Rafael Alberti - Other Works

Other Works

Alberti was not especially interested in writing for the theatre but he managed to make a big impact with at least two plays. The first was one of the outputs of his breakdown at the end of the 20s, El hombre deshabitado ('The Empty Man', 1930). This is like a modern auto sacramental with five characters: Man with his Five Senses in allegorical reincarnation, The Maker, The Wife of Man, and Temptation, the last-named a woman who plots the downfall of both protagonists in complicity with the Senses. On the opening night, February 26, 1931, it met with a stormy reception from a sharply polarised audience.

Shortly afterwards, he began to write a ballad on the life of Fermín Galán, an army captain who had tried to launch a coup to establish a Spanish Republic in December 1930. He was executed by firing-squad. Alberti converted the ballad into a play which was performed during June 1931, again to sharply mixed reactions.

His other plays did not achieve such fame or notoriety. They include: De un momento a otro ('From One Moment to Another', 1938–39), El trébol florido ('Clover', 1940), El adefesio ('The Disaster', 1944) and Noche de guerra en el Museo del Prado ('A Night of War in the Prado Museum', 1956), as well as adaptions and other short pieces.