TO THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHER MAY 19, 1835-JUNE 5, 1899 Death is the end of life; ah, why Should life all labour be? Let us alone. Time driveth onward fast, Tennyson. PREFACE LITTLE more than a decade has elapsed since the attention of scholars has again been directed to the history of the Spanish stage, and their labors have been rewarded with most unexpected success. While these results have been due to the work of a number of investigators-Sanchez-Arjona, Cotarelo, Restori, and others-it is to the late Dr. Cristóbal Pérez Pastor's patient and unwearying researches that we are especially indebted. The mass of material which he has brought to light will always form the foundation upon which others must build. For nearly a century, or since the appearance of Pellicer's work upon the Spanish stage in 1804 (excepting the very important matter contributed by Schack in the Nachträge to his Geschichte der dramatischen Literatur und Kunst in Spanien, 1854), little of importance had been done by scholars in this field until very recent times. About ten years ago Pérez Pastor began investigations in the Archives of Madrid and other Spanish cities that have yielded the richest results, and to these the present volume is greatly indebted. The labors of this distinguished investigator have, moreover, shown that the first volume of Pellicer's Tratado Historico sobre el Origen y Progresos de la Comedia y del Histrionismo en España, Madrid, 1804, is, upon the whole, trustworthy as far as it goes, and, since a number of documents to which Pellicer had access seem to have disappeared, his work is still valuable. It was with the purpose of utilizing the latest researches of the scholars above mentioned, and such other information as has come to my knowledge, that the present account of the Spanish stage was undertaken. The amount of material for such a work is now large. I have not attempted to chronicle every known fact, and whether I have always chosen what is most important, must be left for others to judge. Frequent references will be found in the course of the succeeding pages to the stage history of other countries, especially of England and France, with the view of throwing some light upon the points under discussion. They may, it is hoped, be not unwelcome to the reader. The "List of Spanish Actors and Actresses," which originally appeared in the Revue Hispanique, Tome XVI, 1907, is now reprinted in a revised and corrected form. While it is necessarily incomplete, and while further researches will undoubtedly add many a detail, the data here collected may render some service pending the appearance of a more satisfactory list, compiled by one to whom all the sources are accessible. H. A. R. CONTENTS The corrales of Madrid. The Corral de la Pacheca. The Corral de Burguillos. The Corral de Puente. The founda- The corrales of Seville. Las Atarazanas. La Alcoba. San Music in the corrales. Dancing. Spectators on the stage. |