“El primer poema que de esta clase se consagra en este Reino al origen de nuestra felicidad”: La entrada de Baco en Tebas (1705), a New Source for the Study of Lyric Theatre in Valencia at the Beginning of the 18th Century

Abstract

Among the holdings of the British Library (GB-Lbl, General Reference Collection 11728.i.17.(12.)) and the Biblioteca Nacional de España (E-Mn, T/5021) there is a libretto of La entrada de Baco en Tebas, a "comedia de musica" ["comedy in music"] in two acts written by Jaime (Jayme, as it appears on the cover) Valenciano de Mendiolaza and staged on February 6th 1705. Although this source is only an individual contribution to the history of lyric theatre in Valencia during the 18th century, the discovery of the libretto reveals important details of what can be considered the first known sample of lyric theatre in the city. In this text we will study the circumstances that motivated the composition of the play, paying special attention to its musical content and, finally, contextualizing its representation in the Valencian cultural life of the early 18th century.