When Realism appeared sporadically on stage in
the late 19thcentury, it usually shed light on some
marginalised sector of society.The great novelist of
Realism, Benito Pérez Galdós, was also the key Realist
playwright. But most audiences demanded lighter fare.
They got it from José Echegaray, a playwright whose
hammy melodramas dominated late 19thcentury
theatre.El gran galeoto(1881), a story of gossip gone
wrong, was typical of the Echegaray comedies devoured
by the bourgeoisie.The popularity and frequency of
Echegaray’s plays, which have found him compared (with
undue flattery) to the Golden Age greats, squeezed more
cerebral theatre to the margins. But you can’t argue with
popular taste. Indeed, throughout the late 19thcentury,
the less challenging, more commercial end of theatrical
entertainment flourished. Initially, thegénero chico,
short, bawdy comedies about the lower reaches of
society, seduced the masses in one-hour stints while
later, in the early 20thcentury, cabaret, music hall and
titillating revues took the majority share of audiences.
In fairness, the wordplay and wit brought to thegénero
chicoby playwrights like Ricardo de la Vega were often
brilliant in their depiction of working-class colour.Challenging times:Generación del 98
While thegénero chicoignored Spain’s national
meltdown, theGeneración del 98introduced a more
questioning brand of theatre. Writers like the majestically
bearded Ramón del Valle-Inclán turned their hand
to the stage, in his case producing subversive, anti-
establishment plays that took an irreverent swipe at
Church and State.The most successful playwright of the
period, often associated with theGeneración del 98but
generally doing his own thing, was Jacinto Benavente.200- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
José of all trades
José Echegaray trained
as a mathematician and
engineer before landing
a role in government as
Spanish Minister of
Finance. Only then did he
turn his talents to writing
drama. He also helped
found the Bank of Spain.
In 1904 he became the
first Spaniard to win
the Nobel Prize for
Literature.
“IN RECOGNITION
OF THE NUMEROUS
AND BRILLIANT
COMPOSITIONS
WHICH, IN AN
INDIVIDUAL AND
ORIGINAL MANNER,
HAVE REVIVED THE
GREAT TRADITIONS
OF THE SPANISH
DRAMA.”
The Nobel Foundation
explain why José
Echegaray won a prize