Clementina (zarzuela)

Clementina, although wrongly and popularly known as La Clementina,[1] is a zarzuela in two acts by Luigi Boccherini. The Spanish-language libretto was by Ramón de la Cruz. It premiered at the end of 1786 at the Palace Puerta de la Vega, Madrid.

Clementina is the only complete stage work by Boccherini. It was written when the zarzuela was close to the end of its period of greatest success, before this genre, at the beginning of the 19th century, was nearly forgotten in favour of the Italian opera. The librettist of Clementina, Ramón de la Cruz, had attempted to introduce innovations in the zarzuela, using folk elements instead of the more usual mythological subjects.[2] The music is predominantly cheerful and turned towards comical sides, with pathetic fragments when it tries to describe unrequited love.

This work was written on commission of the Duchess-Countess of Osuna-Benavente, a maecenas lover of music and arts who owned a private orchestra, under whose protection De La Cruz worked. Clementina premiered in Madrid in the palace of the Countess, probably performed by amateur singers.[2] Boccherini composed the music in less than one month.[3] A further performance of Clementina took place in 1799, again in Madrid, in the Coliseo de los Caños del Peral, this time with very known artists: Catalina Tordesillas (Clementina), Manuela Monteis (Damiana), Joaquina Arteaga (Narcisa), Lorenza Correa (Cristeta), Vicente Sanchez (Don Urbano) e Manuel Garcia Parra (Don Lazzaro).[2]

In modern times, Clementina was revived in Venice (La Fenice, 18 September 1951[4]), in Munich (Cuvilliés Theatre, 1960[4]) and in Aranjuez (Spain). A further performance was produced in Lucca in 2005.[5]