Ángel de Saavedra y Ramírez de Baquedano, 3rd Duke of 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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
,
dramatist
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just
reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...
and
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who was Prime Minister of Spain in 1854. 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, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, 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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
and director of the
Real Academia Española.
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; 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 List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
),
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 and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
The play was used as the basis of
Francesco Maria Piave's
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...
for
Verdi's opera ''
La forza del destino'' (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
See also
*
Duke of Rivas (title)
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
103
Prime ministers of Spain
Rosicrucians
Spanish male writers
Members of the Royal Spanish Academy
Moderate Party (Spain) politicians
Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain
Ambassadors of Spain to France