Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review

The piano suite Goyescas: los majos enamorados by the Spanish composer Enrique Granados is a set of six pieces, all of them inspired by the Madrid society of the eigtheenth century that Goya depicted in his paintings. The success of the piano suite led Granados to compose an eponymous opera in which he reflected  every aspect shown in Goya’s paintings in a clearer and more direct way: a literary-thematic story, the characters, the scenery, the atmosphere, and clothing. Therefore, Goyescas is a complex art work by the Catalan composer, one that interrelates the visual arts, poetry, and music, all with a Spanish background. This article addresses one of the important points of this expansive work by providing pianists with the extra-musical context of the work, i.e., the main characters taking part in the Goyescas opera, which will help them understand the meaning of Goyescas: los majos enamorados.