Aniceto Ortega
Encyclopedia
Aniceto de los Dolores Luis Gonzaga Ortega del Villar (17 April 1825 – 17 November 1875) was a Mexican
physician, composer, and pianist. Although he had a distinguished career as a physician and surgeon, he is also remembered today for his 1871 opera Guatimotzin
, one of the earliest Mexican operas to use a native subject.
, on 17 April 1825, the second of three sons born to Francisco Ortega and MarÍa Josefa del Villar. His father was a statesman active in the Mexican independence movement and a prominent literary figure, who wrote the patriotic verse drama México libre (Free Mexico). Both Ancieto and his older brother, Francisco, studied medicine at the Escuela Nacional de Medicina
in Mexico City
. There he specialised in obstetrics
and gynaecology
and received his degree in 1845. After further medical studies in Paris
, he went on to become a professor at the medical school in Mexico City and was one of the founders (and later Director) of Mexico's first hospital for women and children, the Casa de Maternidad e Infancia.
Ortega also had a parallel career as a musician. His first composition the Marcha Zaragoza (1862), was named for the Mexican patriot and general, Ignacio Zaragoza
, and became Mexico's second national anthem. He composed two other marches
, Potosina and Republicana and several piano pieces, most notably Invocación a Beethoven, first performed in 1867. In 1866, he became one of the founders of the Sociedad Filarmónica Mexicana (Mexican Philharmonic Society) which played a crucial role in the establishment of Mexico's National Conservatory of Music. His opera, Guatimotzin
, a romanticised account of the defense of Mexico by its last Aztec
emperor, Cuauhtémoc
, was one of the earliest Mexican operas to use a native subject. Guatimotzin premiered on 13 September 1871 at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Mexico City, with Ángela Peralta
and Enrico Tamberlik
in the leading roles.
Aniceto Ortega died at the age of 50 on 17 November 1875 in Mexico City and was buried in the chapel of the Escuela Nacional de Medicina. The central plaza in Pachuca, Hidalgo, bears his name.
Waltzes
Marches
Opera
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
physician, composer, and pianist. Although he had a distinguished career as a physician and surgeon, he is also remembered today for his 1871 opera Guatimotzin
Guatimotzin
Guatimotzin is an opera in one act and nine scenes composed by Aniceto Ortega del Villar to a libretto in Spanish by José Tomás de Cuéllar. It premiered on 13 September 1871 at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Mexico City. Described as an episodio musical , its plot is based on the defense of Mexico by...
, one of the earliest Mexican operas to use a native subject.
Biography
Aniceto Ortega was born in Tulancingo, HidalgoTulancingo, Hidalgo
Tulancingo is the second-largest city in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the southeastern part of the state and also forms one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, as well as the Archdiocese of Tulancingo...
, on 17 April 1825, the second of three sons born to Francisco Ortega and MarÍa Josefa del Villar. His father was a statesman active in the Mexican independence movement and a prominent literary figure, who wrote the patriotic verse drama México libre (Free Mexico). Both Ancieto and his older brother, Francisco, studied medicine at the Escuela Nacional de Medicina
Faculty of Medicine (UNAM)
The UNAM Faculty of Medicine is the responsible of imparting studies of medicine in the UNAM, it holds Undergraduate and Graduate studies, the later ones being some of them joint teaching with some other faculties, most commonly the Faculty of Science...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. There he specialised in obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
and gynaecology
Gynaecology
Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...
and received his degree in 1845. After further medical studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he went on to become a professor at the medical school in Mexico City and was one of the founders (and later Director) of Mexico's first hospital for women and children, the Casa de Maternidad e Infancia.
Ortega also had a parallel career as a musician. His first composition the Marcha Zaragoza (1862), was named for the Mexican patriot and general, Ignacio Zaragoza
Ignacio Zaragoza
Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín was a general in the Mexican army, best known for defeating invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 ....
, and became Mexico's second national anthem. He composed two other marches
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
, Potosina and Republicana and several piano pieces, most notably Invocación a Beethoven, first performed in 1867. In 1866, he became one of the founders of the Sociedad Filarmónica Mexicana (Mexican Philharmonic Society) which played a crucial role in the establishment of Mexico's National Conservatory of Music. His opera, Guatimotzin
Guatimotzin
Guatimotzin is an opera in one act and nine scenes composed by Aniceto Ortega del Villar to a libretto in Spanish by José Tomás de Cuéllar. It premiered on 13 September 1871 at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Mexico City. Described as an episodio musical , its plot is based on the defense of Mexico by...
, a romanticised account of the defense of Mexico by its last Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
emperor, Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc was the Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521...
, was one of the earliest Mexican operas to use a native subject. Guatimotzin premiered on 13 September 1871 at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Mexico City, with Ángela Peralta
Ángela Peralta
Ángela Peralta was an operatic soprano of international fame and a leading figure in the operatic life of 19th century Mexico...
and Enrico Tamberlik
Enrico Tamberlik
Enrico Tamberlik was an Italian tenor who sang to great acclaim at Europe and America's leading opera venues. He excelled in the heroic roles of the Italian and French repertories and was renowned for his powerful declamation and clarion high notes.-Career:Born in Rome, some sources claim that...
in the leading roles.
Aniceto Ortega died at the age of 50 on 17 November 1875 in Mexico City and was buried in the chapel of the Escuela Nacional de Medicina. The central plaza in Pachuca, Hidalgo, bears his name.
Partial list of works
Piano- Invocación a Beethoven
- Elegía, amor e inocencia
- Romanza sin palabras
- El canto de la huilota
- Recuerdo de amistad (dedicated to the Mexican virtuouso pianist and composer, Tomás León)
Waltzes
- Enriqueta (waltzWaltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
-jarabeJarabeThe jarabe is one of the most traditional song forms of the mariachi genre. In the Spanish language, jarabe literally means syrup, which probably refers to the mixture of meters within one jarabe ....
) - Brillante
Marches
- Zaragoza
- Potosina
- Republicana
Opera
- Guatimotzin (in 9 scenes to a librettoLibrettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by José Cuellar)
Sources
- Elías, Roberto Uribe, La cirugía mexicana en ginecología y obstetricia durante el siglo XIX, Cirugía y Cirujanos, Vol. 75, No. 2, March-April 2007, pp. 139-144 (accessed 26 March 2010, in Spanish)
- Grout, Donald Jay and Williams, Hermine Weigel, A short history of opera, Columbia University Press, 2003. ISBN 0231119585
- Sierra, Justo (ed.), "Francisco Ortega", Antología del Centenario (originally published in 1910), UNAMUnamUNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
, 1985, pp. 140-141. ISBN 9688375136 (in Spanish) - Sosa, José Octavio, "Ortega, Aniceto", Diccionario de la Ópera Mexicana, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2005 (reprinted on operacalli.com with permission of the author) (accessed 26 March 2010, in Spanish)
- Velázquez, Jorge, El pianismo mexicano del siglo XIX, Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Vol. XIII, No. 50, 1982, pp. 205-240 (accessed 26 March 2010, in Spanish)
External links
- Audio file: Marcha Zaragoza by Aniceto Ortega de Villar played by the Orquesta Clásica de México, conducted by Carlos Esteva