Ricardo Melchor Zamacois y Zabala (6 January 1847,

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

- 18 February 1888,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

)Ricardo Melchor Zamacois y Zabala
Biography @ ''Real Academia de la Historia'' was a Spanish actor and singer. He was half-brother of the historian

Niceto de Zamacois Juan Niceto de Zamacois y Urrutia (20 March 1820 in Bilbao – 29 September 1885 in Mexico City) was a Spanish journalist, playwright, poet, novelist and historian resident in Mexico. He was half-brother of the painter Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala ...

, brother of the actress Elisa Zamacois and the painter

Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala (2 July 1841 – 12 January 1871) was a Spanish Academic painter who specialized in small-scale canvases. He was the father of the French writer Miguel Zamacoïs, brother of the writer Niceto de Zamacois, the singer ...

, and uncle of the writers Miguel Zamacois and

Eduardo Zamacois Eduardo Zamacois y Quintana (17 February 1873 – 31 December 1971) was a Cuban-Spanish novelist and journalist. A leading figure of the boom of short novel collections in Spain, and a representative of the bohemian literary scene in the coun ...

, and the music composer Joaquín Zamacois.

Biography

Ricardo Melchor Zamacois y Zabala was born on 6 January 1847 in Bilbao, son of Miguel Antonio de Zamacois y Berreteaga (1794-1863), a Professor at the Colegio de Humanidades de Vizcaya, and his second wife, Ruperta María del Pilar de Zabala y Arauco. He had several notable relatives. His family surname was originated in the French Basque city of

Hasparren Hasparren (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. A resident of Hasparren is known as a 'Hazpandar'. Geography Location It's a ''commune fait partie'' of the Basque Province of Labourd. The Cô ...

, where it was originally spelled "Samacoys".Novo González, Javier, ''Los Zamacois de Bilbao, una saga de artistas'', Bilbao, BBK, 2010, He studied sculpture and drawing in Paris but, after his father's death, he returned to his family and enrolled at the , where he was awarded a gold medal for his work. Especially gifted for comedy, he began his career at the Café San Isidro 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 ...

, where he developed his personal style. By the end of the 1860s, he was performing at the

Teatro de la Zarzuela The Teatro de la Zarzuela is a theatre in Madrid, Spain. The theatre is today mainly devoted to zarzuela (the Spanish traditional musical theatre genre), as well as operetta and recitals. History The theatre was designed by architect Jerónim ...

, in a company formed by and . Later, he performed at the , where he was one of the inaugural acts in 1875, and the . He was especially well known for his impersonations of notable figures, such as the bullfighter, , and the tenor,

Enrico Tamberlik Enrico Tamberlik (16 March 1820 – 13 March 1889) was an Italian tenor who sang to great acclaim at Europe and America's leading opera venues. He excelled in the heroic roles of the Italian and French repertories and was renowned for his po ...

. He toured the Americas in 1885, in the company of . A year later, he became a Director at the . In 1879, he married the actress, Emilia Ballesteros. In 1887, he discovered that she was having an affair. This ultimately led to a suicide attempt. He never fully recovered and was admitted to a mental hospital in Barcelona, where he died early the following year.

References

1847 births 1888 deaths Spanish male stage actors 19th-century Spanish male singers Male actors from Bilbao Musicians from Bilbao Spanish expatriates in France 19th-century Spanish male actors Spanish impressionists (entertainers) {{Spain-singer-stub