Zarzuela in Bilbao

At Instituto Hemingway we encourage our students to find out more about Spanish culture. We are therefore inviting them to attend a zarzuela performance on the 28th of January 2009. We will meet at the Institute at 7.30pm. The show will take place at the Arriaga theatre, which is just a five minute walk from the Institute.

The Arriaga theatre is one of the most important buildings in Bilbao. It was inspired by the Paris Opera House and opened in 1890. It was designed by the architects Joaquin Rucoba and Octavio de Toledo. The building is named after the composer Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, whose bust looks over the main staircase. The façade is an eclectic style. The theatre offers a year-round program of different artistic activities, such as theatre, opera, ballet, concerts, and other cultural events.

Zarzuela is the name given to a type of comic Spanish opera or operetta, which emerged in the mid-17th century, but didn’t come to prominence until two centuries later. The musical genre represents Spain’s most important contribution to lyrical theatre, which has a history almost as long and varied as that of its older sister, opera. It is a particular collection of ‘learned’ and popular singing, dance and spoken sections. At first, it was a type of theatre which mixed song and dance, just as some of Molière’s works mixed theatre and ballet. Since the late 1970s, zarzuela has seen a resurgence of interest. All over Europe, the demand for lyrical shows has been growing, particularly among young people.

I am very much looking forward to going a zarzuela for the first time! I have never been to the Arriaga theatre and I have heard great things from other students. Come with us!

Carine Beraudier,
French student at the Institute