A sainete (farce or titbit) was a popular Spanish comic opera piece, a one-act dramatic vignette, with music. It was often placed at the end of entertainments, or between other types of performance. It was
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
in style, and used scenes of low life. Active from the 18th to 20th centuries, it superseded the
entremés Entremés, is a short, comic theatrical performance of one act, usually played during the interlude of a performance of a long dramatic work, in the 16th and 17th centuries in Spain. Later it became the sainete.
Dictionary of the Literature of the ...
. Among its most prolific composers were
Ramón de la Cruz
Ramón de la Cruz (28 March 1731 – 5 March 1794) was a Spanish neoclassical dramatist.
Born in Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area ...
and
Antonio Soler
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...
.
The genre, known as the ' was also found in
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
, with composers such as
Josep Ribas contributing Catalan-language .
Sainetes began to be developed into
zarzuelas
() 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 ...
in Cuba around 1850.
[Carpentier, Alejo 2001 945 ''Music in Cuba''. Minneapolis MN. p232]
See also
*
Cuban musical theatre Cuban musical theatre has its own distinctive style and history. From the 18th century (at least) to modern times, popular theatrical performances included music and often dance as well. Many composers and musicians had their careers launched in the ...
References
Musical theatre
Theatrical genres
History of theatre
{{theatre-hist-stub