José María Alvira facts for kids

José María Alvira (born June 18, 1864, died July 31, 1938) was a talented Spanish musician. He was a composer, a singing teacher, and a conductor. He helped many singers become famous and brought important operas to Spain.

Life and Musical Journey

José María Alvira was born in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. He showed amazing musical talent from a young age. When he was just eleven, he was already playing the violin for an opera company! He even wrote a piece for the violin called Fantasía para violín.

His family helped him study music in Paris. In 1880, he joined the orchestra at the Théâtre Lyrique. There, he started learning how to compose music and arrange it for orchestras. Even though he studied law to please his parents, his love for music was stronger. He decided to focus completely on music.

Alvira traveled to Italy and worked as a conductor at a theater in Espezzia. He conducted the opera Lucrezia Borgia (opera). Later, he returned to Madrid. He studied composition at the Madrid Royal Conservatory with a famous teacher named Emilio Arrieta. At the same time, he played in the orchestra of the Teatro de la Zarzuela. In 1895, he became a director at the Spanish Teatro Real, a very important opera house.

Teaching and Directing

In 1896, Alvira became the director of the Concert Academy of the Royal Theater. He also ran a very successful Singing Academy. He trained many talented Spanish artists. Famous foreign singers also came to him for advice. They wanted to improve their skills or fix any problems with their voices. Alvira taught and advised singers for 32 years.

After 1898, he directed a choir called Orfeon Ecos de Madrid. He also wrote a helpful book for singing teachers. It was called Cómo aprender a cantar como cantaban los de antes ("How to learn to sing like those singers from the past").

Bringing Operas to Spain

Alvira worked on many operas at the Royal Theatre of Spain. These included Hansel and Gretel, El oro del Rin, and Loreley. He also worked on Luisa, Mona Lisa, Yolanda, Jardín de oriente, La novia vendida, and La virgen de mayo.

He was very good at understanding how voices work and knew several languages. This helped him translate and adapt famous operas into Spanish. He made excellent versions of operas like The Barber of Seville, Carmen, Tosca, La traviata, Prince Igor, La Africana, The Master Singers of Nürnberg, and Rigoletto.

Family Life

In 1909, José María Alvira married Aurelia Sánchez Bueno. They had two children together. His daughter, Mary Carmen Alvira, became a famous musician. She played in a Spanish international orchestra and for many years in the orchestra of the Royal Theatre of Zarzuela. His niece, Carmen Sánchez, was also a well-known actress.

José María Alvira passed away in Madrid when he was 74 years old.

Selected Musical Works

José María Alvira composed many different pieces of music. Here are some of his selected works:

• Sinfonía en sol (a symphony)
• Miss Hissippi (zarzuela, 1892)
• El suicidio de Pifartes (a zarzuela in 1 act, premiered 1893 in Madrid)
• Jai Alai (1893)
• El españoleto (1894)
• De la retreta a la Diana (1897)
• Bonito pan de boda (a zarzuela in 3 acts)
• Budín, Budón (a zarzuela in 3 acts)
• El veterano (a zarzuela in 1 act, 1902)
• La silla de Anea (1904)
• La velada de San Juan (1905)
• Frasco Luis (1905)
• Mar de fondo (1905)
• Calinez o el suicidio de Pifartos (1906)
• Los Campos Elíseos (a zarzuela in 3 acts, premiered 1906 in Madrid)
• El becerro de oro (1909)
• El alegre manchego (1909)
• El triunfo del amor (a lyrical show in 1 act, premiered 1913 in Madrid)
• Los sobrinos o Tienda 'Asilo del arte' (1918)
• El bufón del duque (a comic zarzuela in 1 act, premiered 1923 in Madrid)
• Souvellas Vache
• Fígaro, el barbero de Sevilla (1923)
• Rigoletto (he translated this opera)
• El paraíso de Mahoma
• La farolada
• La venta de los vuelos
• Los hijos del sol
• Gente de paz
• El beso de hielo
• El conde de Almaviva

Singers He Helped

José María Alvira was known for helping many singers improve their voices and become famous.

• Amanda Brown was even named Amanda Alvira in his honor because of his work with her voice in the 1920s.
• He also coached many other famous singers, including Titta Ruffo, Ángeles Ottein, Giuseppe Anselmi, Ofelia Nieto, José Mardones, Amelita Galli-Curci, and Tito Schipa.
• In their early careers, he helped Julián Briel, Augusto Ordóñez, Antonio Picatoste, Delfín Pulido, Matilde Pretel, and Felicitas Ramírez.

See also

In Spanish: José María Alvira para niños