Pablo Luna

Pablo Luna Carné (May 21, 1879 Alhama de Aragón – January 28, 1942 Madrid) was a Spanish composer. His best-known composition is the aria "De España vengo" from the zarzuela El niño judío.

Pablo Luna received his first lessons in music theory from an organist at a church in his birthplace, Alhama de Aragón. His father, Pablo Luna Ferrer, who was a member of the Civil Guard, had moved with his family to the valley of the Ebro. He studied harmony with Teodoro Ballo and composition with Miguel Arnaudas. As a violinist, Luna would make money in hotels, cafes, churches and a small chamber orchestra, as well as in theaters. In 1903 he wrote his first operetta, Lolilla, la Petenera which was followed in 1904 by La Escalera de los Duendes (The Ladder of the Elves).

In 1905, he moved to Madrid to learn more about the world of zarzuela. In particular, he contacted Ruperto Chapí, the second director of the Teatro de la Zarzuela, and Tomás Barrera Saavedra, a later director of the orchestra, Jerónimo Giménez y Bellido and others. He also knew the librettist Luis Pascual Frutos, who wrote the libretto for the operetta Mussetta, which premiered successfully in 1908. This operetta was followed by many other stage works.

In Zaragoza premiered with great success 11 March 1911 his zarzuela Molinos de viento (Windmills). Luna was the same who led the orchestra on the night of reopening of the Teatro de la Zarzuela, after a fire, in 1914. In 1918, he released one of his greatest works, El niño Judío (The Jewish Boy), an exponent of the new style full of exoticism and sophistication. In March 1925 a grand concert was given in his honor and he was awarded the gold medal of the city of Zaragoza. He closed the trilogy of his three most successful zarzuelas with Benamor (1928).

He also wrote eleven screenplays under the pseudonym García Sandoval. Pablo Luna has various streets named after him, and has a school with his name in Alhama de Aragón (Zaragoza).

Revistas

Operetas

Zarzuelas

Other theatrical works

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