Francisco Alonso López (9 May 1887 – 18 May 1948) was a Spanish composer of popular theatre music and

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.Vincent J. Cincotta - Zarzuela, the Spanish lyric theatre: a complete reference 2003 "During his 48-year career, Alonso composed the music for 74 zarzuelas and sainetes liricos, 72 operettas and musical revues, 32 lyrical entremeses and other short musical pieces for the theatre, ..." Alonso's music is funny, cheerful, easy melody and with a popular accent. He excelled in

pasodoble Pasodoble (Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This military march gave rise r ...

s and

chotis The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina (" chotis"Spa ...

, which he impressed with grace and ease. Many of his works are still highly valued, as the

pasacalle The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often based on a bass- ostinato and written in triple metre. Origin The t ...

''Los Nardos'', the chotis ''El Pichi'', both from ''Las Leandras'', the chotis ''Tabaco'' and cerillas from the revue ''Las de Villadiego'' or the song ''Maitechu mía'' (both with lyrics by Emilio González del Castillo). He wrote also two pasodobles for fiestas in the city of Alicante, Les Fogueres de Sant Joan, titled ''La festa del poble'', premiered in 1934, and ''La Nit de San Joan'' 1934, a ''pasodoble foguerer'' for band, chorus and bass soloist. He also was elected president of the General Society of Authors of Spain.

Childhood and early youth

Francisco Alonso was born in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, where he received his early education from the

Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...

s. As the son of a pianist, Alonso was interested in music from early childhood. His mother supported him when, unable to overcome the dissection classes , he abandoned a career in medicine for musical studies. He studied music initially with Antonio Segura, and later with Celestino Villa, choirmaster of the

Cathedral of Granada Granada Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Incarnation ( es, Catedral de Granada, Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación de Granada) is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Granada, capital of the province of the same name in ...

. Alonso's first compositions were created for the Escuelas del Ave María (founder Andrés Manjón). Later, he wrote music for ballroom dances such as polkas, mazurkas, and waltzes. When he was 16 years old, he led the band of the powder workers of the El Fargue district of Granada, and later created a choir at the Philharmonic Society of Granada that performed several concerts in Granada. At age 18 he premiered his first opera with La Niña de los Cantares, performed at the Teatro Cervantes in 1905. At that time he also became the director of the regimental band of Córdoba, for whom he composed his well-known pasodoble Pólvora sin Humo.

In Madrid

His mother and father died in 1905 and 1908 respectively and Alonso decided to move to Madrid to focus on making the most of the better musical opportunities offered by the capital. After a banquet and tribute offered by his colleagues on 12 March, he bid farewell to Granada in 1911. He arrived in Madrid with 600 pesetas in his pocket and initially devoted himself to writing

cuplé The cuplé was a popular risqué Spanish theatre song style in the late years of the 19th century. From 1893–1911 the songs were a feature of the "género ínfimo" (lowest type) cabaret theatre sung by solo female singers, or men in drag, and a ...

s, then very fashionable, for stars of the time as

La Fornarina The ''Portrait of a Young Woman'' (also known as ''La fornarina'') is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael, made between 1518 and 1519. It is in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini, Rome. It is proba ...

, Resurrección Quijano, Pastora Imperio, La Bella Chelito and La Goya. But he met only modest success for his stage works as the one act

sainete A sainete (farce or titbit) was a popular Spanish comic opera piece, a one-act dramatic vignette, with music. It was often placed at the end of entertainments, or between other types of performance. It was vernacular in style, and used scenes of lo ...

''¡Armas al Hombro!'' with the composer Tomás López Torregrosa, which premiered at the Teatro Martín on 13 November 1911. In 1913 ''El Bueno de Guzmán'' premiered with the librettist and composer :es:Enrique García Álvarez. Alonso had to wait until 1916 for his first real success with the

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

''Música, Luz y Alegría'', which premiered at the Teatro Novedades de Madrid. In 1918 he premiered a lyrical fantasy ''De Madrid al Infierno'', with the

''Oye Nicanora'' which was repeatedly encored by the audience. He showed more maturity in his orchestration in ''Las Corsarias'', premiered at the Teatro Martín in 1919, that included the pasodoble ''La Banderita'' which became extremely popular in Spain, was sung by soldiers who were off to the

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by History of France, France in 1924) and the Berbers, Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at ...

of Africa, so that even the king

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

was heard singing it while shaving, the more than twenty thousand performances of the work since its premiere by the company of

Salvador Videgain Salvador Videgain García (26 February 1886 – 12 October 1947) was a Spanish author and theatrical actor, director and producer. He was known for performing comedic and zarzuela roles in Spain and the Américas during the first half of the 20 ...

made the maestro one of the great composers of the time, achieving even a decoration for the flag. From this time the Master is free to compose at will. His works met the same success in many countries of Latin America and Alonso was able to stage some of his works in

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 ...

