Assistant Teaching Professor of Musicology at the University of Victoria (B.C., Canada) I am an Argentine-Canadian musicologist specializing in European music from the 17th and 18th centuries. I am particularly interested in opera, music and gender, and Spanish music and culture.
El presente artículo analiza la famosa zarzuela mitológica Acis y Galatea (1708) de Antonio Liter... more El presente artículo analiza la famosa zarzuela mitológica Acis y Galatea (1708) de Antonio Literes y José de Cañizares a través de la mirada del humor y la parodia y dentro del contexto socio-político y cultural de la época. Se investigan dos anomalías en esta zarzuela que se utilizan para ridiculizar ciertas convenciones del género: primero, la representación satírica de los dos enamorados de Galatea––Acis y Polifemo––y segundo, los lamentos inusuales de estos dos personajes que rompen de manera obvia convenciones teatrales y dramáticas del género. Mi lectura de Acis y Galateano solo arroja luz sobre esta obra, sino que también nos ayuda a comprender mejor el género de la zarzuela misma en la España de comienzos del siglo XVIII.
Through the lenses of magic, witchcraft and superstition, this article explores Veneno es de amor... more Through the lenses of magic, witchcraft and superstition, this article explores Veneno es de amor la envidia (Biblioteca Nacional de España, Ms. 19254), a little-known zarzuela by Sebastián Durón and Antonio de Zamora. I consider this zarzuela within its wider cultural context, looking at changing attitudes towards magic and witchcraft in early modern Spain, as well as within the context of Zamora’s literary output. I propose that Veneno es de amor la envidia was intended to attract large crowds of theatregoers fascinated with depictions of the supernatural while also helping to debunk beliefs in witchcraft through the use of humour and parody. An examination of this rather intriguing zarzuela contributes to our understanding of an often-overlooked corpus of theatrical music of the Baroque.
An unprecedented shift in the portrayal of Cupid took place in the Spanish mythological zarzuela ... more An unprecedented shift in the portrayal of Cupid took place in the Spanish mythological zarzuela during the years surrounding the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). For the first time ever, Cupid was depicted not as a god of chaste or erotic love, but as a god at war with other deities. And in every work, a female actor- singer, not a male performer, played the fiery but mournful character. In this article I first explore the cultural understanding of Cupid in early eighteenth-century Spain as articulated by Spanish mythographers of the era, and as seen in the earliest representations of Cupid in Spanish theatre. I then investigate the intersection of myth, allegory, war and music theatre in a case study – the zarzuela Las nuevas armas de amor (Love’s New Weapons, 1711) – suggesting that in this work Cupid functioned as an allegorical representation of the Spanish king, and that the deity’s struggles for power mirrored the monarch’s plight during a time of great political instability. Moreover, I argue that the pre-existing local theatrical practice of cross-dressing allowed for the portrayal of a defeated and sobbing Cupid in the zarzuela.
How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did weeping, c... more How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did weeping, cross-dressed characters emerge as mainstays of this genre? In this essay I bring together the fields of literary studies and his- torical musicology to examine the lament, a climactic solo song that peaked in popularity in the zarzuela from the turn of the eighteenth century. I begin by providing an overview of the development and transformations in Spanish musico-theatrical lamenting traditions, and then turn to examine three laments in a little-known zarzuela produced circa 1700: Apolo y Dafne (text anonymous, music by sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas), based on the same subject as Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s first zarzuela, El laurel de Apolo (1657). Through the analysis of text, music, and performance, I explore changing musico-theatrical conventions in the later seventeenth century. to make this research accessible to a wider audience, I provide english translations of all excerpts in this essay.
Musicología global, Musicologia local. Eds. Pilar Ramos López, Javier Marín López, Germán Gan Quesada y Elena Torres Clemente. , 2013
"Resumen: En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo... more "Resumen: En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo del Padre Ignacio Camargo, en el que el jesuita expresaba su objeción a los argumentos lascivos de las comedias. Sin entrar en el debate sobre la licitud del teatro o de la ideología política de los participantes de estas polémicas, este trabajo utiliza la visión de Camargo sobre la lascivia a modo de ejemplo para entender los discursos filosóficos y religiosos sobre el amor en la época. A partir de allí, se toma el texto de la zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (1679) de Melchor Fernández de León, sobre el que José de Cañizares (1676-1750) basó el texto literario de Salir el amor del mundo (c.1696), y se trazan paralelos entre las dos obras a fin de demostrar que ambos trabajos son alegorías de la noción que vincula al amor con una pasión del alma, una fuerza destructora y una enemiga de la razón. Se analiza la función y participación de la música de Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) en Salir el amor del mundo y cómo ésta complementa el discurso filosófico que impregna la zarzuela. Finalmente, este trabajo argumenta que la zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo incluye también una importante faceta pedagógica para el monarca y su corte.
