One of the reasons for this slow development was Spain's strong tradition of spoken drama, which made some critics believe that opera was a less worthy art form.
[2] In the mid-19th century, there was a renewed interest in the zarzuela in Spain, just as in other countries an increasing national awareness gave rise to distinctive styles to combat the pervading influence of Italian opera.
[1] Of particular note is composer Francisco Asenjo Barbieri who aimed to create a distinctively national operatic style which fused the traditional tonadilla and the old, aristocratic drama into a new form evolved from Italian comic opera.
Operetta-zarzuelas, most notably by Pablo Luna and Amadeo Vives, coexisted with revue-style farces such as Francisco Alonso's Las leandras (1931) and sentimental verismo dramas such as José Serrano's La dolorosa (1930).
In the 1930s Pablo Sorozábal attempted to restore the satirical thrust of the 1890s, but after the Spanish Civil War, the distinctive quality of zarzuela was lost in imitations of the Broadway musical.
Manuel de Falla's La vida breve and Enrique Granados's Goyescas are one-act works often heard and seen in Spain and abroad.
[3] Spanish-language operas written and widely-heard in the Americas and elsewhere include three by Alberto Ginastera - notably Bomarzo, (New York, 1967); and the Mexican composer Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas (Houston, 1996).