Alberto Ginaztera



Alberto Ginaztera was the founder of the Ginaztera Company and forefather of the House Ginaz.

It is said to have been born on Gioia, in the Beta Tau Beta System, the son of a composer; he was trained as a serious musician and singer, and was particularly adept with stringed instruments. His wife, Maria-Elisa Drago, the daughter of a tavernmaster, suggested to her husband that his talents might be more profitably applied, and developed with him an act in which he tried to sing serious pieces which she constantly interrupted with barroom ditties and comic banter. They were such a hit that soon every major theater and club on the planet was demanding their show. Within ten years, Alberto, his wife, and their three children had moved to a richer planet; within fifteen years, they had performed in every major city within their sector, within twenty-five years, their troupe had increased to thirty highly paid, welltrained, professional musicians, singers, and actors, and their fame had spread to the Imperial Planet itself, finally culminating in a command performance before Fredhrick V. The Emperor was so taken with the troupe that he ordered Alberto to base his operations on one of the major worlds near Salusa Secundus, and to give at least one performance annually for the Imperial Presence and his private guests. Hence, the Ginaztera Company became the only officially recognized entertainment group sanctioned by the Emperor himself. Ginaztera himself was granted an estate on Gioia, and named Lord Ginaztera in the minor nobility.

Death
Alberto died in 7844 AG. At hearing the news of Alberto's death, Fredhrick is said to have wept for days, saying "the hope of laughter has vanished from my world forever." Historians note that Fredhrick aged rapidly over the next few years, and was an embittered recluse by the time he died in 7849 AG. After her husband's death, Maria-Elisa increased the family's fortunes considerably by smuggling drags during the troupe's many travels, and reinvesting the money into what soon became an entertainment empire: