Rafael Palau León

Composer, pianist, organist and orchestra director. He was a director of Cuban bufo theater orchestras.

He was born in Cataluña, Spain and died in La Habana.

He came to Cuba with his father at a very young age and settled in the city of Camagüey, Cuba. He began his studies in his native city with Rafael Palau March. His father, although a musician, was dedicated to commerce, but offered his son the first theoretical elements of music.

In 1869 he was transferred to La Habana, where he was a student of Juan Luna for organ, and of José Manuel Jiménez (Lico), Carlos Anckermann, Ignacio Cervantes and Tomás de la Rosa.

In the capital he was a member of the Cathedral choir, which was directed by Juan Luna; he was concertmaster violin of the orchestra of the Italian Opera Company of Andrés Antón, 1883, which was presented at the Teatro Tacón (now Gran Teatro de La Habana), directed by Fernando Rachele, which staged "La favorita" by Gaetano Donizetti; in which Libia Drog, María Bianchi Fioro, Ersilia Malvezzi-Stella, Raniero Baragli and Fernando Michelena performed; that same year he directed "La traviata" by Giuseppe Verdi.

He was director of the lyric company and bufo theater of La Habana, and organist of the cathedral of that city. His last performances were made at the head of a zarzuela company that performed in Santiago de Cuba. He wrote for the stage zarzuelas, comedies, sainetes, as well as pieces for piano, songs and works of religious nature.

He had connections with activities for the independence of the island. Among his works is the song "La palma," which achieved the status of a symbol among Cuban revolutionaries and was a song for freedom.

Works

Juguete
Frégoli

Revista
El dorado
En la punta
Enseñanza del porvenir
Flores y perlas
La manta de Biarato
Los infantes urbanos
Vida nueva
Viva Cuba

Sainete
De Guanabacoa a La Habana
Del Malecón a Atarés
El dictador
En la loma del Ángel o La fiesta de San Rafael
La brujería
La danza del vientre
La noche de San Juan
María Belén o La fiesta del matadero

Zarzuela
A casarse o a morir
A Saint Louis!
Arriba los cubanos
Artilleros y colegiales
Boda, concierto y baile
Del infierno a la gloria
Don Cornelio el cazador
El baúl elástico
El brujo
El castillo encontrado
El cierre de la puerta
El 17 de mayo o La hecatombe de los bomberos
El gusto de Ibarra
El mundo al revés
Farruco y Pachin
Fausto y Mefistófeles
Hortensia
Il tenore
Ku ku
La baronesa de la cáscara
La casa de Pepilla
La cuestión del mono
La evacuación de Bayamo
La fiesta de San Lázaro
La gran hembra
La guerra civil
La siembra del tabaco
Las esgrimistas
Las mulatas
Lo que pasó en la Indo-China
Los efectos de un duelo
Los enamorados bobos
Los mataperros
Los tabaqueros
Plaga de sobrinos
Política doméstica
Se me fue mi mujer.

Source: EcuRed