“DEATH TO CUPID!”: PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON LOVE IN THE ZARZUELA SALIR EL AMOR DEL MUNDO (C. 1696)
Abstract: This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the court dramatist José de Cañazares (1676-1750) in collaboration with the composer Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) within the philosophical and religious context that equated love with passion and vice. First, I contextualize the work within a religious aesthetic that interpreted love as a passion of the soul by providing a summary of Father Ignacio Camargo’s views as articulated in his 1689 Discurso theologico sobre los teatros (Theological Discourse on Theatres). Second, by analyzing the text of Melchor Fernández de León’s 1679 zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (Love comes to the world), upon which Cañizares based his literary text, I draw parallels between the two works and show that both works compliment each other as allegories of the long-held notion that associated love with destruction. Durón’s music is analyzed within this philosophical framework. Finally, I suggest that the importance of Salir el amor del mundo lies in the doctrinal and pedagogical message it conveys.
Weeping male characters dominated lamenting scenes in the mythological zarzuela during the tumult... more Weeping male characters dominated lamenting scenes in the mythological zarzuela during the tumultuous years surrounding the War of the Spanish Succession (1701¬¬¬¬–14). Always played by a woman en travesti, the lamenting male became a stock character in this musical genre, entertaining audiences while allegorically reflecting Madrid’s elite at the turn of the eighteenth century. This dissertation uncovers an as yet unexplored proliferation of male laments in staged drama of the period while addressing a cross-dressing phenomenon in the zarzuela, an aspect that has until now received little attention. Extant zarzuelas from the period 1696–1718 form the core of the dissertation. I explore lamenting traditions in this repertory in relation to contemporary cross-dressing practices, and to contemporary philosophical, literary, gender, and medical discourses. Among the numerous male laments occurring in this repertory, I identify two types: Cupid’s laments, and their allegorical representation of the Spanish monarch and of his struggle for power, and male amorous complaints as a manifestation of philosophical perceptions about love. Finally, discourses of gender inequality are revealed in the analysis of the few female laments appearing in the genre. I suggest that a proliferation of male lamentos during this period is symptomatic of the political tensions felt at court. Moreover, I contend that the male lyrical voice that had long dominated the tradition of amorous suffering found a safe conduit for theatrical and lamenting expression in the female performer. Women’s voices and bodies softened the dangerous overtones of feminization carried in the male lamento, thus allowing the lamenting male to become widely accepted. An examination of the zarzuela and its laments helps bring a rich literary, theatrical, and musical tradition into the mainstream while illuminating an under-explored period in the history of Spanish music.
Seducing the male gaze while arousing female admiration as well as derision, women performing tro... more Seducing the male gaze while arousing female admiration as well as derision, women performing trouser roles on stage in seventeenth-century Spain exposed the contour of their legs and challenged social norms with their unruly behaviour. Initially unique to the Spanish comedia, cross-dressing practices were soon adopted in the musical theatre. Consequently, female singers performed the roles of all leading male characters, a convention that has received little in-depth musicological examination. The proliferation of male laments in the zarzuela at the turn of the eighteenth century, moreover, has passed unnoticed. The figure of the cross-dressing lamenting (fe)male deserves greater attention in Spanish and Anglo-American theatre, literary and musical scholarship since s/he is the primary conduit for theatrical lamenting and allegorical expression. In this paper, I explore the lamenting male in relation to contemporary cross-dressing practices in the mythological zarzuela. Following a discussion of selected zarzuelas c.1690-1720, I classify male laments according to two types: first, Cupid’s laments as an allegorical representation of the Spanish monarch and of his struggle for power, and second, male amorous complaints as a manifestation of contemporary philosophical perceptions about love and medical discourses about lovesickness. Using both primary and secondary sources I then trace the female performers that were at the height of their careers during this period, including Teresa de Robles, Paula María, and Manuela de la Cueva. I contend that the figure of the lamenting male achieved a status of privilege within the zarzuela and gained wide acceptance precisely because a woman performed this type of ‘tearful’ masculinity.
