Manuel de Falla found inspiration in the novel of the same name by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón to create one of the most famous ballets of the time.
A musical ballet composed by Manuel de Falla and inspired in the novel of the same name by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. Falla composed a first version called "El corregidor y la mujer del molinero" (The magistrate and the miller's wife), given its first performance in 1917 in Madrid. The final version, longer and with more substance, came about as a result of suggestions from the ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev, who saw the need to make the work more theatrical. It was first performed in London’s Alambra Theatre on 22 July 1919, with Ernest Ansermet conducting and stage designs by Picasso.
Following this premiere and its great success, Falla composed two orchestral suites with the same name, in which he removed some vocal and transition passages. These suites became the most commonly played version of "Sombrero de tres picos" (The Three-Cornered Hat).
