Where to discover Zarzuela, Spain's enchanting musical theatre, in Madrid

This article is part of the FT Globetrotter's guide to Madrid

You probably haven't heard of zarzuela. A close cousin of opera, the local musical theater genre has long been passed over in Madrid in favor of flamenco. Part of the problem is that performances are rare and not marketed to tourists looking to experience the city's cultural offerings. This is unfortunate, as this art form offers an interesting look at life in Spain's capital from the 19th to the mid-20th centuries.

However, it seems that this situation will change. In January, the Spanish government declared zarzuela part of the country's intangible cultural heritage, with the ultimate goal of gaining UNESCO recognition. This has the full support of Spanish opera star Placido Domingo, who is keen to establish a theater and academy dedicated to zarzuela.

Ismael Jordi, who performed with Domingo, shares his enthusiasm for this art: “I think the time is right for zarzuela to become part of our global cultural heritage. The Spaniards must make sure that our music gets the place it deserves.” In London's Covent Garden, the zarzuela was not like Luisa Fernanda Or Donna Francescetta is on the program at all. Why not? These are works fit to rival Tosca, Rigoletto or La Traviata.

Like many Spanish opera artists, Jordi and Domingo also perform zarzuela. However, not all singers are up to the challenge because it takes a special kind of talent to be able to do justice to both spoken theater scenes and musical numbers (unlike opera, which is primarily singing).

“It can be exhausting, at least for me, because you not only have to study vocal technique, you also have to study acting,” Jordi says. “You have to sing, you have to talk, and in some cases even dance.”

The history of zarzuela dates back to the 17th century, when it was created to entertain royalty in Spain. But its heyday came in the late nineteenth century, which sought to challenge the dominance of Italian and French opera. During this time, Spanish composers created works not for the upper classes but for the working classes, often the basis of work in Madrid.

One such pioneer was Francisco Barbieri, whose El Barberillo de Lavapies (The Little Barber of the Lavapiés) was established in 1874 in one of the most deprived areas of the city.

“Zarzuela has what opera doesn’t have, which is that there is an element of social criticism,” says Victor Pagan, editorial coordinator at La Zarzuela Theater in Madrid. “In the 19th century, composers, artists, and businessmen who put forward the idea of ​​making a zarzuela ran into trouble with the gentlemen in Parliament—political trouble.”

There were other issues to deal with as well. When the financial crisis hit the theater world at the end of the 19th century, tickets were difficult to sell. Here, resourceful undertakers saw an opportunity and created the jenero chico, a new form of one-act works lasting about an hour, which was much cheaper to stage. The idea revived the theater and gave birth to “La Gran Via,” a zarzuela that caused a sensation when it was first performed in 1886.

“It is about the new road that was to be built, which today is the famous Gran Via. On it, people comment that there should be less property speculation and more attention to citizens.” In other words, in the end, as it happens in the press, As happens today in cinema, there was indirect criticism of current events in the arts,” says baritone Marco Moncloa, who is also artistic director of the Amaya Theater in Madrid.

Zarzuela continued in popularity into the twentieth century. However, during the Franco era, composers were not free to express themselves. Following a long tradition, Pablo Sorozbal's Juan José (1968) focused on working-class characters. In the end, extreme poverty and sexual jealousy drive one of them to murder. Although the composer thought this was his best work, he was unable to see it performed due to censorship.

The Zarzuela Theater revived the work in 2016 and will show it again this month. “This underworld attracts people to the theater. This is where the whole story of Juan José unfolds. It's a very dark, very dramatic, very black production,” Pagan says.

Performances at the state-backed Teatro de la Zarzuela often take risks in an attempt to make zarzuela accessible to younger audiences, such as updating classics such as 1894's “La Verbena de la Paloma,” which is usually performed in period costumes.

“If the performers wear old-fashioned clothes, fewer people come to see them. But when the audience does [the performers] “Dressing and talking like them, it gets even better,” Pagan adds. “There's a great version of La Verbena de la Paloma on Teatro Zarzuela's YouTube page, made by young people for young people, and it's a lot of fun.”

Coming from the business side, Marco Moncloa is more traditional. “We have to be very careful about what we update. I'm not saying we have to take a classic approach to everything, but you have to understand what the author originally intended. For example, if you [stage] “La Verbena de la Paloma, which was social criticism in its day, and you put it in jeans, well, you've missed the point,” he says. “People want to be moved, don't they?”

Moncloa might be on to something. Until recently, apart from some concerts at the Madrid Opera House, a complete zarzuela has only been performed in the city at the Teatro La Zarzuela. “Normally, private theaters don't want zarzuelas… There are a lot of people,” says Moncloa, of the theaters' costs to hire an orchestra and a full company.

It was thought that audiences had dwindled to the point that zarzuela was no longer commercially viable. Moncloa proved this theory wrong by launching a zarzuela season at the Amaya Theater in October 2022 that ran until September 2023. “It was a success. Within 11 months, we performed 104 zarzuela shows. This year, the theater's Zarzuela (and Opera) Festival runs from May 29th to August 4th.

Teatro de la Zarzuela is also beginning a series of Madrid-based Zarzuela this spring. By coincidence or design, both theaters will be showing competing versions of the classic Donna Francisquita in June. At Teatro La Zarzuela, Ismael Jordi will reprise his role as the main protagonist, Fernando.

“There was a lot of controversy at the Teatro La Zarzuela when this production was first shown. The dialogues have changed a lot and so has the setting,” says Jordi. “But I had the opportunity to sing in the same production in Lucerne, and it was a smashing success. “I think the idea was to bring zarzuela to fans outside Spain, who don't have the same preconceived idea of ​​what it is as they do in Madrid.”

It remains to be seen whether the traditional version will prevail over the modern version on home soil.

Have you been to a zarzuela production in Madrid? Tell us about it in the comments. And follow the FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter

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