Agustín Moreto y Cavana
Encyclopedia
Agustín Moreto y Cavana (April, 1618, Madrid
- 28 October 1669), was a Spanish
Catholic priest, dramatist and playwright
.
He was of Italian descent. His exact date of birth is unknown, but he was baptized at Madrid
on 9 April 1618. He attended the University of Alcalá
de Henares between 1634 and 1637, studying logic and physics and receiving his Licentiate in December 1639. By 1643, he had been ordained a cleric in minor orders, with a benefice, and had also in all probability begun his dramatic writing. By the middle of the century he was already a recognized literary figure and a member of the Academia Castellana. He published the first volume of his comedies (called the Primera Parte) in 1654; El desdén, con el desdén (literally “Disdain with Disdain”), one of his most popular and famous comedies, first appeared in print in this edition.
He lived in Madrid till 1654, when he moved to Toledo
, and became chaplain to the primate Baltasar de Moscoso y Sandoval. Sometime after 1657, Agustín was ordained a priest, at which time he seems to have cut back on his dramatic activity. At the Archbishop's request, he entered the Brotherhood of San Pedro in 1659 in order to help administer the Hospital of San Nicolás. He lived in the Hospital grounds until his death ten years later, leaving unfinished his final work, a play about St. Rose of Lima. He was buried in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Toledo. His play, Santa Rosa, was completed by Pedro Francisco de Lanini
. The second and third volumes of his collected works appeared in 1676.
The most celebrated of his pieces is El Desdén con el Desdén, imitated by Molière
in La Princesse d'Elide, by Carlo Gozzi
in La principessa filosofa, and by Schreyvogel in Donna Diana. It is characteristic that four episodes in El Desdén con el Desdén are taken from four separate plays of Lope de Vega
's (La vengadora de las mujeres, Los milagros del desprecio, De corsario a corsario, and La Hermosa fea).
Moreto borrowed from Castro
, Tirso de Molina
and others to a considerable extent, but his adaptation shows great dexterity and charm.
wrote an opera Donna Diana in 1894, based on El Desdén con el Desdén. Its overture remains a popular concert piece. Carl Maria von Weber
also wrote incidental music
to the play in 1817.
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
- 28 October 1669), was a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Catholic priest, dramatist and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
He was of Italian descent. His exact date of birth is unknown, but he was baptized at Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
on 9 April 1618. He attended the University of Alcalá
University of Alcalá
The University of Alcalá is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km northeast of Madrid in Spain. Founded in 1499, it was moved in 1836 to Madrid. In 1977, the University was reopened in its same historical buildings...
de Henares between 1634 and 1637, studying logic and physics and receiving his Licentiate in December 1639. By 1643, he had been ordained a cleric in minor orders, with a benefice, and had also in all probability begun his dramatic writing. By the middle of the century he was already a recognized literary figure and a member of the Academia Castellana. He published the first volume of his comedies (called the Primera Parte) in 1654; El desdén, con el desdén (literally “Disdain with Disdain”), one of his most popular and famous comedies, first appeared in print in this edition.
He lived in Madrid till 1654, when he moved to Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, and became chaplain to the primate Baltasar de Moscoso y Sandoval. Sometime after 1657, Agustín was ordained a priest, at which time he seems to have cut back on his dramatic activity. At the Archbishop's request, he entered the Brotherhood of San Pedro in 1659 in order to help administer the Hospital of San Nicolás. He lived in the Hospital grounds until his death ten years later, leaving unfinished his final work, a play about St. Rose of Lima. He was buried in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Toledo. His play, Santa Rosa, was completed by Pedro Francisco de Lanini
Pedro Francisco de Lanini
Pedro Francisco de Lanini y Sagredo was a playwright of the Spanish Golden Age.Lanini completed the play, Santa Rosa, which had been left unfinished by Agustín Moreto y Cavana at his death....
. The second and third volumes of his collected works appeared in 1676.
The most celebrated of his pieces is El Desdén con el Desdén, imitated by Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
in La Princesse d'Elide, by Carlo Gozzi
Carlo Gozzi
Carlo, Count Gozzi was an Italian playwright.Born in Venice, he came from an old Venetian family from the Republic of Ragusa...
in La principessa filosofa, and by Schreyvogel in Donna Diana. It is characteristic that four episodes in El Desdén con el Desdén are taken from four separate plays of Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega
Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature...
's (La vengadora de las mujeres, Los milagros del desprecio, De corsario a corsario, and La Hermosa fea).
Moreto borrowed from Castro
Guillén de Castro y Bellvis
Guillén de Castro y Bellvis was a Spanish dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age.A Valencian by birth, he soon achieved a literary reputation. In 1591 he joined a local literary academy called the Nocturnos...
, Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
and others to a considerable extent, but his adaptation shows great dexterity and charm.
Musical adaptations
Emil von ReznicekEmil von Reznicek
Emil Nikolaus Freiherr von Reznicek was an Austrian late Romantic composer of Czech ancestry.-Life:...
wrote an opera Donna Diana in 1894, based on El Desdén con el Desdén. Its overture remains a popular concert piece. Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
also wrote incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
to the play in 1817.