Federico Chueca
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Pío Estanislao Federico Chueca y Robres (5 May 1846 – 20 June 1908) was a Spanish composer of ''
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 o ...
s'' and author of ''La gran vía'' along with Joaquín Valverde Durán in 1886. He was one of the most prominent figures of the
género chico Género chico (literally, "little genre") is a Spanish genre of short, light plays with music. It is a major branch of ''zarzuela'', Spain's form of popular music theatre with dialogue, and differs from ''zarzuela grande'' and most other operatic f ...
.


Career

Born in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Chueca entered the conservatory at eight years old, but his family later obligated him to abandon music to study
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
. He was arrested in 1866 as a participant in the student demonstrations against the Narváez government. While he spent three days in the prison of San Francisco in Madrid, he composed several
waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...
es that he entitled ''Lamentos de un preso'' ("Lamentations of a Prisoner"). Later, Francisco Asenjo Barbieri helped orchestrate and direct the works, and their success helped Chueca leave medicine and devote himself once more to music. He worked as a
pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
and directed the
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
of the Teatro Variedades. He is considered a self-taught musician. In fact, he was more schooled in the sciences than in music, however Chueca had an intuitive talent and grace with
melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...
and
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
that produced many works. He worked with several collaborators like Barbieri,
Tomás Bretón Tomás Bretón y Hernández (29 December 1850 – 2 December 1923) was a Spanish Conducting, conductor and composer. Biography Tomás Bretón was born in Salamanca. He completed his musical studies at the School of Fine Arts in his hometown, w ...
, and especially Valverde, in many of his works.


Works

Among the many zarzuelas that Chueca wrote, some of the most notable are: * ''La canción de la Lola'' (1880) * '' La Gran Vía'' (1886) * ''
Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
'' (1886) * ''El año pasado por agua'' (1889) * ''El chaleco blanco'' (1890) *''Agua, azucarillos y aguardiente'' (1897) * ''La alegría de la huerta'' (1900) *''El bateo'' (1901) Synopses: “Agua, azucarillos y aguardiente!” - “Water, sweeties and aguardiente!” was a typical cry heard in the streets of Madrid in the late 19th century, as the vendors advertised their wares. The action of this Zarzuela focusses on the middle and lower classes in Madrid as they prepare for the San Lorenzo celebrations in August. The chorus includes all kinds of street vendors, soldiers, nannies and organ grinders. The story: The poor but ambitious Asia, and her mother, Doña Simona, have recently moved to Madrid from Valdepatata (potato valley!), but are unable to pay their rent. They tell their landlord, Don Aquilino, that they'll pay him with money they intend to borrow from Asia's boyfriend, Serafín, the son of a rich senator. The landlord is amused at this idea, since he has recently had to lend money to Serafín. Pepa, a stall-holder who also owes rent to Don Aquilino, has been offered money by Serafín to put a sleeping tablet in Doña Simona's drink the next time she accompanies him and her daughter on their daily walk. His intention is to seduce Asia without her mother's permission. When Pepa's boyfriend Lorenzo finds out, he persuades her that it's a great idea, talks to Serafín himself and doubles the payment, keeping half for himself, which he then goes off to gamble with his friend Vicente. When Pepa uses her money to pay off Don Aquilino, he recognises the note as being one of those that he lent to Serafín. Meanwhile, Pepa is visited by Vicente's girlfriend, Manuela, a rival water vendor without her own stall. Since Manuela's boyfriend is Pepa's ex, they have a colourful argument. Asia and her mother meet Pepa at her stall, where she tells them of Serafín's plan to seduce Asia. Pepa agrees that when Serafín arrives, she will put the sleeping tablet in his drink instead, to serve him right. When Serafín arrives and orders the drinks, Asia's mother pretends to fall asleep, whereupon Serafín tries to win over Asia, who persuades him to give her the rent money they need. At this point, the mother wakes up and the women suggest going for a walk. Serafín gets up but, having already drunk the sleeping potion, falls down fast asleep. Asia is disgusted by his behaviour and vows to return to Valdepatata. At midnight Pepa, Lorenzo, Manuela and Vicente dress up and go to the San Lorenzo party. Serafín is still asleep and in the confusion he is robbed by Garibaldi, a busker who plays the lyre. El Bateo - The Baptism The scene is set in the lower class suburbs of Madrid, around 1900. Preparations are being made for the baptism of the baby recently born to Nieves and her boyfriend Lolo. Friends and neighbours are celebrating with ‘Sevillana’ dances. The godfather is Wamba, a fierce anarchist. Nieves arrives to meet her mother, Valeriana, very upset at having met her ex-boyfriend, Pamplinas, who is determined to ruin the christening, having been betrayed by Nieves in the past. Visita, Lolo's ex-girlfriend, is also jealous and decides to help Pamplinas in ruining the baptism. She takes advantage of Virginio, a young shop assistant who is very much in love with her, and persuades him to help her spread rumours of Nieves’ infidelity. When Lolo arrives, Visita tells him she has heard rumours that the baby isn't his. Lolo's friends and family encourage him not to believe the rumours. Interlude - song and dance by the city's barrel-organ grinders. At the church, the registrar tries to write down the details for the baptism, while Wamba complains that going to church is against his anarchist beliefs. He suggests the baby should be named Robespierre in honour of freedom. As the registrar completes the document with the names of the parents and godparents, Pamplinas appears and says the baptism cannot take place since the baby isn't Lolo's. A fight breaks out. The friends and neighbours are waiting to celebrate the baptism meal. A photographer takes pictures of the group and they dance a Gavotte. Wamba arrives and tells everyone what happened at the church. Nieves and Valeriana appear, having searched everywhere for Lolo and Pamplinas, who then arrive on the scene. Pamplinas says he wants everyone to know the truth about Nieves, who has been betraying Lolo just like she betrayed him. He says that every night at 2am, a man goes into Nieves’ house. Wamba speaks up and confesses that it was him, and that he was visiting Valeriana! Everyone is happy and Nieves & Lolo, Wamba & Valeriana agree to get married and to baptise the baby the following day. They all blame Virgino for spreading the rumours.


Legacy

Madrid's gay neighborhood,
Chueca Chueca can refer to: * Chueca, Madrid, neighborhood in Madrid, Spain ** its metro station, also called Chueca * Chueca, Toledo, town in Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain * , a Castilian game * Palin (game) Palin (Mapuche: , ) is a traditional ...
, takes its name from its Plaza de Chueca which was named after him.


References


External links


Biographies and Lives: Federico Chueca



Biography of Federico Chueca at Buscabiografías

Pictures of ''Agua, Azucarillos y Agüardiente'' by Innova Lyrica
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chueca, Federico 1846 births 1908 deaths 19th-century Spanish classical composers 19th-century Spanish male musicians 20th-century Spanish classical composers 20th-century male composers 20th-century Spanish male musicians Spanish male opera composers Spanish opera composers Spanish Romantic composers