Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Pedro Calderón de la Barca was born in Madrid in 1600; his father was a secretary to the Council of Finance. A pupil of the Jesuits of the Colegio Imperial, he then studied at Salamanca. His first play was performed at court in 1623, and he served as a soldier in Italy and Flanders. On the death of Lope de Vega, he was regarded as the foremost dramatist of the country and became a knight of Santiago. Ordained a priest in 1651, he gave up the public theatres to write mainly for the palace and for Corpus Christi. Honorary chaplain to the king, he died in 1681.

In the catalogue 1

• TheatreLife Is a DreamLa vida es sueñoPedro Calderón de la Barca · 1635Literature