Spanish Theater: From Benavente to Lorca and Valle-Inclán
Theater
Subject to conditions that influence shopping at its ideological content. Considering the need of the public to satisfy what has been exposed to experimentation.
Commercial Theater
1. Corriente Benaventina
Jacinto Benavente (1866-1954) began with a certain denunciation of the established order in “Nido Ajeno” (1894). An exception is the farce “Los Intereses Creados”, a soft satire of the bourgeois world (masterpiece). He also wrote the rural drama “La Malquerida”. He received the Nobel Prize. His contributions to the theater were his reliability, staging, and fluidity. Outstanding dialogues from: Linares Rivas “La Garra”, Martínez Sierra, Luca de Tena, and Calvo Sotelo “Una Comedia en 3 Actos”.
2. Comic Theater
Theater of manners, repression. The Sainete. Los Hermanos Álvarez Quintero and Carlos Arniches:
- Los Hermanos Álvarez Quintero: Depicted picturesque Andalusia, humor, and simple love conflicts. Works include “El Patio” and “Malvaloca”.
- Carlos Arniches: The most representative author of Madrid’s “castizo” style. His comedies are full of sketches and double meanings, with humorous replies. Works include “El Amigo Melquíades” and “La Chica del Gato”. He created the genre of “grotesque tragedy”, where laughter turns into a critical and moving attitude. Examples include “La Señorita de Trevélez” and “Los Caciques”.
Pedro Muñoz Seca created the “Astracán” genre, focused on seeking laughter.
3. Theater in Verse
Combined post-romantic taste with declamatory verse, also influenced by modernism. Notable authors include:
- Eduardo Marquina: “Las Hijas del Cid”, “En Flandes se ha Puesto el Sol”
- Villaespesa: “Doña María de Padilla”
- Los Hermanos Machado: “La Lola se va a los Puertos”
Innovative Theater
Generation of ’98, “Novecentistas”, and Generation of ’27, who brought new ideological approaches.
- Miguel de Unamuno: More of a treatise on ideas, internal drama. Works include “Fedra” and “El Otro”.
- Azorín: Used the word and scenic “denudation”. Works include “Lo Invisible”.
- Jacinto Grau: Achieved success abroad. Works include “El Señor de Pigmalión”.
Other group of innovative theater: “Novecentistas”, “Vanguardistas”, and dramatists of the Generation of ’27.
- Ramón Gómez de la Serna: Several experimental works. Examples include “Los Medios Seres” and “La Escalera” (allegorical).
- Pedro Salinas: “El Director”, “Judit y el Tirano”.
- Rafael Alberti: Surrealist (“El Hombre Deshabitado”), politically committed (“Fermín Galán”), farce (“El Adefesio”).
- Miguel Hernández: “El Labrador de Más Aire”, polished “Theater of War”.
- Alejandro Casona: Poetic theater combined with humor. Works include “La Sirena Varada” and “Nuestra Natacha”.
- Max Aub: Avant-garde innovator. Works include “Jácara del Avaro”, propaganda against fascism (“De un Momento a Otro”), and “San Juan”.
Valle-Inclán (1866-1936)
Very sharp, his work was grotesque. Modernism was a lyrical and nostalgic period in his literature. He later adopted a deformed vision of reality and language, with a devastating critique of reality. Stages of his work:
1. Symbolist and Modernist Stage
Poetic theater linked to symbolism and European modernist aesthetics, trying to create unreal mimic environments. Works include “El Marqués de Bradomín” and “Farsa de Abril”.
2. Stage of the Mythical Galicia
“Comedias Bárbaras”. The character of Don Juan Manuel, a womanizer, is used to mythologize the Galician rural world. “Divinas Palabras”: a tragicomedy of the village.
3. Farce Stage
“La Marquesa Rosalinda”: sentimental and grotesque farce in verse. “Cabeza de Dragón”, “Farsa y Licencia de la Reina Castiza”.
4. Stage of the “Esperpentos”
The result of aesthetically deforming the classical genres to reflect Spanish reality. Provocative language, original vision, and a strong load of acid and disagreement related to a critical edge that did not emerge in Germany: expressionism. “Luces de Bohemia”.
Federico García Lorca
Similar to his poetry. Influenced modern theater and rural drama. His works began in verse and were later reduced to certain lyrical scenes. In his latest works, exclusivity was given to the work. His themes are defined by the desire for the impossible and the frustrations of reality.
1. Early Theater
“El Maleficio de la Mariposa”, “Mariana Pineda” (tragedy in verse), “La Zapatera Prodigiosa” (farce), “El Amor de Don Perlimplín”.
2. Avant-Garde Theater
Influence of surrealism. Impossible comedies: “El Público”, “Así que Pasen Cinco Años”.
3. Theater of Difficult Representation and Maturity
With this, he reached his maturity as a playwright and great success. “La Barraca”, “Bodas de Sangre”, “Yerma”, “Doña Rosita la Soltera o el Lenguaje de las Flores”, “La Casa de Bernarda Alba”.