zarzuela

   Zarzuela is a species of Spanish opera that combines dialogue with music and song, and whose themes are often of a popular nature. It takes its name from the Zarzuela Palace outside Madrid, an area covered in zarzas (brambles), and where some of the first zarzuelas were performed in the seventeenth century. There are two principal types of zarzuela: género chico, a one-act comic operetta, often with a satirical theme, and zarzuela, grande, normally in three acts and of a more serious nature, whose style approximates to that of romantic opera. Juan Hidalgo was the earliest known composer of zarzuelas, and some renowned nineteenth-century composers include Chapí, Bretón, Valverde and Vives.

   JUAN SERRANO