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Antonio García Gutiérrez (4 October 1813 in Antonio García Gutiérrez, Andalucía Comunidad Cultural
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Webber, Christopher, "Antonio García Gutiérrez" on ''Zarzuela.net''. The biography page focusses on his zarzuela libretti
1813 births 1884 deaths People from Chiclana de la Frontera Romanticism Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Spanish journalists 19th-century Spanish poets 19th-century male writers Members of the Royal Spanish Academy 19th-century journalists Male journalists Spanish male poets 19th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights {{Spain-dramatist-stub
Antonio García Gutiérrez (4 October 1813 in Chiclana de la Frontera
Chiclana de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in southwestern Spain, in the province of Cádiz, Andalucía, near the Gulf of Cádiz. It belongs to the association of municipalities of the Bay of Cádiz (Bahía de Cádiz), the provincial c ...
, Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
26 August 1884 in Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
) was a Spanish Romantic dramatist
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
./ref>
Biography
After having studied medicine in his native town, García Gutiérrez moved to Madrid in 1833 and earned a meager living by translating plays ofEugène Scribe
Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of ma ...
and Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. ...
. Lacking success, he was on the point of enlisting when he suddenly sprang into fame as the author of a play called '' El trovador'' (''The Troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobair ...
''), which was played for the first time on 1 March 1836. His next great success was ''Simón Bocanegra'', in 1843.
His ''Poesías'' (1840) and another volume of lyrics, ''Luz y tinieblas'' (1842), are comparatively minor, but the versification of his plays, and his power of analysing feminine emotions, have given García Gutiérrez a leading position among the Spanish dramatists of the 19th century.
Although recognized as one of the leaders of the Romantic movement in Spain, his plays were not immediately lucrative, and García Gutiérrez emigrated to Spanish America
Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' imperial era between 15th and 19th centuries. To the e ...
, working as a journalist in Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
and Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
, until 1850, when he returned to Spain.
After his return to Spain in 1850, however, García Gutiérrez became known all over Europe through Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's opera ''Il trovatore
''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...
'' (1853), adapted from '' El trovador''. Verdi then adapted ''Simón Bocanegra'' into the opera '' Simon Boccanegra'' (1857).
The best works of his later period are a ''zarzuela
() is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...
'' titled ''El grumete'' (1853), ''La venganza catalana'' (1864), and ''Juan Lorenzo'' (1865). García Gutiérrez became head of the archaeological museum at Madrid, the city where he died.
References
External links
* *Webber, Christopher, "Antonio García Gutiérrez" on ''Zarzuela.net''. The biography page focusses on his zarzuela libretti
1813 births 1884 deaths People from Chiclana de la Frontera Romanticism Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Spanish journalists 19th-century Spanish poets 19th-century male writers Members of the Royal Spanish Academy 19th-century journalists Male journalists Spanish male poets 19th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights {{Spain-dramatist-stub