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When La Tempranica by librettist Julián Romea and composer Gerónimo Giménez premières in the Teatro de la Zarzuela on September 19, 1900, the "género chico," name assigned to those relatively brief operetta-type works composed of interpolations of straight dialogue and a simple action filled with popular Spanish flavor, was in its apogee (Plaza 23). It had, in short, surpassed the popularity of the "género grande," a broad categorization which refers to three act zarzuelas, sung throughout, and stylistically operatic (Zurita 1 1). Out of the works representative of the "género chico," La Tempranica deserves attention as a unique piece not only since it is among the first Spanish manifestations of verismo, but also because instead of merely being represented peripherally and in passing, as is the case of other zarzuelas, the figure of the gypsy is the central character. In a subgenre in which light themes and plots predominated, both music and libretto reveal relatively serious, dark, and sentimental resonances that emit conflicting overtones of an idealized yet marginal view of the gypsy. This essay explores some of the ways in which music and text in La Tempranica depict constructions of gypsy identity through Western notions of Flamenco culture, reflecting the process of what Edward Said denominated as Orientalism (Said 3).
The period between 1880 to the opening of La Tempranica belongs to the "género chico" due in part to economic reasons. In order to accommodate a growing audience performances followed the "funciones por horas" design, which made them more accessible to a public with lower purchasing power (Chart 433). This period is highlighted by stand outs such as La verbena de la paloma (1 894), Agua azucarillos y aguarthente (1897), La revoltosa (1897), and Gigantes y cabezudos (1898), among many others. In these works, the essence of the "género chico" resides in typical period Spanish humor and argot with interpolations of musical numbers involving dances such as jotas, mazurcas, pasodobles, and seguidillas.
Although La Tempranica possesses some typical characteristics of the genre - one act (divided in three tableaus), a simple plot filled with Spanish national music, dance and gypsy argot - there are also some nuances, particularly, because the work crosses the portal into Italian verismo, a fundamental characteristic of zarzuelas produced between...