Manuel Tamayo y Baus (15 September 1829 – 20 June 1898) was a Spanish

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

Life

He was born at

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 ...

, into a family connected with the theatre, his mother being the eminent actress Joaquina Baus. She appeared as

Geneviève de Brabant ''Geneviève de Brabant'' () is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-ar ...

in an arrangement from the French made by Tamayo when he was in his twelfth year. Through the influence of his uncle, Antonio Gil y Zárate, minister of education, Tamayo's independence was secured by his nomination to a post in a government office. The earliest of his printed pieces, ''Juana de Arco'' (1847), is an arrangement from

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

, and ''Una Aventura de Richelieu'', which the author has not cared to preserve, is said to be an imitation of

Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

. The general idea of his ''Angela'' (1852) was derived from Schiller's ''

Kabale und Liebe ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'', or ''Luise Miller'' (, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, it was first performed ...

'', but the atmosphere is Spanish, the situations are original, and the phrasing is Tamayo's own. His first great success was ''Virginia'' (1853), a dramatic essay in Alfieri's manner, remarkable for its ingenuity and noble diction. In 1854 Tamayo was expelled from his post by the new Liberal government, but was restored before long by Cándido Nocedal, a minister who had been struck by the young man's talent. He collaborated with Aureliano Fernández-Guerra y Orbe in writing ''La Ricahembra'' (1854), a historical drama which recalls the vigor of

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...

. '' The Madness of Love'' (1855), in which Juana la Loca, the passionate, love-sick daughter of Isabel the Catholic, figures as the chief personage, established Tamayo's reputation as Spain's leading playwright. ''Hija y Madre'' (1855) was a failure, and ''La Bola de Nieve'' (1856) is notable solely for its excellent workmanship. It is unfortunate that Tamayo's straitened means forced him to put original work aside and to adapt pieces from the French. Examples of this sort are fairly numerous. ''Lo Positivo'' (1862), imitated from Adrien-Augustin-Léon Laya's ''Duc Job'', is well-nigh forgotten, though the Spanish version is a dexterous piece of stagecraft and contains some elements of original value. ''Del dicho al Jiecho'' (1864) is from ''La Pierre de touche'' of Jules Sandeau and

Émile Augier Guillaume Victor Émile Augier (; 17 September 182025 October 1889) was a French dramatist. He was the thirteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the on 31 March 1857. Biography Augier was born at Valence, Drôme, the grandson of Pigault Lebrun, an ...

, and a pleasing proverb, ''Más vale Maña que Fuerza'' (1866) is a great improvement upon Mme Caroline Bertons ''Diplomatie du Ménage''. The revolution of 1868, which cost Tamayo his post at the San Isidro Library, is indirectly responsible for ''No hay mal que por bien no venga'' (1868), a clever arrangement of ''Le Feu au Couvent'', by

Henri Murger Louis-Henri Murger (27 March 1822 – 28 January 1861), also known as Henri Murger and Henry Murger, was a French novelist and poet. He is chiefly distinguished as the author of the 1847-1849 book '' Scènes de la vie de bohème'' (''Scenes ...

's friend,

Théodore Barrière Théodore Barrière (1823 – 16 October 1877), French playwright, was born in Paris. He belonged to a family of map engravers which had long been connected with the war department, and spent nine years in that service himself. The success o ...

. During these seven years Tamayo produced only one original piece, ''Lances de Honor'' (1863), which turned upon the immorality of duelling, and led to a warm discussion among the public. Written in prose, the piece is inspired by a breath of medieval piety which had not been felt in the Spanish theatre since the 17th century. This renascence of an old-world motive has induced many critics to consider ''Lances de Honor'' as Tamayos best work, but that distinction should be accorded rather to ''Un Drama nuevo'' (1867), a play in which the author has ventured to place Shakespeare and Yorick upon the scene. ''Los Hombres de bien'' (1870) was Tamayo's final contribution to the Spanish stage. His last years were spent in recasting his ''Virginia'', and the result of his efforts may be read in the posthumous edition of his ''Obras'' (Madrid, 1898–99). In 1858 Tamayo was elected a member of the Spanish Academy, to which he afterwards became permanent secretary; and in 1884 the Conservative minister, Alejandro Pidal y Mon, appointed him director of the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...

References

;Attribution

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamayo y Baus, Manuel Members of the Royal Spanish Academy 1829 births 1898 deaths Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Madrid Carlists 19th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Spanish male writers