"El lindo don Diego" de Agustín Moreto y el canon dramático español

Abstract

References and connections to the dramaturgical activity of Agustín Moreto (1618-1669) have generally been less than favorable. The use of ars combinatoria as an essential method of his creative work has often earned him severe criticism. However, this has not prevented his works from being staged with considerable success over the last three centuries. This paper is a reflection on this disagreement between critics and audiences, on the ability of these texts to survive both changes in fashion and the sensibilities of the audience, as well as the static evaluative parameters prevalent until recently. This paper also considers how the canon is occasionally established contrary to critical opinion. In the second part of the essay, I take advantage of the Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico's recent staging of El lindo don Diego, one of Moreto's most emblematic works, to converse with its director, Carles Alfaro, about the text, its present validity, its characters, and other issues pertinent to its staging.