Manuel Penella

Manuel Penella Moreno (31 July 1880 in Valencia – 14 January 1939 in Cuernavaca) was a Spanish composer. His father was the composer Manuel Penella Raga. His daughter Magdalena Penella Silva married the politician Ramón Ruiz Alonso; through her, he was the grandfather of actresses Emma Penella, Elisa Montés and Terele Pávez. Although his most popular work at home and abroad is the oft-revived opera española El gato montés (a special favourite of Plácido Domingo, who revived it several times and recorded it for Deutsche Grammophon), several of his other works still enjoy popularity in Spain and the Spanish-speaking world, notably the chamber opera Don Gil de Alcalá (scored in Mexican style for strings and harp), some of his revues and the ambitious, late zarzuela La malquerida (1935), based on the masterpiece by Jacinto Benavente. Works (not exhaustive) Operas * 1893 El queso de bola, sainete lírico, Valencia * 1906 Las niñas alegres, entremés lírico, Barcelona * 1907 Amor ciego, zarzuela * 1907 El dinero, sainete lírico, Barcelona * 1907 El día de reyes “apropósito en un acto” * 1908 El padre cura, entremés lírico, Valencia * 1908 La perra chica, parody of La Patria chica by Rupert