How many versions does an autograph offer? The authorial interventions in the autograph of Calderón’s «El secreto a voces»

Abstract

Pedro Calderón de la Barca never ceases to work. His constant in­terest to improve or adapt his texts has produced two versions of the same play in several occasions. His autographs allow us to examine his writing process as well as the theatrical practice in Golden Age Spain. In the autograph of «El secreto a voces», Calderón himself seems to delete up to 200 verses, nevertheless it also presents interventions by other hands. In this article, I will therefore try to distinguish between the authentic and non-authentic interventions in the autograph of «El secreto a voces».