Josep Feliu i Codina (also known by his Spanish name José Feliú y Codina; 11 June 1845 – 2 May 1897) was a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

journalist, novelist and playwright whose work is linked to the

Realist movement Realism was an artistic movement that emerged in France in the 1840s, around the 1848 Revolution. Realists rejected Romanticism, which had dominated French literature and art since the early 19th century. Realism revolted against the exotic sub ...

and to the Catalan

Renaixença The ''Renaixença'' (; also written ''Renaixensa'' before spelling standardisation), or Catalan Renaissance, was a romantic revivalist movement in Catalan language and culture through the mid 19th century, akin to the Galician '' Rexurdimento ...

Biography

Codina was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

in May 1845. An affiliate of the ''Partit Liberal Dinàstic'' (Liberal Monarchist Party), he took a law degree in 1867 and worked in several administrative posts for the party. He also began his literary career at that time, initially writing in

. In 1867, he founded the weekly periodical ''La Pubilla''. A year earlier, he had produced his first comedy ''Un mosquit d'arbre'' (A Mosquito Tree), and in 1871 his first serious play, ''Els fadrins externs'' (The Strange Companions). He also collaborated (under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Josep Serra") on several plays by Frederic Soler. During his time in Barcelona he went on to write several more plays and novels, and founded two more periodicals, ''Lo Nunci'' and ''La Jornada''. In 1886, Feliu i Codina moved to Madrid where he became fluent in Spanish. He was the editor ''La Iberia'' and also wrote for ''El Rhin'', ''La América'', ''La Revolución'', and ''La Democracia''. Once in Madrid, much of his dramatic output was written in Spanish. Two of his most well-known plays from that time are ''La Dolores'' (1892) which formed the libretto for

Tomás Bretón Tomás Bretón y Hernández (29 December 1850 – 2 December 1923) was a Spanish conductor and composer. Biography Tomás Bretón was born in Salamanca. He completed his musical studies at the School of Fine Arts in his hometown, where he ear ...

's 1895

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

of the same name and ''María del Carmen'' (1896) which formed the libretto for

Enrique Granados Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...

's 1898 opera, ''

María del Carmen ''María del Carmen'' is an opera in three acts composed by Enrique Granados to a Spanish libretto by José Feliú i Codina based on his 1896 play of the same name. It was Granados's first operatic success and, although it is largely forgotten to ...

''. Both plays had several film adaptations. ''María del Carmen'' was also the basis of a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

, ''

Spanish Love ''Spanish Love'' is a three-act play by Avery Hopwood and Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Compani ...

'', which opened on 17 August 1920 at the

Maxine Elliott Theatre Maxine Elliott's Theatre was originally a Broadway theatre at 109 West 39th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1908, it was designed by architect Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago-based firm Marshall and Fox, ...

in New York City and ran for 308 performances. In addition to his own plays and novels, he translated into Spanish a collection of tales by the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the tra ...

writer,

Matteo Bandello Matteo Bandello ( 1480 – 1562) was an Italian writer, soldier, monk, and, later, a Bishop mostly known for his novellas. His collection of 214 novellas made him the most popular short-story writer of his day. Biography Matteo Bandello wa ...

, and several short stories by the French novelist and playwright,

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

. Feliu i Codina's brother, Antoni Feliu i Codina (1846–1917), was a prominent politician and man of letters. Both brothers wrote for the Catalan

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evalu ...

, ''Un troç de paper''. Josep Feliu i Codina died in Madrid on 2 May 1897.

References

*Clark, Walter Aaron
''Enrique Granados: Poet of the Piano''
Oxford University Press US, 2006, p. 39. *Enciclopèdia Catalana, SAU
"Josep Feliu i Codina"
(in Catalan). Accessed 20 January 2009. *Puerto, Pedro Montón

on Calatayud.org (in Spanish). Accessed 20 January 2009.

External links

*Public domain essays written by Josep Feliu i Codina (under the pseudonym "Josep Serra") for the literary magazine, ''Un troç de paper''. All texts are in the original

. ** (Satirical commentary on the opera ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1865 French '' grand opéra'' in five acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Eugène Scribe. Meyerbeer and Scribe began working on the opera in 1837, using the title ''L'Africaine'', b ...

'') ** (Story about the life of Mr. Rafael, a very home-loving man) ** (Scenes of a neighbourhood festival celebrating a saint) *Public domain plays written by Josep Feliu i Codina. All texts are in the original Catalan. **
A ca'la sonambula
' **

' {{DEFAULTSORT:Feliu i Codina, Josep 1845 births 1897 deaths Catalan dramatists and playwrights Spanish opera librettists People from Barcelona Translators from Catalonia French–Spanish translators Italian–Spanish translators 19th-century Spanish journalists Male journalists 19th-century translators 19th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century male writers