Conrado del Campo (1878-1973) and his conception of the lyric drama in "The end of Don Álvaro" (1910)

Abstract

The present paper is focused on one of the issues that most clearly show the fruitful relationship that can exist between romantic drama and lyric theater, when the dramatic text is the source of inspiration for both the libretto and the score of a homonymous opera. Such is the case of the drama of the Duke of Rivas, Don Alvaro or the force of fate (1835) and the opera composed by Conrado del Campo, The end of Don Alvaro (1910). Conrado del Campo, one of the most important Spanish opera composers of the early twentieth century, was able to discover in the musical elements existing in the dramatic text of D. Ángel Saavedra, the germ of his first opera. Thus, through the intelligent combination of Wagnerian musical postulates with the passion ingredients of late-Romantic drama, he illuminated his own model of national opera, always linked to the singular elements of Spanish folklore.

Keywords

• conrado del campo
• drama romántico
• teatro lírico
• ópera nacional