The Spanish zarzuela emerged as a court musico-theatrical genre in Madrid during the mid-seventee... more The Spanish zarzuela emerged as a court musico-theatrical genre in Madrid during the mid-seventeenth century. The plots of the zarzuela, most of which are drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, were meant to entertain while conveying doctrinal teachings to the catholic monarch and his entourage. One such example is El laurel de Apolo (1657), the first Spanish zarzuela developed by the preeminent dramatist, Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-81). Towards the end of the century, a more dramatic type of zarzuela emerges setting the tone for future works. This paper traces the traits of the late seventeenth-century zarzuela by examining an understudied early musical manuscript: Apolo y Dafne (c.1699), the only-known collaborative work of the leading composers of the time, Sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas. A comparison of this work to Calderón’s zarzuela points to several literary and musical similarities, as well as novelties in the later work. While the early zarzuelas articulate the struggle of reason over the passions, Apolo y Dafne concentrates specifically on the passion of love and emphasizes the character that embodies it: Amor (Cupid). Cupid is assigned a greater portion of the literary text as well as central pieces of music. These new traits, together with the adoption of a more affective mode of musical representation evident throughout the work, signal the beginning of a new type of zarzuela that peaks in the early eighteenth century. By situating Apolo y Dafne in its historical context, this paper aims to explain the transformation of the late seventeenth-century zarzuela.
En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo del Padre... more En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo del Padre Ignacio Camargo, en el que el jesuita expresaba su objeción a los argumentos lascivos de las comedias. Sin entrar en el debate sobre la licitud del teatro o de la ideología política de los participantes de estas polémicas, este trabajo utiliza la visión de Camargo sobre la lascivia a modo de ejemplo para entender los discursos filosóficos y religiosos sobre el amor en la época. A partir de allí, se toma el texto de la zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (1679) de Melchor Fernández de León, sobre el que José de Cañizares (1676-1750) basó el texto literario de Salir el amor del mundo (c.1696), y se trazan paralelos entre las dos obras a fin de demostrar que ambos trabajos son alegorías de la noción que vincula al amor con una pasión del alma, una fuerza destructora y una enemiga de la razón. Se analiza la función y participación de la música de Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) en Salir el amor del mundo y cómo ésta complementa el discurso filosófico que impregna la zarzuela. Finalmente, este trabajo argumenta que la zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo incluye también una importante faceta pedagógica para el monarca y su corte.
This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the c... more This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the court dramatist José de Cañazares (1676-1750) in collaboration with the composer Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) within the philosophical and religious context that equated love with passion and vice. First, I contextualize the work within a religious aesthetic that interpreted love as a passion of the soul by providing a summary of Father Ignacio Camargo’s views as articulated in his 1689 Discurso theologico sobre los teatros (Theological Discourse on Theatres). Second, by analyzing the text of Melchor Fernández de León’s 1679 zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (Love comes to the world), upon which Cañizares based his literary text, I draw parallels between the two works and show that both works compliment each other as allegories of the long-held notion that associated love with destruction. Durón’s music is analyzed within this philosophical framework. Finally, I suggest that the importance of Salir el amor del mundo lies in the doctrinal and pedagogical message it conveys.
Abstract:How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did w... more Abstract:How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did weeping, cross-dressed characters emerge as mainstays of this genre? In this essay I bring together the fields of literary studies and historical musicology to examine the lament, a climactic solo song that peaked in popularity in the zarzuela from the turn of the eighteenth century. I begin by providing an overview of the development and transformations in Spanish musico-theatrical lamenting traditions, and then turn to examine three laments in a little-known zarzuela produced circa 1700: Apolo y Dafne (text anonymous, music by Sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas), based on the same subject as Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s first zarzuela, El laurel de Apolo (1657). Through the analysis of text, music, and performance, I explore changing musico-theatrical conventions in the later seventeenth century. To make this research accessible to a wider audience, I provide English translations of all excerpts in this essay.
El presente artículo analiza la famosa zarzuela mitológica Acis y Galatea (1708) de Antonio Liter... more El presente artículo analiza la famosa zarzuela mitológica Acis y Galatea (1708) de Antonio Literes y José de Cañizares a través de la mirada del humor y la parodia y dentro del contexto socio-político y cultural de la época. Se investigan dos anomalías en esta zarzuela que se utilizan para ridiculizar ciertas convenciones del género: primero, la representación satírica de los dos enamorados de Galatea––Acis y Polifemo––y segundo, los lamentos inusuales de estos dos personajes que rompen de manera obvia convenciones teatrales y dramáticas del género. Mi lectura de Acis y Galateano solo arroja luz sobre esta obra, sino que también nos ayuda a comprender mejor el género de la zarzuela misma en la España de comienzos del siglo XVIII.
Through the lenses of magic, witchcraft and superstition, this article explores Veneno es de amor... more Through the lenses of magic, witchcraft and superstition, this article explores Veneno es de amor la envidia (Biblioteca Nacional de España, Ms. 19254), a little-known zarzuela by Sebastián Durón and Antonio de Zamora. I consider this zarzuela within its wider cultural context, looking at changing attitudes towards magic and witchcraft in early modern Spain, as well as within the context of Zamora’s literary output. I propose that Veneno es de amor la envidia was intended to attract large crowds of theatregoers fascinated with depictions of the supernatural while also helping to debunk beliefs in witchcraft through the use of humour and parody. An examination of this rather intriguing zarzuela contributes to our understanding of an often-overlooked corpus of theatrical music of the Baroque.
