Award-winning composer Marisa Manchado dies in Toledo train accident

Manchado was traveling by train to Seville on that day to participate in an event organized by the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Seville, according to a statement from the AMCC.

The AMCC described Manchado’s career as “intense,” noting her contributions to artistic creation, music research, education, feminist advocacy, and professional association.

She founded and served as the first president of the AMCC, from its creation in 1998 to 2000.

“Marisa was, above all, a woman deeply committed to the visibility of female creators and to the need to revise a history of music that had systematically relegated women,” the AMCC statement read.

Her stage works include ‘El cristal de agua fría,’ with lyrics by Rosa Montero; ‘Escenas de la vida cotidiana’; and the opera ‘La Regenta,’ premiered in 2023, with lyrics by Amelia Valcárcel based on Leopoldo Alas, Clarín’s novel, and with collaboration from the Teatro Real.

The AMCC conveyed its “most sincere embrace” to her family, friends, and all those who shared her life and work.

The Society of Authors and Publishers of Spain (SGAE), artists, and staff of the Teatro Real also expressed their deep sorrow at her passing, highlighting her efforts to champion and showcase the role of women in the world of musical creation, paving the way for future generations, according to a statement from the Teatro Real.

“Today we say goodbye with sadness to a creator whose music, work, and commitment leave a deep mark on our culture,” the SGAE stated in a post on X.

Manchado’s brother penned a farewell letter in the newspaper El País, sharing memories and reflecting on her work in music in Spain and in “musical feminism.”