The Zarzuela Companion

Rating:
Summary: Handy Zarzuela guide for listeners and viewers
Review: BOOK REVIEW

The Zarzuela Companion by Christopher Webber. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2002, 341pp, ISBN 0 8108 4447 8

Very worthwhile companion guide to Zarzuela in terms of libretto synopses, plot outlines; however, cursory in terms of the history of the genre and other historical details; also, the book contains numerous inaccuracies - in terms of historical data:

* in reference to the género chico, p. 4 "two or three (one act zarzuelas) would make up the average theatre bill...", almost always it was four works, if one recalls the famous "cuarta de Apolo";
* p. 11 Francisco Alonso's 1919 zarzuela was called Las Corsarias not La Banderita, one of its most popular musical numbers is the pasodoble "La banderita";
* p. 28 Arrieta's1883 San Franco de Sena is not to a text by Adelardo López de Ayala but to one by José Estremera y Cuenca who in turn adapted the work originally written by Agustín Moreto;
* p. 41 Barbieri's Pan y toros "...to the rondalla sound of mandolins and guitars..." mandolins should read bandurrias;
* p. 47 Tomás Bretón's 1898 El reloj de cuco should read Las doce ó el reloj de cuco;
* p. 50 Bretón's La Verbena de la Paloma "...Paloma is a Madrid street, famous for a statuette of the Virgin which performed...this was celebrated by an annual verbena..."...the Dove (Paloma) is the symbol for spiritual ascension, i.e. the Assumption of Mary which is celebrated by the Roman church on August 15th;
* p. 53 Chapí's first zarzuela was not Abel y Caín but the 1867 La estrella del bosque;
* p. 89 Chueca's 1886 La Gran Vía "...Madrid's answer to New York's Main Street..." not Main Street but Broadway;
* p. 185 Manuel Penella's first zarzuela was not La fiesta del pueblo of 1894 but the 1893 El queso de boda performed in Valencia's Teatro Apolo the same year, also for Penella, Las Musas Latinas was first performed in Buenos Aires (not Valencia) in 1912 and in Madrid's Teatro Apolo in 1913 and his Don Gil de Alcalá was labeled an "ópera de cámara not a comic opera;
* p. 271 Inzenga's 1862 ¡Si yo fuera rey! is not after Auber but after Adolphe-Charles Adam's Si J'etais Roi! ;
* p. 273 Oudrid's father was not of gypsy stock but of Flemish stock, his grandfather was a Flemish soldier in Napoleon's army who settled in Spain;
* p. 294 Miguel Echegaray's 1907 La Rabalera is not the girl from Arrabal but from the Rabal district of Zaragoza;
* p. 296 the 1888 Certamen nacional and the 1896 Cuadros disolventes are not by Miguel Nieto, they were set to music by the composer Manuel Nieto; and, the 1898 Alvarez Quintero La Buena sombra was not set to music by Quinito Valverde but by Apolinar Brull;
In terms of language inaccuracies:
* zarzuelero (pp.6,159,161,186,191,250,266,278,281,292,301): as long as Zarzuela was a truly popular form of entertainment incurring the disdain of "intellectuals" and critics of "serious music" such as Adolfo Salazar, Carlos Bosch, Tomás Marco, zarzuelero had the pejorative ring of "music hack", today the term no longer has such a derogatory connotation although for anyone born before 1980 it is still slightly disparaging;
* p. 12 Millán's 1928 La Morería is it the Land of the Moors or The Moorish Quarter?;
* p. 12, Alonso's 1939 Rosa la pantolonera is it Rosa in Trousers or Rosa the (Pant's) Steamstress? ;
* p. 14 Alonso's 1925 La Calesera, the "Pasacalle de los Chisperos" translated as the "Pasacalle of the Bums" ...a bum is a "vagrant, a worthless person", a "chispero" was a "majo" type from the "chulería "of the Maravillas neighborhood of Madrid;
* p. 17 Alonso's 1931 Las Leandras, the "Pasodoble de los nardos" translated as the "Pasodoble of the Roses", is a spikenard a rose?;
* p. 47 Bretón's 1894 El domingo de Ramos translated as Ramos' Sunday should read Palm Sunday;
* p. 73 and 275 Chueca's 1976 El sobrino del difunto translated as The Deceased's Cousin should read The Deceased's Nephew;
* p. 75 Chueca's 1897 Agua, azucarillos y aguardiente "azucarillos" translated as "meringues", in Chueca's day "azucarillo" was a honeycomb-like "meringue" made from sugar syrup, egg whites and lemon juice, it could be eaten as a "golosina" (meringue) but more commonly the "aguadora" (water seller) would place a chunk of azucarillo to soak in her earthen-ware water jug to "endulzarla" (sweeten it, the water) and to "templar su crudeza" (to make it more palatable), not dissimilar to the "panal de azúcar"or the "esponjado" served with cold water;
* p. 92 Fernández Caballero's 1893 El dúo de La Africana "Giussepini" should read "Giuseppini";
* p. 232 Soutullo and Vert's 1927 La del Soto del Parral translated as The Lady of the House and The Arbor in the Parral , a "parral" could be either a vine arbour or a vineyard;
* and, p. 270 Salvador Giner's 1875 ¿Con quién caso a mi mujer? translated as Who has married my wife? should read Who will I get to marry my wife?
Hopefully, the publisher will produce a second and revised edition which will correct these errors.

