Don Ángel de Saavedra y Ramírez de Baquedano, 3rd Duke of Rivas ( es, Ángel de Saavedra y Ramírez de Baquedano, Duque de Rivas; 10 March 179122 June 1865) was a Spanish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

born in Córdoba. He is best known for his play ''Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino'' (''Don Álvaro, or the Force of Fate'') (1835), the first romantic success in the Spanish theater.

Career

De Saavedra fought in the war of independence and was also a prominent member of the advanced Liberal party from 1820 to 1823. In 1823, Rivas was condemned to death for his liberal views and fled to England. He lived successively in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, until the death of Ferdinand VII in 1833 and the amnesty of 1834, when he returned to Spain, shortly afterwards succeeding his brother as duke of Rivas. In 1835 he became minister of the interior under Isturiz, and along with his chief had again to leave the country. Returning in 1837, he joined the moderate party, became prime minister, and was subsequently ambassador at

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. Si ...

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

and director of the

Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

. In 1813 he published ''Ensayos poéticos'', and between that time and his first exile several of his tragedies (the most notable being ''Alatar'', 1814, and ''Lanuza'', 1822) were put upon the stage. Traces of foreign influence are observable in ''El Moro expósito'' (1833), a narrative poem dedicated to

John Hookham Frere John Hookham Frere (21 May 1769 – 7 January 1846) was an English diplomat and author. Early life Frere was born in London. His father, John Frere, a member of a Suffolk family, had been educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and became Se ...

; these are still more marked in ''Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino'' (first played on 22 March 1835 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 ...

), a drama which emerged from heated literary controversy. ''Don Álvaro'' is of historical importance inasmuch as it established the new French

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. The play was used as the basis of Francesco Maria Piave's

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

for

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 ...

's opera ''

La forza del destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, wi ...

'' (1862). As a poet, Rivas's best-known work is ''Romances históricos'' (1841), adaptions of popular legends in ballad form.

Marriage and children

He married María de la Encarnación de Cueto y Ortega (1806–1885) and had 9 children, including : * Enrique Ramírez de Saavedra y de Cueto (1828–1914), 4th Duke of Rivas * Gonzalo de Saavedra y Cueto (1831–1899),

mayor of Madrid The Mayor of Madrid presides over the Madrid City Council, the government body of the capital city of Spain. The mayor has the duty of boosting the local policies, it directs the action of the other executive bodies, leads the Local Executive Adm ...

References

Bibliography

*Duque de Rivas, ''Obras completas'' (Madrid 1956). *R. Cardwell, "Don Álvaro or the Force of Cosmic Injustice" in ''Studies in Romanticism'' 12 (1973): 559–79. *D. T. Gies ''The Theater in Nineteenth-Century Spain'' (Cambridge 1994). *G. H. Lovett, ''The Duke of Rivas'' (Boston 1977). *W. T. Pattison, "The secret of Don Álvaro" in ''Symposium'' 21 (1967): 67–81. *J. Valero and S. Zighelboim, "Don Álvaro o la fuerza del signo" in ''Decimononica'' 3 (2006): 53–71. *

External links

''Don Álvaro, or the Force of Fate''
(description of English translation by Robert G. Trimble) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saavedra, Angel 1791 births 1865 deaths People from Córdoba, Spain

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Prime Ministers of Spain Rosicrucians Spanish male writers Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Moderate Party (Spain) politicians 19th-century Spanish politicians Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain