La Zarzuela is a lyric-dramatic genre, originated in Spain, that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, with the latter including a mixture of both operatic and popular song, in addition to dance. La Zarzuela first emerged around 1630, and while the origins of the name “Zarzuela” are not entirely clear to historians, many feel it may have derived from the name of a Royal hunting lodge near Madrid, the Palacio de la Zarzuela, where supposedly this form of entertainment was initially performed for, and much enjoyed by, the Royal Court. The Royal palace took on the name Palacio de la Zarzuela due to the abundance of brambles, or zarzas, in the immediate area around it, and thus the parties and celebrations held within the palace walls became known as “Zarzuelas.” As a result, many people now consider Madrid the birthplace of this admired art form.
Zarzuela is not the earliest form of musical theater in Spain; a masque-like musical theater had existed since the time of Juan del Encina. However, zarzuela was seen as very innovative for its time, as it added dramatic play acting to the musical numbers, and later dances and choruses to orchestral accompaniment.
There are two main classifications of zarzuela: Baroque zarzuela, the earliest style from circa 1630-1750, and Romantic zarzuela, from roughly 1850-1950. The latter form can be further divided into two primary sub-genres: genero grande and genero chico, although other subdivisions also exist.
Baroqe Zarzuela
The birth of Baroque zarzuela can be traced back to around 1657, when at the Royal Palace of El Pardo, King Philip IV of Spain, Queen Mariana and their court attended the inaugural performance of a new comedy, written by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, with music by Juan Hidalgo de Polanco. The name of the production was El Laurel de Apolo (The Laurels of Apollo), which is generally considered the first Baroque zarzuela, if not the most significant. The performance featured a mix of mythological verse drama, operatic solos and popular songs and dances, and unlike traditional opera, there were interludes of spoken verse.
The characters in Baroqe zarzuela were generally a combination of gods, mythical creatures and other comedy characters.
Romantic Zarzuela
Romantic zarzuela was borne out of the deep economic crisis facing Spain in the mid to late 1860s, following the Glorious Revolution. High-priced theater was out of the question for the majority of struggling Spaniards, ultimately leading to the birth of variety theaters called Teatros Variedades, which included the Teatro de la Zarzuela de Madrid . Tickets were inexpensive at these theaters, and the one-act plays called sainetes afforded the Spanish people with a means of escape from their worries, if even for an hour or two. The single act plays came to be known as genero chico, or “little genre,” while the longer zarzuelas of 3 acts or more, often lasting as long as four hours, were classified as genero grande, or “grand genre.” Of the two genres, genero chico was by far the most popular, largely due to the affordability of such performances and the relative ease of writing them. The genero grande model was attempted at many of the variety theaters, including the Teatro de la Zarzuela de Madrid, although in time the theater decided to stage the smaller, one-act plays almost exclusively.
Zarzuela caught on rapidly, not just in Madrid and Spain, but also in many of the Spanish colonies and other Hispanic countries, particularly Cuba, where they formed their own traditions. The Philippines, too, have a strong tradition of zarzuela, dating back to colonial times.
Although live zarzuela performances began to fade away towards the middle of the 20th century, the recorded version of zarzuela became very successful, as evidenced by the series of top-selling LP recordings from producers such as EMI, Hispavox and others, with worldwide distribution. Today zarzuelas, such as Amor, Vida de Mi Vida and Luisa Fernanda, can now be watched and enjoyed by all on DVD and Blu-ray Discs.
