Manuel de Zumaya

Manuel de Sumaya was the most notable composer of New Spain. His music represents a synthesis of traditional Spanish musical practices with elements of the Italian style that was becoming influential in the Spanish Empire in the early eighteenth century. It is possible that he was the first New World composer to write an Italian-language opera, entitled Partenope. Like Antonio Vivaldi, Sumaya was an ordained Roman Catholic priest. His name appears in the historical record spelled as both "Sumaya" and "Zumaya," but the former spelling is more common, particularly in his manuscripts.