Rating:
Summary: Handy Zarzuela guide for listeners and viewers
Review: BOOK REVIEW

The Zarzuela Companion by Christopher Webber. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2002, 341pp, ISBN 0 8108 4447 8

Very worthwhile companion guide to Zarzuela in terms of libretto synopses, plot outlines; however, cursory in terms of the history of the genre and other historical details; also, the book contains numerous inaccuracies - in terms of historical data:

•in reference to the género chico, p. 4 "two or three (one act zarzuelas) would make up the average theatre bill...", almost always it was four works, if one recalls the famous "cuarta de Apolo";
•p. 11 Francisco Alonso's 1919 zarzuela was called Las Corsarias not La Banderita, one of its most popular musical numbers is the pasodoble "La banderita";
•p. 28 Arrieta's1883 San Franco de Sena is not to a text by Adelardo López de Ayala but to one by José Estremera y Cuenca who in turn adapted the work originally written by Agustín Moreto;
• p. 41 Barbieri's Pan y toros "...to the rondalla sound of mandolins and guitars..." mandolins should read bandurrias;
• p. 47 Tomás Bretón's 1898 El reloj de cuco should read Las doce ó el reloj de cuco;
• p. 50 Bretón's La Verbena de la Paloma "...Paloma is a Madrid street, famous for a statuette of the Virgin which performed...this was celebrated by an annual verbena..."...the Dove (Paloma) is the symbol for spiritual ascension, i.e. the Assumption of Mary which is celebrated by the Roman church on August 15th;
• p. 53 Chapí's first zarzuela was not Abel y Caín but the 1867 La estrella del bosque;
•p. 89 Chueca's 1886 La Gran Vía "...Madrid's answer to New York's Main Street..." not Main Street but Broadway;
•p. 185 Manuel Penella's first zarzuela was not La fiesta del pueblo of 1894 but the 1893 El queso de boda performed in Valencia's Teatro Apolo the same year, also for Penella, Las Musas Latinas was first performed in Buenos Aires (not Valencia) in 1912 and in Madrid's Teatro Apolo in 1913 and his Don Gil de Alcalá was labeled an "ópera de cámara not a comic opera;
•p. 271 Inzenga's 1862 ¡Si yo fuera rey! is not after Auber but after Adolphe-Charles Adam's Si J'etais Roi! ;
• p. 273 Oudrid's father was not of gypsy stock but of Flemish stock, his grandfather was a Flemish soldier in Napoleon's army who settled in Spain;
•p. 294 Miguel Echegaray's 1907 La Rabalera is not the girl from Arrabal but from the Rabal district of Zaragoza;
• p. 296 the 1888 Certamen nacional and the 1896 Cuadros disolventes are not by Miguel Nieto, they were set to music by the composer Manuel Nieto; and, the 1898 Alvarez Quintero La Buena sombra was not set to music by Quinito Valverde but by Apolinar Brull;
In terms of language inaccuracies:
•zarzuelero (pp.6,159,161,186,191,250,266,278,281,292,301): as long as Zarzuela was a truly popular form of entertainment incurring the disdain of "intellectuals" and critics of "serious music" such as Adolfo Salazar, Carlos Bosch, Tomás Marco, zarzuelero had the pejorative ring of "music hack", today the term no longer has such a derogatory connotation although for anyone born before 1980 it is still slightly disparaging;
•p. 12 Millán's 1928 La Morería is it the Land of the Moors or The Moorish Quarter?;
• p. 12, Alonso's 1939 Rosa la pantolonera is it Rosa in Trousers or Rosa the (Pant's) Steamstress? ;
•p. 14 Alonso's 1925 La Calesera, the "Pasacalle de los Chisperos" translated as the "Pasacalle of the Bums" ...a bum is a "vagrant, a worthless person", a "chispero" was a "majo" type from the "chulería "of the Maravillas neighborhood of Madrid;
•p. 17 Alonso's 1931 Las Leandras, the "Pasodoble de los nardos" translated as the "Pasodoble of the Roses", is a spikenard a rose?;
• p. 47 Bretón's 1894 El domingo de Ramos translated as Ramos' Sunday should read Palm Sunday;
• p. 73 and 275 Chueca's 1976 El sobrino del difunto translated as The Deceased's Cousin should read The Deceased's Nephew;
•p. 75 Chueca's 1897 Agua, azucarillos y aguardiente "azucarillos" translated as "meringues", in Chueca's day "azucarillo" was a honeycomb-like "meringue" made from sugar syrup, egg whites and lemon juice, it could be eaten as a "golosina" (meringue) but more commonly the "aguadora" (water seller) would place a chunk of azucarillo to soak in her earthen-ware water jug to "endulzarla" (sweeten it, the water) and to "templar su crudeza" (to make it more palatable), not dissimilar to the "panal de azúcar"or the "esponjado" served with cold water;
• p. 92 Fernández Caballero's 1893 El dúo de La Africana "Giussepini" should read "Giuseppini";
•p. 232 Soutullo and Vert's 1927 La del Soto del Parral translated as The Lady of the House and The Arbor in the Parral , a "parral" could be either a vine arbour or a vineyard;
• and, p. 270 Salvador Giner's 1875 ¿Con quién caso a mi mujer? translated as Who has married my wife? should read Who will I get to marry my wife?
Hopefully, the publisher will produce a second and revised edition which will correct these errors.

