Spanish Golden Age theatre
[1] Spain emerged as a European power after it was unified by the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in 1469 and then claimed for Christianity at the Siege of Granada in 1492.
[2] The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw a monumental increase in the production of live theatre as well as in the importance of the arts within Spanish society.
[3] The volume and variety of Spanish plays during the Golden Age was unprecedented in the history of world theatre, surpassing even the dramatic production of the English Renaissance by a factor of at least four.
The vast majority of plays have remained virtually untouched, in terms of both production and scholarly analysis, since the seventeenth century.
[7] Theatre was used as a metaphor for life, and honor was therefore represented in a number of ways on stage, for example, reputation, and juxtaposed against disillusionment and hypocrisy.
Right versus wrong is a common theme in plays from this period and Lope de Vega himself believed that everyone reacts to honor.
[2] In 1615, Madrid assumed control and hired companies made up of actor-managers (autores), actors, and apprentices, subject to government rules.
[2] These companies were licensed by the Royal Council and highly paid to perform Autos Sacramentales both in court and at public theatres.
After a period of time, awnings were rigged over the seating, and, eventually, the addition of a permanent roof made it an indoor theatre.
[2] Machines that simulated wind and the sounds of thunder (created with metal sheets or dropping planks of wood), rain (similar to a large rainstick, and a swelling ocean were quite common and delighted theatregoers of this time.
As well, Spain pioneered a three-act model for plays instead of the classic five acts,[7] allowed women on stage,[2] and had an organized and efficient system of actor contracts, travel stipends, licenses, and booking.
Most importantly, Spanish Golden Age theatre produced wonderful politically and philosophically allegorical plays such as Calderon's Life is a Dream, and Lope de Vega's Fuente Ovejuna, that spoke specifically to the audience of the time.
