This habit earned him the scathing criticism of people like Antonio Peña y Goñi who, nevertheless, praised the bright, sensual and cheerful ease with which Oudrid used to bring to life the true meaning of the Spanish song.

[2] Despite his manifested precociousness, and even without knowing the most basic rules of harmony, he began arranging some of Haydn and Mozart's musical compositions for flute, clarion, and cornet,[4] once he was already becoming familiar with some wind instruments such as the clarinet, horn, and oboe, which he learned to play on his own.

In 1847, Oudrid began working in the field of stage music as composer, presenting his Andalusian zarzuela La Venta del Puerto o Juanillo El Contrabandista, with lyrics by Mariano Fernandez.

[11] In 1848, he organized with Rafael Hernando the premiere of El Ensayo de una Ópera, a zarzuela-parody based on the Italian operetta La Prova di una Ópera Seria by Giuseppe Mazza, on the rehearsal of an opera entitled Las Sacerdotisas del Sol o Los Españoles en el Otro Mundo,[12] the success of which marked the beginning of a movement for re-establishment of the modern zarzuela, helping him lead the renewal of the genre.

[12] The importance of this work is that it was a major breakthrough in the musical context, leaving local themes behind and widening the expressive and artistic ambition of the Spanish theatrical scenario.

A year later, Hernando Rafael Palomar, Francisco Asenjo Barbieri and Joaquín Gaztambide Garbayo collaborated with him on Escenas de Chamberí,[5] which premiered at Teatro Variedades, in Madrid, on 19 November.

This work was somehow important for Oudrid in which it led to the founding of the Sociedad Artística Musical on 14 September 1851,[11] together with composers Gaztambide, Hernando, Barbieri, Inzenga, the poet José de Olona and baritone Francisco Salas,[13] with whom the profits would be divided in equal parts.

For this purpose, they rent the Teatro del Circo under the assistance of Francisco de las Rivas, an important banker,[14] and pledged to write three works per season, one in two acts and others in three or more.

[11] The crowning of this society came on the night of 6 October with the premiere of the three-act zarzuela Jugar con fuego by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri,[15] with text provided by Domingo Ventura de la Vega.

In 1860, he was appointed director of the orchestra of Teatro del Circo,[6] where the one-act musical-scherzo El Amor por los Balcones, written in partnership with José Inzenga Castellanos, with text by Ramón de Navarete and Fernández Landa staged with great success.