Ruperto

Ruperto Chapí Lorente

Villena , 27 March 1851
Madrid , 25 March 1909

Composer

He grew up surrounded by the musical scene of bands of Valencian Community. He soon stood out as a cornet player and was known by the nickname "the boy from Villena". At the age of fifteen he became conductor of the Banda de Música de Villena and a year later, he composed his first zarzuela La estrella del bosque. He moved to Madrid to study at the Conservatory with Emilio Arrieta. Thanks to his teacher, he was able to premiere Las naves de Cortés (1874)—an opera in one act—at the Teatro Real. This premiere enabled him to receive a scholarship to study in Rome and later in Milan and Paris. During this time, he did never stopped composing. In 1880 he premiered the zarzuelas Música clásica and La tempestad led him to become one of the leading zarzuela composers of hit time, especially within the "género chico". He composed celebrated zarzuelas such as La revoltosa (1897) or El tambor de granaderos (1894). Despite his specialization, Chapí composed also symphonic and chamber music, as well as opera. He was one of the founders of the Sociedad General de Autores de España (SGAE)