La púrpura de la rosa
| Purpura de la rosa | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco | |
Frontispiece from the original score
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| Librettist | Pedro Calderón de la Barca |
| Language | Spanish |
| Based on | Ovid's tale of Venus and Adonis |
| Premiere | 19 October 1701 Palace of the Viceroy, Lima |
La púrpura de la rosa (The Blood of the Rose) is an opera in one act, composed by Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco to a Spanish libretto by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, the last great writer of the Spanish Golden Age.
It is the first known opera to be composed and performed in the Americas and is Torrejón y Velasco's only surviving opera. La púrpura de la rosa was first performed in Lima in 1701 to celebrate the 18th birthday of Philip V and the first anniversary of his succession to the Spanish throne. The libretto, in polymetric verse and filled with lush mythological imagery, is a re-telling of the Ovidian tale of the loves of Venus and Adonis. Torrejón y Velasco was not the first to use Calderón's libretto. Juan Hidalgo de Polanco, composer and master of music at the court of Madrid, had previously used the text for a theatrical pageant in honor of the marriage of Louis XIV and Maria Teresa of Spain in 1660. With its erotic poetry and music, the Hidalgo version was very popular at the Spanish court and had several revivals.
The Viceroy of Peru, , instructed Torrejón to compose a piece of dramatic music for the colony's celebration of King Philip V's 18th birthday and the first anniversary of his succession to the throne. La púrpura de la rosa was chosen as the subject. The work premiered on 19 October 1701 in the Palace of the Viceroy, Lima. The opera was revived in 1707, 1708, and 1731 in Peru and somewhat later in Mexico and has had several performances in modern times.
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