Amadeo Vives

Amadeu Vives (1871–1932) was a creator of over a hundred stage works and is best known for his zarzuela Doña Francisquita. A Catalan, Vives was born in Collbató, near Montserrat. He studied in Barcelona under José Ribera, and in 1891 helped found the influential Orfeó Català choral society, a key element in the Catalan musical renaissance. He then became an early pupil of Felipe Pedrell, a fundamental figure of 20th century Spanish music. In the late 1890’s he moved to Madrid, where he lived the rest of his life, first publishing a series of concert works, solo and much-loved choral songs before turning to the zarzuelas on which his fame rests. His real critical and popular breakthrough came with the one-act Bohemios (1904). Vives drew on the same literary source as Giacomo Puccini's masterpiece La bohème, but his score shows French rather than Italian influences, as well as his own growing individuality. Soon after, he wrote two one-act zarzuelas in collaboration with Gerónimo Giménez: El húsar de la guardia (1904) and La gatita blanca (1905) both remain in the repertory of zarzuela a century later. Created in 1923, Doña Francisquita belongs to the finest of all three-act „género grande zarzuelas" and the best known of all Vives' works. The libretto is inspired by Lope de Vega’s comedy, La discreta enamorada. It became very popular, receiving over 5000 performances throughout the Spanish-speaking world in the years immediately following its premiere.