An unprecedented shift in the portrayal of Cupid took place in the Spanish mythological zarzuela ... more An unprecedented shift in the portrayal of Cupid took place in the Spanish mythological zarzuela during the years surrounding the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). For the first time ever, Cupid was depicted not as a god of chaste or erotic love, but as a god at war with other deities. And in every work, a female actor- singer, not a male performer, played the fiery but mournful character. In this article I first explore the cultural understanding of Cupid in early eighteenth-century Spain as articulated by Spanish mythographers of the era, and as seen in the earliest representations of Cupid in Spanish theatre. I then investigate the intersection of myth, allegory, war and music theatre in a case study – the zarzuela Las nuevas armas de amor (Love’s New Weapons, 1711) – suggesting that in this work Cupid functioned as an allegorical representation of the Spanish king, and that the deity’s struggles for power mirrored the monarch’s plight during a time of great political instability. Moreover, I argue that the pre-existing local theatrical practice of cross-dressing allowed for the portrayal of a defeated and sobbing Cupid in the zarzuela.
How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did weeping, c... more How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did weeping, cross-dressed characters emerge as mainstays of this genre? In this essay I bring together the fields of literary studies and his- torical musicology to examine the lament, a climactic solo song that peaked in popularity in the zarzuela from the turn of the eighteenth century. I begin by providing an overview of the development and transformations in Spanish musico-theatrical lamenting traditions, and then turn to examine three laments in a little-known zarzuela produced circa 1700: Apolo y Dafne (text anonymous, music by sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas), based on the same subject as Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s first zarzuela, El laurel de Apolo (1657). Through the analysis of text, music, and performance, I explore changing musico-theatrical conventions in the later seventeenth century. to make this research accessible to a wider audience, I provide english translations of all excerpts in this essay.
Musicología global, Musicologia local. Eds. Pilar Ramos López, Javier Marín López, Germán Gan Quesada y Elena Torres Clemente. , 2013
"Resumen: En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo... more "Resumen: En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo del Padre Ignacio Camargo, en el que el jesuita expresaba su objeción a los argumentos lascivos de las comedias. Sin entrar en el debate sobre la licitud del teatro o de la ideología política de los participantes de estas polémicas, este trabajo utiliza la visión de Camargo sobre la lascivia a modo de ejemplo para entender los discursos filosóficos y religiosos sobre el amor en la época. A partir de allí, se toma el texto de la zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (1679) de Melchor Fernández de León, sobre el que José de Cañizares (1676-1750) basó el texto literario de Salir el amor del mundo (c.1696), y se trazan paralelos entre las dos obras a fin de demostrar que ambos trabajos son alegorías de la noción que vincula al amor con una pasión del alma, una fuerza destructora y una enemiga de la razón. Se analiza la función y participación de la música de Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) en Salir el amor del mundo y cómo ésta complementa el discurso filosófico que impregna la zarzuela. Finalmente, este trabajo argumenta que la zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo incluye también una importante faceta pedagógica para el monarca y su corte.
“DEATH TO CUPID!”: PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON LOVE IN THE ZARZUELA SALIR EL AMOR DEL MUNDO (C. 1696)
Abstract: This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the court dramatist José de Cañazares (1676-1750) in collaboration with the composer Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) within the philosophical and religious context that equated love with passion and vice. First, I contextualize the work within a religious aesthetic that interpreted love as a passion of the soul by providing a summary of Father Ignacio Camargo’s views as articulated in his 1689 Discurso theologico sobre los teatros (Theological Discourse on Theatres). Second, by analyzing the text of Melchor Fernández de León’s 1679 zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (Love comes to the world), upon which Cañizares based his literary text, I draw parallels between the two works and show that both works compliment each other as allegories of the long-held notion that associated love with destruction. Durón’s music is analyzed within this philosophical framework. Finally, I suggest that the importance of Salir el amor del mundo lies in the doctrinal and pedagogical message it conveys.
