José Ángel Montero was a Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, a contemporary of the Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian Carlos Gomes. As maestro di capilla at the cathedral of Caracas he wrote religious music; he also composed a number of zarzuela

Zarzuela

Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...

s and, in 1873, the opera Virginia

Virginia (Montero)

Virginia is an opera in four acts with music by Venezuelan composer José Ángel Montero and libretto, in Italian, by Domenico Bancalari. It is believed to be the first opera ever composed in Venezuela, and was first performed in the Teatro Caracas on April 26, 1873...

, to an Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

-language libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

.

Montero was son and disciple of José María Montero, his knowledge of composition extended through the study by his own account of contemporary European works and treaties of composition, dominated the execution of several wind and string instruments, specially the flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

. From 1869, José Ángel Montero directed the Martial Band of Caracas. Also was the composer of numerous pieces, from genres like: waltzes

Venezuelan waltz

- History :Between the hall dances that arrived to Venezuela during the 19th century, waltz has been the one of greater root and dispersion. Waltz consists of a musical expression derived from an Austrian popular dance, the ländler...

, polkas

Venezuelan polka

The Venezuelan polka is a hall dance that has its origin in Europe at the beginning of the 19th century and arrived to Venezuela in the middle of that century....

, contradanzas, zarzuela

Zarzuela

Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...

s, and opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s.

Works

His most recognized work is the opera Virginia, released with solemnity, under auspice of the government of Guzmán Blanco

Antonio Guzmán Blanco

Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco was President of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870–1877, from 1879–1884, and from 1886–1887....

 at the Teatro Caracas (Caracas Theater), 1873, the same year José Ángel Montero hold the position of chapel teacher at the Caracas cathedral, conserved this work until his death. In 1878 creates the Musical Art magazine. The great simplicity of accomplishment and certain sentimentality is remarkable in his compositions.

Of José Ángel Montero, an innumerable number of hall pieces and adjustments for orchestra are conserved, as well as an immense amount of sacred works, like: Pater Noster and Quiero tu cruz.

Between the works of this composer, we can enumerate the zarzuela

Zarzuela

Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...

s:

• Doña Inés or la Política en el Hogar, 1862.
• La modista (zarzuela in two acts, 1864).
• Fabio o Estela or el casamiento por Dote, 1865.
• La curiosidad de las Mujeres or El Huésped enamorado, 1865.
• Los Alemanes en Italia, 1866.
• Colegialas con colegialas (zarzuela in two acts, 1868).
• La Castañera, 1868.
• El Charlatán Mudo, 1873.
• Diamira, 1873.
• Tragedia Lírica, 1873.
• Atrás or el Centinela.
• Un baile en Caracas or el Cumpleaños de Leonor (zarzuela in one act, 1865).
• La ardilla (zarzuela in one act).
• La inocente Serranilla (zarzuela in one act).
• La obertura de la zarzuela La gallina Ciega.