Theatre In Spain Research Articles

Theater in Spain (1960-81)

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AND MoST DISCUSSED WOR of the 1960-61 theabical season in Madrid was Las Meninas written by Antonio Buero Vallejo and directed by Jose Tamayo. It was first presented on the occasion of Velazquez' anniversary. This work, which is based on a famous Vel3.zquez painting, has enjoyed great success and has aroused many contradictory comments. Among these comments, which come from different sources, there is general agreement that this production, like all those of this author, is worthy. of serious consideration. We shall now attempt to do it justice not only because we have high regard for the author but also because he is the most serious and the most sophisticated of our contemporary dramatists. The comments, as we shall soon see, revolve around the possible application of a particular historical situation in the period of Philip IV to present-day Spain. Buero Vallejo achieves his goal by inventing a plot in which Velazquez himself adopts a polemical attitude which serves as a catalytic agent for the nonconformist state of mind: something like the historical conscience of his time.

Theater in Spain (1960-61): The Artist Velázquez in the Theater

Theater in Spain (1960-61): The Artist Velázquez in the Theater

The Importance of the Dance in the Spanish Comedia Before the Eighteenth Century

Lima.—Spanish Cultural Index, No. 144 (Jan. 1, 1958), 97. Lucas Fernández. Auto de la Pasión. Presented at the Teatro Infanta Beatriz, Madrid, by the Little Theater group, and produced by Miguel Narros.—Spanish Cultural Index, No. 148 (May 1, 1958), 475. Fernando de Rojas. La Celestina. At the Sarah Bernhardt Theater, Paris, by the Theater of the Nations, with the same version and cast as employed by Luis Esobar at the Teatro Eslava, Madrid.—Spanish Cultural Index, No. 148 (May 1, 1958), 514. Lope de Rueda. Pasos. Performed during Spanish Drama Week in Paris, produced by Manuel Montoro and directed by Josita Hernán.—Spanish Cultural Index, No. 148 (May 1, 1958), 515. José de Valdivielso. El hospital de los locos. Produced by Julio Vier, with choir, and presented in the Church porch, Sacred Heart Basilica, Buenos Aires.—Spanish Cultural Index , No. 148 (May 1, 1958), 524. Lope de Vega. Los locos de Valencia. In Barcelona, at the Teatro Griego de Montjuich , in the Schroeder version, "que actualmente se representa, con enorme resonancia , en Alemania."—ABC, July 10, 1958. Lope de Vega. El perro del hortelano. At the Odeon Theater, Buenos Aires, in an adaptation by Eduardo Blanco Amor.—E.S., "Lope de Vega, Shakespeare," Sur, No. 252 (May-June, 1958), 95-97. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DANCE IN THE SPANISH COMEDIA BEFORE THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY by T. B. Barclay, University of Toronto Popular association of the words "Spanish" and "dance" is not unjustified. Such a conclusion is at least partially borne out by a study of the extent to which Spanish dramatists up to the beginning of the eighteenth century incorporated descriptive dance passages or wrote lyrics specifically to accompany dancing in their works. Evidence exists to support the assumption that in so doing, such writers were merely following a cultural tradition. Beyond the earliest written records, there exist pictorial representations that suggest that the dance was, from the beginning, an integral part of peninsular life. The cave paintings of Cogul1 or Valltorta2 furnish virtually as many scenes of dancing as records of the essential skill of the hunter. As the civilizations of the peninsula succeeded one another, dance continued to be an important component of the social and religious life of the people. Its place among the Celt-Iberians, for example, was commented upon by Strabo.3 Excavations of Carthaginian and Greek settlements4 in Spain have yielded evidence of the importance of dance in their cultures. In Roman Spain, the dance became a spectacle and, as such, won public favour comparable to that it achieved in the Spanish plays of the seventeenth century. Martial's epigrams on the subject5 suggest that it was during this period, too, that the entertainment supplied by dancers assumed that equivocal nature that was to move mediaeval churchmen to condemn it as immoral.6 The popularity of the zéjel, meant to be danced as well as sung,7 shows that adherence to expressive, rhythmic movement did not diminish during the period of Arabic control of the peninsula. Mediaeval Spanish Christian documents and art indicate repeatedly that that one of the principal skills upon which a juglar relied to hold the attention of his audience was that of dancing. The theatre in Spain has never excelled in closet drama, nor in a drama appealing only to the taste of a cultured minority. Its essence is of the people, and its characters, though often disguised in the garb of mythological or exotic personages, have always been innately Spanish in motivation and feeling. It was, therefore, natural that Spanish writers, seeking to present on the stage a faithful copy of the national character, 21 should include the dances which were so typical an expression of it. This tendency is noticeable from the earliest examples of the Spanish theatre, for, although the plays of Juan del Encina, for example, were intended for a select audience, the shepherds in his pastoral plays not only speak roughly, but dance boisterously. Both traits are equally indicative of Encina's grasp of appropriate detail in sketching character. As the Spanish theatre developed and increasing stress was laid on plot development and dramatic action, in contrast to what...