Weeping male characters dominated lamenting scenes in the mythological zarzuela during the tumult... more Weeping male characters dominated lamenting scenes in the mythological zarzuela during the tumultuous years surrounding the War of the Spanish Succession (1701¬¬¬¬–14). Always played by a woman en travesti, the lamenting male became a stock character in this musical genre, entertaining audiences while allegorically reflecting Madrid’s elite at the turn of the eighteenth century. This dissertation uncovers an as yet unexplored proliferation of male laments in staged drama of the period while addressing a cross-dressing phenomenon in the zarzuela, an aspect that has until now received little attention. Extant zarzuelas from the period 1696–1718 form the core of the dissertation. I explore lamenting traditions in this repertory in relation to contemporary cross-dressing practices, and to contemporary philosophical, literary, gender, and medical discourses. Among the numerous male laments occurring in this repertory, I identify two types: Cupid’s laments, and their allegorical representation of the Spanish monarch and of his struggle for power, and male amorous complaints as a manifestation of philosophical perceptions about love. Finally, discourses of gender inequality are revealed in the analysis of the few female laments appearing in the genre. I suggest that a proliferation of male lamentos during this period is symptomatic of the political tensions felt at court. Moreover, I contend that the male lyrical voice that had long dominated the tradition of amorous suffering found a safe conduit for theatrical and lamenting expression in the female performer. Women’s voices and bodies softened the dangerous overtones of feminization carried in the male lamento, thus allowing the lamenting male to become widely accepted. An examination of the zarzuela and its laments helps bring a rich literary, theatrical, and musical tradition into the mainstream while illuminating an under-explored period in the history of Spanish music.
Seducing the male gaze while arousing female admiration as well as derision, women performing tro... more Seducing the male gaze while arousing female admiration as well as derision, women performing trouser roles on stage in seventeenth-century Spain exposed the contour of their legs and challenged social norms with their unruly behaviour. Initially unique to the Spanish comedia, cross-dressing practices were soon adopted in the musical theatre. Consequently, female singers performed the roles of all leading male characters, a convention that has received little in-depth musicological examination. The proliferation of male laments in the zarzuela at the turn of the eighteenth century, moreover, has passed unnoticed. The figure of the cross-dressing lamenting (fe)male deserves greater attention in Spanish and Anglo-American theatre, literary and musical scholarship since s/he is the primary conduit for theatrical lamenting and allegorical expression. In this paper, I explore the lamenting male in relation to contemporary cross-dressing practices in the mythological zarzuela. Following a discussion of selected zarzuelas c.1690-1720, I classify male laments according to two types: first, Cupid’s laments as an allegorical representation of the Spanish monarch and of his struggle for power, and second, male amorous complaints as a manifestation of contemporary philosophical perceptions about love and medical discourses about lovesickness. Using both primary and secondary sources I then trace the female performers that were at the height of their careers during this period, including Teresa de Robles, Paula María, and Manuela de la Cueva. I contend that the figure of the lamenting male achieved a status of privilege within the zarzuela and gained wide acceptance precisely because a woman performed this type of ‘tearful’ masculinity.
The Spanish zarzuela emerged as a court musico-theatrical genre in Madrid during the mid-seventee... more The Spanish zarzuela emerged as a court musico-theatrical genre in Madrid during the mid-seventeenth century. The plots of the zarzuela, most of which are drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, were meant to entertain while conveying doctrinal teachings to the catholic monarch and his entourage. One such example is El laurel de Apolo (1657), the first Spanish zarzuela developed by the preeminent dramatist, Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-81). Towards the end of the century, a more dramatic type of zarzuela emerges setting the tone for future works. This paper traces the traits of the late seventeenth-century zarzuela by examining an understudied early musical manuscript: Apolo y Dafne (c.1699), the only-known collaborative work of the leading composers of the time, Sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas. A comparison of this work to Calderón’s zarzuela points to several literary and musical similarities, as well as novelties in the later work. While the early zarzuelas articulate the struggle of reason over the passions, Apolo y Dafne concentrates specifically on the passion of love and emphasizes the character that embodies it: Amor (Cupid). Cupid is assigned a greater portion of the literary text as well as central pieces of music. These new traits, together with the adoption of a more affective mode of musical representation evident throughout the work, signal the beginning of a new type of zarzuela that peaks in the early eighteenth century. By situating Apolo y Dafne in its historical context, this paper aims to explain the transformation of the late seventeenth-century zarzuela.
En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo del Padre... more En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo del Padre Ignacio Camargo, en el que el jesuita expresaba su objeción a los argumentos lascivos de las comedias. Sin entrar en el debate sobre la licitud del teatro o de la ideología política de los participantes de estas polémicas, este trabajo utiliza la visión de Camargo sobre la lascivia a modo de ejemplo para entender los discursos filosóficos y religiosos sobre el amor en la época. A partir de allí, se toma el texto de la zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (1679) de Melchor Fernández de León, sobre el que José de Cañizares (1676-1750) basó el texto literario de Salir el amor del mundo (c.1696), y se trazan paralelos entre las dos obras a fin de demostrar que ambos trabajos son alegorías de la noción que vincula al amor con una pasión del alma, una fuerza destructora y una enemiga de la razón. Se analiza la función y participación de la música de Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) en Salir el amor del mundo y cómo ésta complementa el discurso filosófico que impregna la zarzuela. Finalmente, este trabajo argumenta que la zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo incluye también una importante faceta pedagógica para el monarca y su corte.
