Bruna Pereira
Zarzuela takes its name from a famous Palace’s hunting ground in Madrid, known as La Zarzuela - because it was surrounded by “zarzas” (brambles, a berry tree). Here, musical theatre performances started taking place and became known as Zarzuelas. This happens in the baroque period, before the Spanish war. In the 18th century, foreign operas become more celebrated in Spain, taking the place of Zarzuela and sending the once popular genre into Oblivion. During the course of over a century, wars, and different - almost conflicting - decrees by different monarchs, the Zarzuela returns, in a new form and renovated, first to Zarzuelas Parodias (Parody Zarzuelas) [1], and later to what will be known as Zarzuela Romantica.
"Durante el siglo XVIII y principios del XIX, la variedad y mezcla en los espectáculos teatrales —como óperas en español, tonadillas, sainetes, seguidillas y zarzuelas— fueron conformando el gusto del público y permitieron generar el caldo de cultivo de lo que sería, en la centuria decimonónica, el auge de los llamados género grande y género chico de la zarzuela. " [2] [3]
With this paper, I aim to define Zarzuela, disseminate more the knowledge of this very particular genre, and mostly understand why it lacks it so much compared to other National Operas. As mentioned by Rafael Lamas, other forms of Operetta and national genres like the French Opera Comique, German Singspiel, and later English Operetta are much more wide-known than Zarzuela and traces it back to political and intellectual polemics that surround Zarzuela in the 18th Century. This will be one of my main points to research about - what were the actual, or possible, reasons behind the stagnation in Zarzuela from spreading to the rest of Europe. For this research, I will turn mostly to Spanish and Latin-American authors, as well as archives from Zarzuela focused theaters in Spain.
Ultimately, in a direct connection with my research, I want to attempt and translate excerpts or arias of Zarzuela - to gauge how this translation will influence the audiences (both Spanish and foreign), and whether it could be a good direction to create and grow the popularity of the Genre.
MacCarthy, H. “zarzuela.” Encyclopedia Britannica, May 8, 2018. - visited on the 10th of December of 2025
Lamas, Rafael; Spanish Review: Zarzuela and the Anti-Musical Prejudice of the Spanish Enlightenment; Vol.74; Pennsylvania; University of Pennsylvania Press; 2006
Chapa Bezanilla, et al; EL Rescate Patrimonial del Siglo XIX Mexicano; Facultad de Filosofia y Letras UAM; 2021
MacCarthy, H. “zarzuela.” Encyclopedia Britannica, May 8, 2018. Paragraph 5 ↩︎
During the 18th century and beginning of 19th, the variety and mix in the theatrical presentations - like Operas in Spanish, tonadillas, sainetes, seguidillas and zarzuelas - formed the taste of the audiences and allowed to generate the breeding ground of what would be, in the 19th century, the peak of the so called género grande and género chico of Zarzuela ↩︎
Bezanilla M, EL Rescate Patrimonial del Siglo XIX Mexicano p.24 ↩︎