Ángel de Saavedra

Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas (1791-1865) was a Spanish poet and dramatist, best known for his Don Álvaro; o, La fuerza del sino (1835), the first romantic success in the Spanish theater. This play was used as the basis of Francesco Maria Piave's libretto for Verdi's opera La forza del destino (1862).

In 1823, Rivas was condemned to death for his liberal views and fled to England. After the death of Ferdinand VII in 1833, he returned to Spain, having inherited his title and fortune. He became ambassador to Naples and France and president of the Real Academia Española.

In literature, Rivas was a champion of Spanish romanticism. Don Álvaro, which emerged from heated literary controversy, premiered in Madrid in 1835. As a poet, Rivas's best-known work is Romances históricos (1841), adaptions of popular legends in ballad form.

External link

• Don Alvaro, or the Force of Fate (description of English translation by Robert G. Trimble)