''El poeta'' is a

Spanish opera Spanish opera is both the art of opera in Spain and opera in the Spanish language. Opera has existed in Spain since the mid-17th century. Early history Opera was slow to develop within Spain in comparison to France, Italy and (to a lesser extent) G ...

composed by

Federico Moreno Torroba Federico Moreno Torroba (3 March 189112 September 1982) was a Spanish composer, conductor, and theatrical impresario. He is especially remembered for his important contributions to the classical guitar repertoire, becoming one of the leading twen ...

. It premiered at the

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 ...

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 ...

, Spain on 19 June 1980, starring

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

Ángeles Gulín Ángeles Gulín (14 February 1939 – 10 October 2002) was a Spanish operatic soprano particularly associated with early Verdi works. Life and career Born María de los Ángeles Gulín Domínguez in Ribadavia, Spain, she moved with her family a ...

, and Carmen Bustamante. The idea of a new opera had originally been suggested to Moreno Torroba by Domingo. ''El poeta'' would be the 89-year-old composer's last major work for the stage.

Background

was one of the most prolific composers of Spanish

zarzuelas () 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 ...

and modern

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

music, but had only worked on

operas Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

early in his career. In 1946, he formed a traveling zarzuela company with baritone

Plácido Domingo Ferrer Plácido Domingo Ferrer (8 March 1907 – 22 November 1987
''The New York Times'' (AP), 26 November 1987.) was a

and his wife Pepita Embil. Decades later, he was contacted by their son about a possible operatic collaboration. Moreno Torroba recalled in 1980: "Three years ago, in Bilbao, I met our great tenor

, whom I had not seen since he was three years old. I was great friends with his parents, Pepita Embil and Plácido Domingo, Sr., and our great singer suggested that I write an opera." Domingo encouraged the composer to write an opera about Spanish painter

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

. Moreno Torroba, however, felt that the life of nineteenth-century poet

José de Espronceda José Ignacio Javier Oriol Encarnación de Espronceda y Delgado (25 March 1808 – 23 May 1842) was a Romantic Spanish poet, one of the most representative authors of the 19th century. He was influenced by Eugenio de Ochoa, Federico Madrazo, ...

would be a better operatic topic. They both agreed that José Méndez Herrera, whom Moreno Torroba praised for his "magnificent poetic spirit," should write the libretto.

Performance history

''El poeta'' received its premiere on 19 June 1980 at Madrid's

, where Moreno Torroba had worked on many previous occasions. It was performed as part of the theater's seventeenth Festival of Opera. The music was largely praised and the composer and Domingo, as the title character, received large ovations. Critics, however, almost universally panned the

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 theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

as inferior. Domingo also believed the libretto to be "weak and superficial" and regretted that it failed to convey the real Espronceda's fascinating and profound life. Although the opera was well received by the public, after its initial run of three performances, it was not revived.

Roles

Synopsis

José de Espronceda is a Romantic poet, who is exiled from Spain for his liberal beliefs and intrigues against

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

. While abroad he falls in love with Teresa Mancha, but Carmen Osorio is also in love with him. After he rejects Carmen on three occasions, she murders her rival Teresa.

Musical analysis

In ''El poeta'', Moreno Torroba departed from his usual zarzuela style of composition. Unlike in zarzuelas, he wrote the opera as a

through-composed In music theory of musical form, through-composed music is a continuous, non- sectional, and non- repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to instrumental music. While most musical forms such as t ...

piece without the interruptions of dialogue or distinct arias, duets, and ensembles. It was also more

dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive Sound, sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness ...

than typical of his style. American composer

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, in particular, influenced Moreno Torroba in this opera. Spanish critic Antonio Fernández-Cid remarked on the noticeable influences of both Gershwin and

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

in the opera's score and praised the composer for his subtle "tone color, harmony, structure, and use of solos and ''tuttis''." Other critics found a similarity with the music of

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept h ...

and

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

. Some reviews commented especially on Moreno Torroba's old-fashioned style of composing. The critic for ''

Opera News ''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also support ...

'' claimed that the score exhibited an "arch-romanticism out of date for three or four generations." At the same time, she noted: "Vocal lines were full of melody and eminently singable, pacing was varied and orchestration thoroughly professional."

Speight Jenkins Speight Jenkins Jr. (born January 31, 1937) is a classical music critic and music administrator. He was the general director of Seattle Opera from 1983 to 2014. Early life and education Jenkins, a native of Dallas, Texas, is the son of Speight ...

, writing in ''

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. History 1898–19 ...

'', stressed similar points. He wrote: "Moreno Torroba's music suggested a time warp: the composer seemed to be creating as Giordano might have and in no case were there harmonies which suggested the music of this century. The surprise was the honesty of the writing; most ' romantic' music composed in 1980 suggests a febrile Puccini, with the vivid color removed. On first hearing, Moreno Torroba's work sounded real and passionate, with the melodies effective though not quite overwhelming enough."

Recordings

No officially released recordings of ''El poeta'' exist. However, the world premiere performance of the opera was televised.

References

Notes Cited Sources * * * * Other sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poeta, El Operas Spanish-language operas 1980 operas Operas based on real people Operas set in the 16th century Cultural depictions of poets Cultural depictions of Spanish men Operas set in Spain