The Theatrical Season in Madrid 1954-55

For the past two decades there has been much talk about the decadence of the theater in Spain. Although at the peak of the past season there were seventeen theaters operating in Madrid, from time to time another is lost, either being razed to make way for a new office building or being converted into a movie house. It is surprising that even that many manage to stay in business, for with few exceptions the audiences are miserably small. The moving pictures are tremendously popular, and the younger generation, in particular, neglects the theater to flock to the movies. Economic factors

The "Problem" of the Spanish Theater Today

Three times a year in Spain the theatrical world is gripped by a fever of enthusiasm and optimism.* These occasions are the beginnings of the three individual seasons into which the theatrical year as a whole is divided, the Fall season, the Winter season, beginning after los Reyes, and the Spring season, beginning on the Sabado de Gloria. Everyone speaks hopefully of the new plays, and all look forward to a happy and prosperous run for them. The plays are produced, the reactions are mixed, an air of disenchantment begins to settle over the scene, and then the final stage of the cycle is reached, when the critics, authors, actors, producers, and other professional observers are prompted to ask each other a question that in essence is one, though it may be phrased in several ways: Is there a crisis in the Spanish theater today? What is the problem of the Spanish theater today? or Why is the Spanish theater in a state of decadence? In the ensuing debate few people are rash enough to declare that in their considered opinion there is no crisis in the Spanish theater. Only a consecrated figure like Benavente can even appear to say it as he did in an interview (April, 1954) on the occasion of the opening of his 162nd play, El marido de bronce. Asked what he thought of the much-discussed crisis of the theater, he answered: They have always talked about crisis and they will keep on talking about it, but don't you pay any attention. If any crisis exists it will be an economic one. In that final if, however, which Don Jacinto casually tacked on the end of his pronouncement, lies the theme of thousands of anguished words about the future of the theater in Spain. For the most part the critics, admitted y or not, approach the question with the conviction that the Spanish theater is confronted with some problems whose solutions cannot easily be perceived. One may conveniently divide these critics into two broad groups. Some of them, like Benavente, consider that a crisis does not exist in the artistic world but rather that it is primarily a commercial crisis which is perhaps due to factors beyond the control of the artist. Parenthetically, a playwright like Benavente in his eighty-eighth year who still managed to have several plays produced every year may perhaps be excused for believing that no artistic crisis exists. There are others who, admitting the economic crisis, place the blame upon the artists, and often more specifically upon the playwrights. The economic crisis has multiple aspects which some observers recognize, but for the most part discussion revolves about the rising costs of play production. As Benavente remarked in the previously mentioned interview, with a theater's monthly budget of the old days one could hardly buy a dinner today. The reasons for the rise in costs are familiar to those who are concerned with the problems of show business everywhere: high labor costs, taxes, rent; in short, all of those expenses which have to be met before the curtain can rise on a show.