zarzuela
Noun
Meaning
zarzuela (countable and uncountable, plural zarzuelas)
(music) A form of Spanish opera having spoken dialogue and usually a comic subject.
Synonyms
Examples
19th century In the 1850s and 1860s a group of patriotic writers and composers led by Francisco Barbieri and Joaquín Gaztambide revived the zarzuela form, seeing in it a possible release from French and Italian music hegemony.
Catalan zarzuela was turned little by little into what is called, in Catalan, teatre líric català ("Catalan lyric theater"), with a personality of its own, and with modernista lyricists and composers.
Despite some modifications the basic structure of the zarzuela remained the same: dialogue scenes, songs, choruses, and comic scenes generally performed by two actor-singers.
In spite of a success sustained over many years, his musical ambition took him to Madrid, where zarzuela had a higher profile.
Many well-known singers, including Victoria de los Angeles and Montserrat Caballé, have recorded albums of zarzuela songs and arias.
Musicians such as Antonio Rodríguez de Hita were proficient in the shorter style of works, though he also wrote a full-scale zarzuela with de la Cruz entitled Las segadoras de Vallecas (The Reapers of Vallecas, 1768).