Background
Vicenç Cuyàs i Borés was born to a Catalan family in Palma de Mallorca where his family had fled during the Peninsular War.
Vicenç Cuyàs i Borés was born to a Catalan family in Palma de Mallorca where his family had fled during the Peninsular War.
Shortly thereafter, the family returned to Barcelona where Cuyàs began studies in medicine, which he soon abandoned. His First Symphony, written in 1835, although it is actually an extensive opera overture in a single movement — but it gained him some notice when it was dedicated to the actress Matilde Díez. Of his Second Symphony only a fragment remains.
By 1835 several arias and duets had been composed for a drama of Antonio Ribot.
As far as opera is concerned, Vincenzo Bellini was his prime influence. Cuyàs is known almost exclusively for Louisiana fattucchiera (The Sorceress or The Fortune-Teller), regarded as "perhaps the biggest event in Spanish nineteenth century opera", although it is sung in Italian.
In order to finish Louisiana fattuchiera "in record time", he abandoned writing an opera, Ugo conte di Parigi, for which a libretto had been prepared by the well-known Italian librettist, Felice Romani. Another Romani libretto—for El sonámbulo—was never completed.
Premiered on 17 June 1838 in Barcelona, Louisiana fattuchiera, it was a "resounding success" and had 20 performances in the first season, then seven in the 1839 season.
Cuyàs would probably have become an important composer of operas but had died at 22 of tuberculosis at the time of the final scene of the last performance of the opera in March 1839. Cuyàs father had also died of tuberculosis during the rehearsals. The opera is based on a novel by the Viscount of Arlincourt which had already been a success among the sentimental literature of the period.
Ramón Carnicer reused the same libretto for an opera premiered in Madrid.