Author: Bonilla, José María

Title: Don Álvaro de Luna, condestable de Castilla

Genre: theater

Age: Contemporary Age

Description: Published in Poesías de José María Bonilla, Valencia, Imprenta de Lluch, 1840. The play, in prose and verse, was published in 1838 in Valencia, the city in which the Teatro Principal premiered it. It is published in the volume Poesías de José María Bonilla in Valencia, Imprenta de Lluch, in 1840. In 1856 it was published again (La España Dramática; Madrid, Imprenta de González) and the premiere of the drama was reported at the La Cruz theatre. The historical facts that are presented revolve around the courtly plot to overthrow Luna. The main characters correspond to well-known historical figures: Don Álvaro de Luna, King Juan II, Queen Isabel, Don Alonso de Vivero, Haro, Plasencia, the Marquis of Santillana, Bishop Don Alonso, and Don Juan, probably Juan de Velázquez, Castile's judge who condemns Luna and who, at the end of Bonilla's play, resigns from his post because of the injustice that has just been committed. The most important dramatic conflict is that between Álvaro and Queen Isabel of Portugal, which is increased by the evil of the noble enemies of the constable to end his life.

Key characters: Álvaro de Luna. Isabel de Portugal. Juan II. Ribadeo. Plasencia. Haro. Marqué de Santillana. Alonso Fonseca. Alonso de Vivero. Juan Rodríguez de Salamanca. Diego Gotor.

Resources:

• • • • • Text (Google Books).
        • Studies:
          • Placín Alonso, Leticia (2017a), “La exaltada teatralidad romántica de Don Álvaro de Luna, condestable de Castilla (1838), de José María Bonilla”, Hesperia: Anuario de Filología Hispánica, 20-2: 123-137.
          • Placín Alonso, Leticia (2017b), “Un romántico comprometido: José María Bonilla y Don Álvaro de Luna, condestable de Castilla“, Lectura y Signo: revista de literatura, 12: 189-204.
          • Ribao Pereira, Montserrat (2017a), “¿Y si el corazón miente? Los (falsos) poetas cortesanos de Juan II vistos por los dramaturgos románticos”, en Antonella Cancellier et al., eds., El corazón es centro. Narraciones, representaciones y metáforas del corazón en el mundo hispánico, Padua, CLEUP, 385-400.
        • Bibliography.
        • Media:
          • Placín Alonso, Leticia. Don Álvaro de Luna, condestable de Castilla.
          • Ribao Pereira, Montserrat.  The poets of Juan II's time in 19th-century theatre.
        • Links:
          • DATA.BNE.ES. Bonilla, José María (1808-1880).
          • RTVE. Memoria de España. La época de las tragedias (1348-1485).

Citation