Since its creation the Spanish Golden Age Theatre has held an important role in the Spanish society. The golden age theatre was from 1590-1681. During this era, the Golden Age had a huge influence over the Latin American theatre world. Spain in particular saw a monumental increase in the production of live theatre. Before the Golden Age era, live theatre was non-existence. The production of live theatre became popular and was attended by both lower and higher class of people. In addition women was allowed to act in theatre plays with men. Before the Golden Age, male actors played female character roles. Over a period of time, live theatre plays started to incorporate religion, comedy and tragedy performances. Spain also introduced its own forms and genres of theatre with the development of the zarzuela. The genre zarzuela is a lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and singing acting. Zarzuela started to influence many Hispanic countries and Cuba developed their own traditions of Zarzuela.
Pedro Calderon de la Barca is a well-known playwright during the early years of theatre in Spain. Calderon’s debut as playwright was Amor, honor y poder. By 1635, Calderon was recognized as the best Spanish dramatist of the 1600s. Calderon initiated the Spanish Golden Age theatre because of his dedicated work to perfecting his craft. He was a perfectionist who often revisited and reworked his plays after they were first performed for theatregoers. The famous playwright was also known for his symbolism he inserted in his plays. For example one metaphor he incorporated was making a fall into disgrace, the fall representing dishonor. In addition most of his plays had been influenced by his Jesuit education.
Juan del Encina alo...
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...e two main forms of Zarzuelo, the Baroque and romantic Zarzuela. The masque-like musical theatre had existed in Spain since the era of Juan del Encina, the genre was giving dramatic function to the musical numbers and choruses were incorporated as well. In 1657 at the Royal Palace of El Prado, King Phili IV of Spain and Queen Mariana attended the first performance of a new comedy by Pedro Calderon de la Barca. The golden age of zarzuela lasted under two decades from the 1920s and 30s. During this period, venues in La Habana hosted a number of production theater shows. Cuban zarzuela played a major role in the development of Cuban identities
References:
Bristol University’s The Theatre of the Spanish Golden Age
Sebastian Doggart Latin American Plays: New Drama from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico and Peru
Melveena McKendrick Theatre in Spain, 1400-1700
Carmen: A Hip Hopera; a musical film starring Beyoncé as an inspiring actress. However, Carmen Brown was once Carmen Jones; starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte in the 1954 version. However, the 1954 version of Carmen is not the original playwright, as there have been many adaptations to create relevance of the production. The first production of Carmen was written as a novel that was published in 1845, which there is a four-part compromise. However, the novel Carmen was later turned into an urban film. The history of Carmen will be identified through analyzing and critiques the history of the playwrights. Therefore, the adaptations and along with the history of Carmen, will be examined to further establish the importance of the film.
All cultures celebrate common life cycle events; such as birth, passage from childhood to adulthood, marriage and death. These are times of intense emotion and call for a significant celebration for those directly involved with the person experiencing the life cycle event. Most people appreciate some gesture of recognition that such an event has occurred. It is also an occasion for making positive connections with coworkers and friends, and teaches others about the various ways in which people approach and observe significant life events. In the Latin American and Hispanic culture, a major life cycle event is celebrated when a young girl turns fifteen years old; the celebration is called a quinceañera. In the Jewish culture, when a young girls turn twelve years old she becomes a “bat mitzvah” and is recognized as having the same rights as an adult. These two life-cycle events are major coming to age ceremonies that are celebrated within the cultures.
La Historia Oficial was directed in 1985 by Luis Puenzo. The movie was filmed in and takes place in Argentina. The movie begins with a crowd of people singing the Argentinian National Anthem and paying tribute to the country they love. Argentina is a country of freedom, equality and “broken chains” according to the anthem. The movie follows the life of an upper middle class couple who seem to be well off. Roberto (the husband) works as a wealthy business man, and Alicia (his wife) works at a boys prep school as a History teacher. Roberto and Alicia have a five year old daughter named Gabby whom they adopted from the hospital just after her birth (after years of failed attempts at trying to have their own baby). La Historia Oficial is significant if one is interested in understanding a part of Argentinian history which is often concealed by those who are unaware of the brutality inflicted by the Argentinian government in the 1970’s.
Undoubtedly, music is one of the most powerful forms of expression human beings have at their disposal. While composers and musicians often use music to communicate emotions, thoughts and feelings, music can also reflect the traditions, history and beliefs of a culture. Historically, some composers have used music to protest the actions of their country, but many nationalist composers have used music to reflect pride in their country. Music and folk songs are a large part of every culture’s identity. During the twentieth century, Heitor Villa-Lobos impacted the cultural identity of Brazil through the creation of compositions that reflect his upbringing and cultural heritage. Not only were his works considered historic moments in the establishment of a truly Latin American identity, his compositions also blazed a new path for a new generation of innovative Latin American artists. The music of Heitor Villa-Lobos reflects the history of his culture and his identity as an individual. Villa-Lobos respected his heritage and culture while continuing innovate and inspire his peers. The works of Heitor Villa-Lobos are an integral part of Latin American culture, yet he is often overlooked in the repertoire of Western classical music. This composer used his heritage, background and individuality to create classical music that reflects his experiences and the society in which he lived. Villa-Lobos captured the spirit of the nineteenth century nationalist movement and transcended the established rules and expectations of Western classical music in order to create music that was a true expression of his identity and culture.