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable "bible" to a wonderful musical genre
Review: This is an indispensible guide to the great zarzuelas, composers, writers and singers. It's the only serious or recommendable book on zarzuela in English, so it is just as well it's as good as it is!

60 marvellous works are covered in depth, with full synopses and lively commentaries, plus many others in "mini-synopsis". Other valuable features include sections on History, Zarzuela Today, Cuban and Catalan zarzuela, plus a full and up-to-date discography, bibliography and glossary of Spanish terms.

The book has been like a "bible" to me ever since I bought it - it is packed with useful, fascinating and out of the way information, and is superbly written as well as very reliable factually (far more so than most Spanish guide books to the subject!)

The great Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has graced the book with a foreword in which he gives the author lavish and justified praise: "Christopher Webber's book is a treasure trove of information ... an indispensable reference guide, a pleasure to read and browse because of its author's enthusiasm, skill and knowledge of his subject."

Many other reliable reviewers have heaped praise on the book, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in learning more about this wonderful genre!

Rating:
Summary: Superb guide to great Spanish music theatre!
Review: Totally absorbing, superbly informative. This is *the* English language guide to Zarzuela. It sits very happily on my shelf next to Groves and Kobbe's Opera Guide and can hold its head high in that company. Christopher Webber's knowledge is encyclopaedic, his passion for the genre infectious, and his skill as a writer impressive - very highly recommended!

Features include in-depth, full synopses and commentaries on the major works of the repertoire, plus composer and writer biographies, as well as sections on History, Zarzuela Today, intriguing articles on Cuban and Catalan zarzuela, plus a full and up to date bibliography and glossary of Spanish terms.

This is just one of those books that you'll have by you for a long time and keep coming back to - Placido Domingo in his Foreword says it's an "indispenable treasure trove", and that's spot on!