Zarzuela in Spain is our hallmark, our lyric theatre. Currently, in the archives of the General Society of Authors, there are more than twenty thousand titles of zarzuelas waiting in oblivion. Zarzuela began in the 16th century with performances in the "theatre of the bramble" (teatro de la zarza), from which its name derives. In the Baroque period, it began to gain importance, but it was not until the 19th century that great composers of the time such as Barbieri, Chueca, Valverde, Bretón and Fernández Caballero revitalized this genre, sometimes disparagingly called “género chico” (small genre) because these zarzuelas lasted only one act. Spanish composers drew inspiration from everyday life to create works such as “La Gran Vía,” inspired by the innovation of a street in Madrid filled with theatres and cafés, or “El Barberillo de Lavapiés,” which recounts the adventures of a famous barber from this quintessential Madrid neighbourhood. Zarzuela music is full of joy and colour, with adornments so distinctly ours and so Spanish: Manila shawls, combs, mantillas, castanets, bullfighters' costumes, carnations...

Great Spanish opera singers have taken this music to every corner of the planet, and with this small sample, we want to offer the public a taste of the essence of Spain and its lyric theatre.

In this brief summary, we have included some of the most emblematic zarzuelas such as “La Verbena de la Paloma” and its famous seguidillas, “El Gato Montés” with the most popular bullfighting pasodoble, “No puede ser” a tenor romance, and ending with a pasodoble dedicated to the bullfighter “Marcial,” demonstrating the exuberance of sympathy and joy that Spain embodies.