This proved to be fitting to the time in which Cervantes lived, for at the time he wrote Don Quixote, the golden age of Spain was declining, along with the arts that had long been celebrated in the country’s culture. The stories that this book combats are perfect examples of this decline, much like the dark ages of the 14th c...
There were many factors that contributed to the changes made to the Broadway theaters in the 20th Century. Broadway faced many problems during the time period of 1945-1955, resolved by numerous different solutions. This included impacts of World War II and the Great Depression, the decline in audience interest and the loss of many actors and producers.
African American Theatre interests me, since African American actors, actresses, and playwrights have overcome so many obstacles, and yet some of the best people in film are African American. It interests me that they have endured so much rough history in this country, and yet many people forget about their rough history and admire many talented African American associated with the theatre. I like how the African American theatre deviates from an integrated society, to a simple black society. Many African American based plays and films show a simple African American family and how they live their lives, in the midst of so many obstacles they face. While watching several of the African American films assigned for this
Around 700 BC the Greeks had festivals that honored the gods; one of these festivals was called City Dionysian. People would sing and dance while tribes would compete against eachother to see who was the greatest of them all. In the early Greek festivals, the actors, directors, and dramatists were all the same person. Only three actors were allowed to be in a play and all had to be male. Later on, non-speaking roles as well as the chorus evolved in theatre to keep citizens more entertained. Well-known play wrights ...
Historia del Flamenco - Spanish Essay La música flamenca empezó con una voz y unas palmas, y más tarde se incorporó la guitarra. Es sólo en este siglo cuando se introdujo el zapateo. Hoy en día, las tres principales herramientas del flamenco son el cante, la guitarra y el baile. Casi todos los estilos o palos flamencos pueden interpretarse con o sin baile, habiendo bailes sin cante y temas puramente vocales, "a cappela".
In this article I chose and read about, two men who were puppeteers (Alfonso Lázaro de la Fuente and Raúl García Pérez) were accused of mentioning terrorism in their street puppet show at a recent carnival celebration. The terrorist group is called ETA and the puppeteers mentioned support to them during their performance with the use of a banner. In addition to the mention of terrorism, the show was quite vulgar depicting scenes of hanging, stabbing, and beating of people. These actions performed raised awareness from spectating parents and led them to call local police and have them arrested. In Spain, if guilty of any form of terrorism you could face four years in prison. Following the imprisonment of the puppeteers, controversy was raised
From the late 1800’s up through the present date, musical theater has changed. Though customs and love for the theater will always be carried on, origins, trends, and styles will change throughout time.
Elizabethan times in the 1600s was a progression for the world of the theater. A period named after Queen Elizabeth I of England, it is from this period that modern day society has its foundation for the entertainment industry. From the violence that was prevalent because of the Black Death, people turned to the theater for its poetry and romance. During this time period, there were two types of theatrical performances that were available for the people’s viewing, comedies or tragedies. These two genres were never really intertwined until the time of William Shakespeare. His play, Romeo and Juliet, is an example of both a comedy and a tragedy. It starts off as a comedy with Romeo weeping like a baby because of his love Rosaline, who did not love him back and ends as a tragedy when Romeo and Juliet, a pair of star crossed lovers, commit suicide because the lost of each other. It was also during Shakespeare’s time that writer were finally acknowledged by the people. Before this time, writers were not considered upper classman. Another group of people that began to rise into a higher social class were the actors. Actresses were not present back then because women were not allowed on stage. It was considered unladylike to have a female actor. Men played all the parts. Theater owners were dependent on actors to make them a profit. Rehearsals for the plays were fairly short, only lasting for about a week. The performances themselves would only show for three to four days.
For my final paper, I will be discussing the culture of Spain. People that live in Spain are referred to as Spaniards. For the most part, the Spanish culture speak Spanish and might have some knowledge in the English language as well. The population of Spain is estimated to be around 47 million (“Spain” paragraph 1). The main two ethnicities/races of Spain include the composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types. Spaniards are guaranteed the freedom of religion; however, the majority of Spaniards are Catholic. It is very common in Spain to use physical contact when communicating with one another. In Spain, this is not considered an invasion of personal space because the Spaniards are accustomed to this communication habit. Bullfighting is obviously one of the more known customs of Spain than any other although with the new generation problems arise how humane the event is. “La siesta” is the balance between work and pleasure. The Spaniards get a few mid-day hours to eat lunch and rest. Lunch is the most important meal of the day in Spain and the nightlife is extended until four in the morning (“Culture & Customs in Spain” paragraph 1-2). Spanish culture has a vast artistic heritage. In the 20th century, some of the
In the United States, the language we know as Spanish is so prevalent that most automated voice messaging systems use it as a second option, the majority of stores feature it as another language option on their pin pads, and more importantly it is in fact considered the second most widely spoken language in the U.S. Spanish is part of our everyday lives not just as far as the people who live here and speak it, but the cultural traditions we have adopted from other Spanish speaking countries. America would not be the same without Spanish cultural influence, and not only that, there are beneficial reasons behind learning the Spanish language and the meanings and influences of its culture
Avant-Garde Theater is often referred to as the “Theater of the Absurd” (Aronson 112). These words coincide with the historical events that occurred prior to the 1950s. The occurrences in the 1950s society were the inspiration for the genesis of Avant-Garde and playwrights, such as Samuel Beckett.