Opera in Madrid, 1937

Theatre, particularly musical theatre, was an integral part of life in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War, with performances of zarzuela and operetta taking place on an almost daily basis. However, the Spanish Opera series presented by the soprano Ángeles Ottein (1895-1981) and her company in mid-1937 was undoubtedly the most important season of its kind to be staged in the capital during the conflict. It was billed as a wholesome alternative to other more popular, risqué genres and endorsed by the upper echelons of the Republican government and the commander of the Central army himself, General José Miaja.

The Official Season of Spanish Opera, a series of six Spanish operas and a tonadilla (a short, satirical musical comedy), played to enthusiastic audiences at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in June and July 1937. It can be viewed as deliberate strategy to reinforce a sense of Republican pride and boasted an educative and democratizing mission to make art music more accessible to the people by delivering the text in the vernacular. 

Four operas were initially staged: Marina (Arrieta), Maruxa (Vives), La Dolores (Bretón) and Arrorró (Álvarez García), before the company’s agreement was renewed and a further three works were presented: the double bill pictured here, consisting of Bohemios (Vives) and the premiere of the tonadilla El pelele (Gómez), and finally Las golondrinas (Usandizaga).

Ángeles Ottein, born Ángeles Nieto Iglesias, was the older sister of the famous soprano Ofelia Nieto (Iglesias) (1900-1931). Ottein’s artistic name was an inversion of her surname with the addition of an extra ‘t’ to make it sound more Italian and, therefore, more operatic.  Ottein debuted in Marina in 1914 and performed widely throughout the country and abroad, touring South America and even appearing at the New York Metropolitan Opera. During the Civil War she participated in many benefit concerts to raise money for Republican war victims, most notably performing with the African American bass and civil-rights defender Paul Robeson (1898-1976) and the violinist Enrique Iniesta (1906-1969) in Madrid in January 1938.

Originally a zarzuela in one act, in 1920 Conrado del Campo converted Bohemios into an opera for the Teatro Real. While the costumes and sets for the 1937 performance drew some criticism, El pelele, set to music by Julio Gómez (1886-1973) in 1924-28, was warmly received. Premiered by María Gas in Madrid in 1925, Ottein herself had performed the work in Cádiz in April 1931, coinciding with the proclamation of the Republic, though this seems to have been its Madrid premiere.

Despite the season’s artistic success, financially the endeavour incurred a significant loss. Still, for it must have been priceless for the Republican authorities and audiences eager to re-experience—albeit a glimpse of—operatic life in Madrid in its former glory during the conflict.

YA