Juan Bautista Diamante facts for kids
Juan Bautista Diamante (born around 1625, died 1687) was a Spanish writer who created plays. He was part of a group of playwrights who followed the style of the famous Spanish writer Calderón.
Juan Bautista's mother was Portuguese, and his father was a merchant from Sicily with Greek family roots. His family moved to Madrid before 1631. He started writing plays for the stage in the early 1650s. His work became popular with the kings Philip IV and Charles II. In 1660, he became a knight of St. John, which was a special honor.
His Plays and Writings
During his lifetime, 39 of Juan Bautista Diamante's plays were published. Twenty-four of these were collected in two books called Comedias de Fr. Don Iuan Bautista Diamante in 1670 and 1674. Other plays appeared in a series called Comedias escogidas de los mejores de España between 1656 and 1672. Many of his plays were also printed as single copies later on.
Diamante often worked with other playwrights and poets of his time. Some of these included Matos Fragoso, Moreto, Juan Vélez, Sebastián de Villaviciosa, Lanini y Sagredo, Arce de los Reyes, and Francisco de Avellaneda.
In total, Juan Bautista Diamante wrote about 45 plays, including those he worked on with others. He also wrote two autos (religious plays), several zarzuelas (Spanish musical plays), and a few shorter pieces. These shorter works included loas (short introductions), bailes (dances), and entremeses (short funny plays).
His Style and Famous Works
Some experts say that Diamante was important because he brought French playwriting styles to Spain. However, some critics have questioned how original his work truly was. Much of what he wrote was based on or rewritten from other playwrights' material.
For example, his play La Judía de Toledo (The Jewish Woman of Toledo), which was once thought to be his best, was actually a play by Mira de Amescua called La Desgraciada Raquel with a different title. Another play, El Honrador de su padre (1658), was mostly a translation of the famous French play Le Cid by Corneille.
His more successful plays were historical dramas. These included El hércules de Ocaña, which was about the brave Spanish hero Alonso de Céspedes, and La reina María Estuarda, which told the story of Mary, Queen of Scots.
See also
In Spanish: Juan Bautista Diamante para niños
