This is the first comprehensive survey of seventeenth-century Spanish theatrical music to be written in any language. While particular aspects of the field have been explored before, no previous single study has succeeded in defining the place and function of music in the Spanish theatre, and the nature of the extant repertory.

This book explains the development of the various musical-theatrical genres of the period (such as the semi-opera, opera, court plays), details the origins of the zarzuela, and looks at the anomalous production of three operas during the seventeenth century. It is based on a thorough study of the primary sources (musical sources, text of plays, archival documents), and the author combines history of music, history of theatre, politics and literary and musical anlysis to build a complete
picture. In addition the book answers questions concerning the nature of the Spanish musical baroque and its relationship to European musical and theatrical developments. As such, it will be welcomed by musicologists, hispanists, students of Spanish culture, and historians of the arts and
ideas.