. In 1924, came a consecutive series of successes starting with ''La Linda Tapada'', premiered at the Teatro Cómico and included the popular ''Canción del Gitano'', followed by ''La Bejarana'' premiered the same year at the Teatro Apolo and that was equally popular for its ''Pasodoble de los Quintos''. At this time Alonso took inspiration from folk music of the various regions of Spain as in ''Curro el de Lora'' with its Andalusian atmosphere to a libretto by :es:Luis Fernandez Ardavín, released in 1925, but which met with little success despite its excellent score. 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 ...

in the same year he premiered ''La Calesera'', with a Madrid ambience, and featuring ''Pasodoble de los Chisperos'' and ''Himno a la Libertad''. ''La Parranda'' set in Murcia opened in 1937. This included the ''Canción del Platero'' and the ''Canto a Murcia'' which became a popular anthem of the region. In ''La Picarona'' (1931), set in Segovia, its ''Canto a Segovia'' stood out. Paco Alonso not only composed operettas, but was a versatile author who created many sketches and revues. Of those released in 1927 in :es:Teatro Eslava ''Las Castigadoras'', featuring the ''Chotis de las Taquimecas'' and ''Las Cariñosas''. The next year followed ''Chotis de la Lola''. But his greatest success in the field of the revue came in 1931 with ''Las Leandras'' premiered at the

Teatro Pavón The Teatro Pavón, Calle de Embajadores 9, is a theatre in Madrid opened in 1925. The architect was Teodoro de Anasagasti . Notable premieres *Francisco Alonso Francisco Alonso López (9 May 1887 – 18 May 1948) was a Spanish composer of ...

and written especially for the star Celia Gámez who scored an enormous hit with ''Pasodoble de los Nardos'' and the chotis ''El Pichi''. Until the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

he premiered mainly revues like ''Las de Villadiego'', ''Las de los Ojos en Blanco'' which include the pasodoble '' Horchatera Valenciana'', ''Mujeres de Fuego'' and some

s like ''Me Llaman la Presumida'' (1935). After the war the love of zarzuela fell into a deep decline and although Alonso premiered ''Manuelita Rosas'', and ''La Zapaterita'' focussing on operetta and musical comedy with which he had some success as ''Doña Mariquita de mi Corazón'' (1942), ''Luna de Miel en El Cairo'' (1943), ''Aquella Noche Azul'' and ''Tres Días Para Quererte'', (both 1945). In 1947 he was elected as director of the Society of Authors and Publishers. While convalescing from an operation for

retinal detachment Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...

he premiered ''24 Horas Mintiendo'' a comedy written by :es:Francisco Ramos de Castro. After his death at his home on Calle Sagasta,

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 ...

, in 1948, he was buried in a massive funeral. His posthumous ''La Rumbosa'', a lyrical sainete opened in 1951.

Works

:Zarzuela: :* ''La bejarana.''(1923) :* ''La linda tapada.''(1924) The veiled pretty girl :* '' :es:La calesera.'' (1925) :* '' :es:La Parranda.'' (1928) The spree :* ''La Picarona'' (1930) The naughty girl :* '' :es:Me llaman la presumida'' (1935) They called me the presumed :* ''Rosa, La pantalonera'' (1939) Rose, the trouser girl :* ''Manuelita Rosas'' (1941) :* ''La zapaterita.''(1941) :* ''La mejor del puerto'' (1928) The best in the port :* ''Coplas de Ronda'' (1929) couplets of Ronda :* ''Curro el de Lora'' (1926) :* ''La rumbosa'' (1951) The lavish girl :Revistas and comedias: :* ''Las lloronas.'' (1928). The mourners. :* ''Las cariñosas.'' (1930) The affectionate. :* ''¡Por si las moscas!'' (1929) Just in case! :* '' :es:Las corsarias'' (1919). The female corsairs :* '' :es:Las castigadoras'' (1927). The punishing women :* ''Me acuesto a las ocho'' (1930). I go to bed at eight :* '' :es:Las Leandras'' (1931). :* '' :es:Las de Villadiego'' (1933). Those from Villadiego :* ''Las mujeres bonitas'' (1933). Beautiful women :* '' :es:Luna de miel en El Cairo'' (1943). Honeymoon in Cairo :* '' :es:Mi costilla es un hueso'' (1933)My rib is a bone :* ''Las de armas tomar'' (1935) The take up of arms :* ''¿Qué pasa en Cadiz?'' (1932) What's happening in Cadiz? :* ''Mujeres de fuego'' (1933) Women of Fire :* '' :es:Doña Mariquita de mi corazón'' (1942) Mrs. Ladybug is my heart :* ''Campanas a vuelo'' (1931) Bells to Flight :* ''El Ceñidor de Diana'' (1929) The Sash of Diana :* ''De Madrid al Infierno'' (1916) From Madrid to Hell :* ''Música, Luz y Alegría'' Music, Light and Joy

References

External links

* http://www.maestroalonso.com * http://www.zarzuela.net/com/alonso.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Alonso, Francisco 1887 births 1948 deaths 20th-century Spanish composers 20th-century Spanish male musicians Male opera composers People from Granada Spanish classical composers Spanish male classical composers Spanish opera composers