This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the c... more This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the court dramatist José de Cañazares (1676-1750) in collaboration with the composer Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) within the philosophical and religious context that equated love with passion and vice. First, I contextualize the work within a religious aesthetic that interpreted love as a passion of the soul by providing a summary of Father Ignacio Camargo’s views as articulated in his 1689 Discurso theologico sobre los teatros (Theological Discourse on Theatres). Second, by analyzing the text of Melchor Fernández de León’s 1679 zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (Love comes to the world), upon which Cañizares based his literary text, I draw parallels between the two works and show that both works compliment each other as allegories of the long-held notion that associated love with destruction. Durón’s music is analyzed within this philosophical framework. Finally, I suggest that the importance of Salir el amor del mundo lies in the doctrinal and pedagogical message it conveys.
Abstract:How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did w... more Abstract:How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did weeping, cross-dressed characters emerge as mainstays of this genre? In this essay I bring together the fields of literary studies and historical musicology to examine the lament, a climactic solo song that peaked in popularity in the zarzuela from the turn of the eighteenth century. I begin by providing an overview of the development and transformations in Spanish musico-theatrical lamenting traditions, and then turn to examine three laments in a little-known zarzuela produced circa 1700: Apolo y Dafne (text anonymous, music by Sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas), based on the same subject as Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s first zarzuela, El laurel de Apolo (1657). Through the analysis of text, music, and performance, I explore changing musico-theatrical conventions in the later seventeenth century. To make this research accessible to a wider audience, I provide English translations of all excerpts in this essay.
Abstract:How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did w... more Abstract:How did the mythological zarzuela develop following its creation in 1657? And when did weeping, cross-dressed characters emerge as mainstays of this genre? In this essay I bring together the fields of literary studies and historical musicology to examine the lament, a climactic solo song that peaked in popularity in the zarzuela from the turn of the eighteenth century. I begin by providing an overview of the development and transformations in Spanish musico-theatrical lamenting traditions, and then turn to examine three laments in a little-known zarzuela produced circa 1700: Apolo y Dafne (text anonymous, music by Sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas), based on the same subject as Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s first zarzuela, El laurel de Apolo (1657). Through the analysis of text, music, and performance, I explore changing musico-theatrical conventions in the later seventeenth century. To make this research accessible to a wider audience, I provide English translations of all ...
Through the lenses of magic, witchcraft and superstition, this article explores Veneno es de amor... more Through the lenses of magic, witchcraft and superstition, this article explores Veneno es de amor la envidia (Biblioteca Nacional de España, Ms. 19254), a little-known zarzuela by Sebastián Durón and Antonio de Zamora. I consider this zarzuela within its wider cultural context, looking at changing attitudes towards magic and witchcraft in early modern Spain, as well as within the context of Zamora’s literary output. I propose that Veneno es de amor la envidia was intended to attract large crowds of theatregoers fascinated with depictions of the supernatural while also helping to debunk beliefs in witchcraft through the use of humour and parody. An examination of this rather intriguing zarzuela contributes to our understanding of an often-overlooked corpus of theatrical music of the Baroque.
