El puñao de rosas

El puñao de rosas (A Bunch of Roses) is a one-act zarzuela "of Andalusian customs" (de costumbres andaluzas) by Spanish composer Ruperto Chapí to a libretto by Carlos Arniches and Ramón Asensio Más [es]. It was successfully premiered on 30 October 1902, at the Teatro Apolo in Madrid. A parody zarzuela, El cuñao de Rosa (The brother-in-law of Rosa), with text by Candela and Merino and music by Tomás López Torregrosa [es], was staged in February next year.

There are six musical numbers. The introduction (No. 1) has a sort orchestral prelude, which is followed by an elaborate opening scene: Socorro's prediction is inserted into the chorus, and when she leaves, another chorus tune frames Rosario and Carmencilla's parts with Socorro's song (whose tune is that of the orchestral introduction) interrupting this scene twice. The same song is put into Rosario and Tarugo's duo (No. 2), the finale and culminative section of which is a zapateado. The second duo (No. 3) is in ABA1B1 form with a bolero in the B section. No. 4 is actually a sequence of separate scenes: a male chorus nocturne (with a habanera rhythm in orchestra) gives place to an agitated female chorus, which is followed by an arriero's tune. After this a comic trio is presented without any transition. No. 5 is famous for its final tanguillo performed by Carmencilla, and it is preceded by an introductive chorus and Rosario's copla. No. 6 is just a minute long and is not an independent piece: it is based on the A1 section from No. 3. For the Finale a variation of the concluding measures of No. 1 (Socorro's song tune) is used.

Chapí composed a Pasodoble based on several tunes of the zarzuela. Ricardo Villa, a prominent wind band director, arranged Nos. 1 and 3 of the zarzuela making up a Fantasy.

The order of the roles: Rosario – Socorro – Carmencilla – Pepe – Tarugo – 3 Huntsmen – An arriero.

The Pasodoble was recorded several times in different versions (orchestra, sextet etc.).