Amadeu Vives i Roig facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amadeu Vives
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| Born | 18 November 1871 Collbató, Catalonia, Spain
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| Died | 2 December 1932 (aged 61) |
| Resting place | Montjuïc Cemetery, Barcelona |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Other names | Amadeo |
| Education | Josep Ribera, Felipe Pedrell |
| Occupation | Composer, writer and impresario |
| Known for | Doña Francisquita |
| Spouse(s) | Montserrat Giner |
| Children | one |
Amadeu Vives i Roig (born November 18, 1871 – died December 2, 1932) was a famous Spanish music composer. He wrote more than one hundred musical plays and shows. He is best known for his work called Doña Francisquita. This play is loved for its beautiful songs and colorful setting in 19th-century Madrid. It is one of the most famous zarzuelas (a type of Spanish musical play) and has been performed all over the world.
Amadeu Vives' personal writings are kept safe in the Biblioteca de Catalunya (Library of Catalonia).
Contents
Amadeu Vives' Life Story
Amadeu Vives was born in Collbató, a town near the Montserrat mountain in Catalonia, Spain. He was a Catalan person. He studied music in Barcelona with a teacher named José Ribera.
In 1891, he helped start a very important singing group called the Orfeó Català. This group was a big part of a movement to bring Catalan music back to life. Later, he became one of the first students of Felipe Pedrell. Pedrell was a key figure in Spanish music during the 20th century.
Vives soon moved to Madrid, where he lived for the rest of his life. At first, he wrote music for concerts and popular songs for choirs and solo singers. But he became most famous for his zarzuelas.
His First Works
Before writing zarzuelas, Vives wrote a successful play in Catalan called Jo no sabia que el món era així. This means "I didn't know the world was like this." He also wrote a big four-act opera called Artús in 1897. This opera was based on a story by Sir Walter Scott.
A year later, his first zarzuela was performed in Madrid. It was a short, one-act play called La primera del barrio. His next few zarzuelas were also well-received. People especially liked Don Lucas del Cigarral (1899) and La balada de la luz (1900).
His Big Breakthrough
Vives became truly famous with his one-act zarzuela called Bohemios (1904). This play used the same story as the famous opera La bohème by Giacomo Puccini. However, Vives' music had a French style and showed his own unique touch.
Soon after, he worked with another composer, Gerónimo Giménez, on two more one-act zarzuelas. These were El húsar de la guardia (1904) and La gatita blanca (1905). Both of these plays are still performed today, even a century later!
Later Popular Works
Many of Amadeu Vives' other works are still performed. These include:
- The operetta La generala (1912), which is set in places like Oxford and Cambridge.
- The opera Maruxa (1914), which had no spoken parts.
- Doña Francisquita (1923), which many people consider one of the best three-act zarzuelas. It is definitely his most famous and loved work.
- La villana (1927).
His last works, Los flamencos (1928) and Noche de verbena (1929), are not as well-known today. His last musical play, Talismán (1932), was liked by critics but did not do well financially. Amadeu Vives passed away in Madrid in 1932.
Why Amadeu Vives Was Important
The famous composer Isaac Albéniz once said that Amadeu Vives could have been a major international composer if he had tried to write music for a worldwide audience. Vives wanted to write big symphonies, but he never fully followed that dream. He was known for being a bit shy and was not always happy with just being the top zarzuela composer of his time.
What Music Did He Write?
Here are some of Amadeu Vives' most important musical works:
- Artus (1895)
- Don Lucas del Cigarral (1899)
- La balada de la luz (1900)
- Euda d'Uriach (1900)
- Los amores de la Inés (1902, with Manuel de Falla)
- Bohemios (1904)
- El húsar de la guardia (1904)
- El arte de ser bonita (1905)
- La gatita blanca (1906)
- Juegos malabares (1909)
- Colomba (1910)
- La generala (1912)
- El carro del sol (1911)
- Maruxa (1914)
- La balada de Carnaval (1919)
- Doña Francisquita (1923)
- La villana (1927)
- Talismán (1932)
Images for kids
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Bust of Amadeu Vives at the Palau de la Música Catalana
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Amadeu Vives as painted by Ramon Casas (MNAC).
See also
In Spanish: Amadeo Vives para niños