Musicologia Global Musicologia Local 2013 Isbn 978 84 86878 31 3 Pags 2157 2170, 2013
""Resumen: En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de... more ""Resumen: En 1689 se publicaba el Discurso theologico sobre los theatros y comedias de este siglo del Padre Ignacio Camargo, en el que el jesuita expresaba su objeción a los argumentos lascivos de las comedias. Sin entrar en el debate sobre la licitud del teatro o de la ideología política de los participantes de estas polémicas, este trabajo utiliza la visión de Camargo sobre la lascivia a modo de ejemplo para entender los discursos filosóficos y religiosos sobre el amor en la época. A partir de allí, se toma el texto de la zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (1679) de Melchor Fernández de León, sobre el que José de Cañizares (1676-1750) basó el texto literario de Salir el amor del mundo (c.1696), y se trazan paralelos entre las dos obras a fin de demostrar que ambos trabajos son alegorías de la noción que vincula al amor con una pasión del alma, una fuerza destructora y una enemiga de la razón. Se analiza la función y participación de la música de Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) en Salir el amor del mundo y cómo ésta complementa el discurso filosófico que impregna la zarzuela. Finalmente, este trabajo argumenta que la zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo incluye también una importante faceta pedagógica para el monarca y su corte. “DEATH TO CUPID!”: PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON LOVE IN THE ZARZUELA SALIR EL AMOR DEL MUNDO (C. 1696) Abstract: This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the court dramatist José de Cañazares (1676-1750) in collaboration with the composer Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) within the philosophical and religious context that equated love with passion and vice. First, I contextualize the work within a religious aesthetic that interpreted love as a passion of the soul by providing a summary of Father Ignacio Camargo’s views as articulated in his 1689 Discurso theologico sobre los teatros (Theological Discourse on Theatres). Second, by analyzing the text of Melchor Fernández de León’s 1679 zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (Love comes to the world), upon which Cañizares based his literary text, I draw parallels between the two works and show that both works compliment each other as allegories of the long-held notion that associated love with destruction. Durón’s music is analyzed within this philosophical framework. Finally, I suggest that the importance of Salir el amor del mundo lies in the doctrinal and pedagogical message it conveys. ""
ABSTRACTAn unprecedented shift in the portrayal of Cupid took place in the Spanish mythological z... more ABSTRACTAn unprecedented shift in the portrayal of Cupid took place in the Spanish mythological zarzuela during the years surrounding the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). For the first time ever, Cupid was depicted not as a god of chaste or erotic love, but as a god at war with other deities. And in every work, a female actor-singer, not a male performer, played the fiery but mournful character. In this article I first explore the cultural understanding of Cupid in early eighteenth-century Spain as articulated by Spanish mythographers of the era, and as seen in the earliest representations of Cupid in Spanish theatre. I then investigate the intersection of myth, allegory, war and music theatre in a case study – the zarzuela Las nuevas armas de amor (Love's New Weapons, 1711) – suggesting that in this work Cupid functioned as an allegorical representation of the Spanish king, and that the…
The tonadilla, a type of satirical musical skit that enjoyed great popularity in Spain during the... more The tonadilla, a type of satirical musical skit that enjoyed great popularity in Spain during the Enlightenment, has only relatively recently begun to receive the attention it deserves, despite its importance in Spanish culture and history. Studies by Begoña Lolo, Germán Labrador, Elisabeth Le Guin and Aurèlia Pessarrodona, the author of the edition under review, have contributed greatly to our understanding and appreciation of this fascinating and amusing genre. (See, for example,
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“DEATH TO CUPID!”: PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON LOVE IN THE ZARZUELA SALIR EL AMOR DEL MUNDO (C. 1696)
Abstract: This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the court dramatist José de Cañazares (1676-1750) in collaboration with the composer Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) within the philosophical and religious context that equated love with passion and vice. First, I contextualize the work within a religious aesthetic that interpreted love as a passion of the soul by providing a summary of Father Ignacio Camargo’s views as articulated in his 1689 Discurso theologico sobre los teatros (Theological Discourse on Theatres). Second, by analyzing the text of Melchor Fernández de León’s 1679 zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (Love comes to the world), upon which Cañizares based his literary text, I draw parallels between the two works and show that both works compliment each other as allegories of the long-held notion that associated love with destruction. Durón’s music is analyzed within this philosophical framework. Finally, I suggest that the importance of Salir el amor del mundo lies in the doctrinal and pedagogical message it conveys.
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Extant zarzuelas from the period 1696–1718 form the core of the dissertation. I explore lamenting traditions in this repertory in relation to contemporary cross-dressing practices, and to contemporary philosophical, literary, gender, and medical discourses. Among the numerous male laments occurring in this repertory, I identify two types: Cupid’s laments, and their allegorical representation of the Spanish monarch and of his struggle for power, and male amorous complaints as a manifestation of philosophical perceptions about love. Finally, discourses of gender inequality are revealed in the analysis of the few female laments appearing in the genre. I suggest that a proliferation of male lamentos during this period is symptomatic of the political tensions felt at court. Moreover, I contend that the male lyrical voice that had long dominated the tradition of amorous suffering found a safe conduit for theatrical and lamenting expression in the female performer. Women’s voices and bodies softened the dangerous overtones of feminization carried in the male lamento, thus allowing the lamenting male to become widely accepted. An examination of the zarzuela and its laments helps bring a rich literary, theatrical, and musical tradition into the mainstream while illuminating an under-explored period in the history of Spanish music.
In this paper, I explore the lamenting male in relation to contemporary cross-dressing practices in the mythological zarzuela. Following a discussion of selected zarzuelas c.1690-1720, I classify male laments according to two types: first, Cupid’s laments as an allegorical representation of the Spanish monarch and of his struggle for power, and second, male amorous complaints as a manifestation of contemporary philosophical perceptions about love and medical discourses about lovesickness. Using both primary and secondary sources I then trace the female performers that were at the height of their careers during this period, including Teresa de Robles, Paula María, and Manuela de la Cueva. I contend that the figure of the lamenting male achieved a status of privilege within the zarzuela and gained wide acceptance precisely because a woman performed this type of ‘tearful’ masculinity.
