Amadeu Vives i Roig

Amadeu Vives i Roig (Catalan pronunciation: [əməˈðew ˈβiβəz i ˈrɔtʃ]; 18 November 1871 – 2 December 1932) was a Spanish musical composer, creator of over a hundred stage works.

He is best known for Doña Francisquita, which Christopher Webber has praised for its "easy lyricism, fluent orchestration and colourful evocation of 19th Century Madrid—not to mention its memorable vocal and choral writing", and characterizes as "without doubt the best known and loved of all his works, one of the few zarzuelas which has 'travelled' abroad" .

He studied in Barcelona under José Ribera, and in 1891 helped found the influential Orfeó Català choral society, a key element in the Catalan musical renaissance.

[1] Before turning to zarzuela, Vives wrote a successful Catalan-language stage play, Jo no sabia que el món era així ("I didn't know the world was like this", 1929) and an ambitious four-act opera Artús (1897, Barcelona) based on Sir Walter Scott.

His last works, the two-act zarzuelas Los flamencos (1928) and Noche de verbena (1929) "have not proved so durable" (Webber); the comedia lírica Talismán (1932) was a critical success, but a commercial failure.

Bust of Amadeu Vives at the Palau de la Música Catalana
Amadeu Vives seen by Ramon Casas ( MNAC ).