Iñaki Pérez-Ibáñez’s project aims to prepare a critical edition of the play Fuego de Dios en el querer bien, by Calderón de la Barca, one of the most important dramatists of the Spanish Golden Age period. When completing this kind of work, one often finds extremely rich data, that extends far beyond the textual analysis of the play. The research can deal with a variety of issues from dramatic spaces to biographical data of some of the earlier professional actors in Spain, to conflicts (such as the moral concerns) involving the actresses who played a key role in the development of modern theater. Such data will be presented in the preliminary study that will afford readers a richer picture of what the author intended to convey and of the circumstances around early performances and the reception of the play.

The project will include the following subsections: discussion of a possible composition date and early performances (making references to theatrical companies, actors and actresses); a literary analysis; and a detailed analysis of the unique character of doña Ángela. The preparation of the annotated text,
the second part of the critical edition, requires the consultation of multiple printed versions of the text that differ from each other. Based on textual evidence, socio-cultural clues, metrical analysis (the play was written in verse) and the comparison with other plays by the same author, Pérez-Ibáñez will create a text as close as possible to the lost original manuscript written by Calderón. The purpose of annotating the text is to clarify for the modern reader multiple obscure passages, as it includes references to social behaviors that have changed, expressions that have become obsolete and cultural references that have been lost. The third section, the critical apparatus, is a detailed record of textual differences among the first printed editions and helps scholars study the transmission of the play over the centuries.

Pérez-Ibáñez’s critical edition of Fuego de Dios en el querer bien will appear in the collection Biblioteca Áurea Hispánica. Comedias completas de Calderón that is being published by the Spanish-German editorial house, Iberoamericana-Vervuert.