This paper traces the traits of the late seventeenth-century zarzuela by examining an understudied early musical manuscript: Apolo y Dafne (c.1699), the only-known collaborative work of the leading composers of the time, Sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas. A comparison of this work to Calderón’s zarzuela points to several literary and musical similarities, as well as novelties in the later work. While the early zarzuelas articulate the struggle of reason over the passions, Apolo y Dafne concentrates specifically on the passion of love and emphasizes the character that embodies it: Amor (Cupid). Cupid is assigned a greater portion of the literary text as well as central pieces of music. These new traits, together with the adoption of a more affective mode of musical representation evident throughout the work, signal the beginning of a new type of zarzuela that peaks in the early eighteenth century. By situating Apolo y Dafne in its historical context, this paper aims to explain the transformation of the late seventeenth-century zarzuela.
“DEATH TO CUPID!”: PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON LOVE IN THE ZARZUELA SALIR EL AMOR DEL MUNDO (C. 1696)
Abstract: This paper explores the zarzuela Salir el amor del mundo (Love leaves the world) written by the court dramatist José de Cañazares (1676-1750) in collaboration with the composer Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) within the philosophical and religious context that equated love with passion and vice. First, I contextualize the work within a religious aesthetic that interpreted love as a passion of the soul by providing a summary of Father Ignacio Camargo’s views as articulated in his 1689 Discurso theologico sobre los teatros (Theological Discourse on Theatres). Second, by analyzing the text of Melchor Fernández de León’s 1679 zarzuela Venir el amor al mundo (Love comes to the world), upon which Cañizares based his literary text, I draw parallels between the two works and show that both works compliment each other as allegories of the long-held notion that associated love with destruction. Durón’s music is analyzed within this philosophical framework. Finally, I suggest that the importance of Salir el amor del mundo lies in the doctrinal and pedagogical message it conveys.
"
Extant zarzuelas from the period 1696–1718 form the core of the dissertation. I explore lamenting traditions in this repertory in relation to contemporary cross-dressing practices, and to contemporary philosophical, literary, gender, and medical discourses. Among the numerous male laments occurring in this repertory, I identify two types: Cupid’s laments, and their allegorical representation of the Spanish monarch and of his struggle for power, and male amorous complaints as a manifestation of philosophical perceptions about love. Finally, discourses of gender inequality are revealed in the analysis of the few female laments appearing in the genre. I suggest that a proliferation of male lamentos during this period is symptomatic of the political tensions felt at court. Moreover, I contend that the male lyrical voice that had long dominated the tradition of amorous suffering found a safe conduit for theatrical and lamenting expression in the female performer. Women’s voices and bodies softened the dangerous overtones of feminization carried in the male lamento, thus allowing the lamenting male to become widely accepted. An examination of the zarzuela and its laments helps bring a rich literary, theatrical, and musical tradition into the mainstream while illuminating an under-explored period in the history of Spanish music.
In this paper, I explore the lamenting male in relation to contemporary cross-dressing practices in the mythological zarzuela. Following a discussion of selected zarzuelas c.1690-1720, I classify male laments according to two types: first, Cupid’s laments as an allegorical representation of the Spanish monarch and of his struggle for power, and second, male amorous complaints as a manifestation of contemporary philosophical perceptions about love and medical discourses about lovesickness. Using both primary and secondary sources I then trace the female performers that were at the height of their careers during this period, including Teresa de Robles, Paula María, and Manuela de la Cueva. I contend that the figure of the lamenting male achieved a status of privilege within the zarzuela and gained wide acceptance precisely because a woman performed this type of ‘tearful’ masculinity.
This paper traces the traits of the late seventeenth-century zarzuela by examining an understudied early musical manuscript: Apolo y Dafne (c.1699), the only-known collaborative work of the leading composers of the time, Sebastián Durón and Juan de Navas. A comparison of this work to Calderón’s zarzuela points to several literary and musical similarities, as well as novelties in the later work. While the early zarzuelas articulate the struggle of reason over the passions, Apolo y Dafne concentrates specifically on the passion of love and emphasizes the character that embodies it: Amor (Cupid). Cupid is assigned a greater portion of the literary text as well as central pieces of music. These new traits, together with the adoption of a more affective mode of musical representation evident throughout the work, signal the beginning of a new type of zarzuela that peaks in the early eighteenth century. By situating Apolo y Dafne in its historical context, this paper aims to explain the transformation of the late seventeenth-century zarzuela.