Joaquín Abati Facts for Kids

This picture shows Joaquín Abatí (on the right) with Antonio Paso.

Joaquín Abatí y Díaz (born June 29, 1865, in Madrid – died July 30, 1936) was a Spanish writer. He was also known for writing the words (called a libretto) for Zarzuelas, which are Spanish musical plays.

Early Life and Education
A Career in Writing
- Writing Operettas
Later Life
Works by Joaquín Abatí
See also

Early Life and Education

Joaquín Abatí was born in Madrid. His father was Italian, and his mother was Spanish. He went to school to study law. He earned his law degree, but he never actually worked as a lawyer.

He even wrote a book called Respuestas a los Temas de Derecho Administrativo. This book was meant to help people understand administrative law. Even though his book was helpful to many, Joaquín decided that he liked writing stories and plays more than law. So, he chose to become a writer.

A Career in Writing

Joaquín Abatí's first play was a funny short sketch called Entre doctores (Among Doctors). It was first shown in 1892 at the Teatro Lara. After that, he wrote many different types of plays. Some were short, funny speeches called monologues, like El Conde Sisebuto (Count Sisebuto). Others were longer plays with several acts, and he sometimes worked with another famous writer, Carlos Arniches.

Joaquín Abatí wrote a lot! He created over 120 plays and operettas during his life. He was considered a very important writer of his time. Some of his well-known works include El debut de la chica (The Girl's Debut) and La conquista de México (The Conquest of Mexico). He also wrote Genio y figura (1910) and Beatriz (1920) with Carlos Arniches.

Writing Operettas

Joaquín Abatí was especially good at writing operettas. Operettas are like short, light operas with singing and speaking. He often worked with other writers like Carlos Arniches and Antonio Paso on these.

Many of his plays were turned into operetta librettos. Some examples are:

Los amarillos (The Yellow Ones)
La corte de Risalia (The Risalia Court)
La mujer artificial (The Artificial Woman)
La mulata (The Mulatto Woman)

His most famous operetta was El asombro de Damasco (The Wonder of Damascus). He wrote this with Antonio Cano Paso, and Pablo Luna composed the music for it. It first opened in 1916.

Later Life

Later in his life, Joaquín Abatí did return to the legal field. He became a professor at the Real Academia de Jurisprudencia y Legislación, which is a royal academy for law and legislation.

Joaquín Abatí passed away in Madrid in 1936.

Works by Joaquín Abatí

Here are some of the operettas and other musical works he wrote:

1899– Los Besugos (with Emilio Mario; Music by Valverde)
1900– Los Amarillos (with Francisco Flores García; Music by Saco del Valle)
1901– Tierra por medio (with Sinesio Delgado; Music by Chapí)
El Código penal (with Eusebio Sierra; Music by Tomás Barrera)
1904– El Trébol (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Serrano)
1905– La Mulata (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Valverde)
1906– La Marcha real (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Vives)
La Taza de thé (with Antonio Paso Cano and Maximiliano Thous; Music by Lleó)
El Aire (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó and Mariani)
1907– La Hostería del Laurel (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó)
1908– Mayo florido (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó)
1909– Los Hombres alegres (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó)
Los Perros de presa (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by López Torregrosa)
1910– La Partida de la porra (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó)
Los Viajes de Gullivert (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Giménez)
Mea Culpa (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó)
1911– La Gallina de los huevos de oro (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Vives)
El Verbo amar (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by López Torregrosa)
1913– Baldomero Pachón (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Alonso)
El orgullo de Albacete
1914– La Corte de Risalia (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Luna)
El Dichoso verano (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Alonso)
España Nueva (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó)
El Potro salvaje (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Quinito Valverde and Luna)
1915– La Cena de los húsares (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Vives)
Sierra Morena (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó)
El Velón de Lucena (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Alonso)
Las Alegres colegialas (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Lleó)
1916– El Asombro de Damasco (with Antonio Paso Cano; Music by Luna)
1918– La Mujer artificial (with Carlos Arniches; Music by Luna)
1920– El Conde de Lavapiés (with Carlos Arniches; Music by Calleja Gómez)
1931– La Princesa Tarambana (with Carlos Arniches; Music by Francisco Alonso)

Monologues (Short Funny Speeches)

Causa criminal (Criminal Case)
La buena crianza o tratado de urbanidad (Good Manners or a Guide to Politeness)
Un hospital (A Hospital) (with Emilio Mario, Jr.)
La cocinera (The Cook)
El Conde Sisebuto (Count Sisebuto)
El debut de la chica (The Girl's Debut) (with Antonio Paso)
La pata de gallo (The Crow's Feet) (with Antonio Paso)

One-Act Comedies

Entre Doctores (Among Doctors)
Azucena (Lily)
Ciertos son los toros (Some Are Bulls)
Condenado en costas (Condemned in Costs)
El otro Mundo (The Other World) (with Carlos Arniches)
La conquista de Méjico (The Conquest of Mexico)
Los litigantes (The Litigants)
La enredadera (The Vine)
De la China (From China) (with Emilio Mario, Jr.)
Aquilino Primero (Aquilino the First) (with Emilio Vaamonde)
El intérprete (The Interpreter) (with Emilio Mario, Jr.)
El aire (Air) (with Antonio Paso)
Los vecinos (The Neighbors) (with Antonio Paso)

Two-Act Comedies

Doña Juanita (with Francisco Flores García)
Los niños (The Children)
El Paraíso (Paradise) (with Antonio Paso)
La mar salada (The Salty Sea)

Three-Act Comedies

Tortosa y Soler (with Federico Reparaz)
El 30 de Infantería (The 30th Infantry) (with Luis de Olive)
Los hijos artificiales (Artificial Children) (with Federico Reparaz)
Fuente tónica (Tonic Fountain) (with Emilio Vaamonde)
Alsina y Ripoll (with Eusebio Sierra)
Los reyes del tocino (The Kings of Bacon) (with Emilio Mario, Jr.)
El gran tacaño (The Great Miser) (with Antonio Paso)
Genio y figura (Genius and Figure) (with Carlos Arniches, Enrique García Alvarez, and Antonio Paso)
La alegría de vivir (The Joy of Living) (with Antonio Paso)
La divina providencia (Divine Providence) (with Antonio Paso)
El Premio Nobel (The Nobel Prize) (with Carlos Arniches)
El cabeza de familia (The Householder) (with Antonio Paso)
La Piqueta (The Pickaxe) (with Antonio Paso)
El tren rápido (The Fast Train) (with Antonio Paso and Ricardo Viguera)

Joaquín Abati facts for kids

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