Francisco Franco's dictatorship of Spain, but continued her work in America. Notable plays in which she appeared include '' Como tú me Deseas'', ''

La casa de Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with '' Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not inc ...

'', and '' Mariana Pineda''. An opera, ''

Ainadamar ''Ainadamar'' (Arabic for 'Fountain of Tears') is the first opera by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. The libretto was written by American playwright David Henry Hwang and translated from English into Spanish by the composer. It premiered in ...

'', by the composer

Osvaldo Golijov Osvaldo Noé Golijov (; born December 5, 1960) is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work. Biography Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family ...

and playwright

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yell ...

, based on Xirgu's life and her association with Lorca, was premiered in 2003. A recording of the work released in 2006 on the Deutsche Grammophon label (Catalog #642902) won the 2007 Grammy awards for Best Classical Contemporary Composition and Best Opera Recording.

Biography

Born in

in 1888, her family moved first to

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

in 1890 and finally to

in 1896. Her first theater work was in 1906 with the Blanca character in ''

Mar i Cel Mar, mar or MAR may refer to: Culture * Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac * Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland * MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese * Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code * March, as an abbreviation for the third month ...

'', in the Teatre Romea. In 1908 was really successful with ''Joventut de príncep'' in the Teatre Principal. After that, in 1909, she began her film career with ''Guzmán el Bueno''. In 1910 she married Josep Arnall. In 1911

Àngel Guimerà Àngel Guimerà y Jorge (6 May 1845 or 6 May 1847 or 1849 – 18 July 1924), known also as Ángel Guimerá, was a Spanish Nobel-nominated writer in the Catalan language. His work is known for bringing together under romantic aspects the main el ...

wrote “La reina jove” for her, and that year she created her own theater company. In 1912 a

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businessman contracted her for working in

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. She played the mermaid in ''

La sirena varada ''La sirena varada'' is a Spanish play by Alejandro Casona written in 1934 during his stay in Valle de Arán. It is about a mermaid who falls in love with a man named Ricardo. It was released at Teatro Español in Madrid in the night of 17 March ...

'' in 1934, written by

Alejandro Casona Alejandro Rodríguez Álvarez, known as Alejandro Casona (3 March 1903 – 17 September 1965) was a Spanish poet and playwright born in Besullo, Spain, a member of the Generation of '27. Casona received his bachelor's degree in Gijon and la ...

. She starred in the early film version of Garcia Lorca's ''

Bodas de sangre ''Blood Wedding'' ( es, link=no, Bodas de sangre) is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...

'', filmed in February–March 1938, the only film version of a Garcia Lorca play to star an actress who was a personal friend of the author and who had appeared in his works onstage. It is Ms. Xirgu's only sound film, and it has never been shown on American television or released on video. It was first shown on Argentine television in January 1966. Xirgu died in Maldonado in 1969, after she had become a Uruguayan citizen according to civil rights granted for exiles. In 1988 the

Catalan government The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

repatriated her remains and they are now buried in

. Xirgu's biography was written by Catalan author Antonina Rodrigo. In 2018 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 ...

'' published a belated obituary for her.

References

External links

*About Margarita Xirgu http://www.alejandro-casona.com/xirgu.htm (in Spanish)
Margarita Xirgu's biography on the Uruguayan newspaper ''La República''
*
Margarida Xirgu, el teatre
� (audio). ''l'Arxiu de la Paraula''. Ateneu Barcelonès, 2014.
''Bodas de sangre'' (1938)
on YouTube * Film actresses from Catalonia Stage actresses from Catalonia People from Molins de Rei Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Uruguay Spanish emigrants to Uruguay Spanish musical theatre actresses Spanish stage actresses Uruguayan stage actresses Uruguayan people of Catalan descent 1888 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Spanish women {{theat-bio-stub