La vida breve is a two-act opera by Manuel de Falla, set in Granada's Albaicín, it tells the story of Salud, a young gitana who loves Paco, a man not of her reach, not of her world. At the time of the story, this meant of higher social standing. Nowadays, it would be based on other criteria, but the alienation remains. Still, the two have been lovers... At least that, although it might be worse than not to be! The Quixotic hero doesn't know, he only damns himself for «un mot d'amour» but the Andalusian ones get to touch the sun. Paco of course plans to marry another woman, Carmela. I don't know if the similarities of names in Falla's works are coincidental or not. Salud discovers the "betrayal", confronts Paco at his wedding celebration, and dies of heartbreak at his feet. They all end up doing the same... The Spanish Wikipedia states that «El personaje principal, Salud, se recrea con mucho cariño, y en España es ella y no Carmen quien se considera la imagen de la mujer española.»
Its most famous excerpt is the Danza española (Spanish Dance) from Act II: