20th and 21st century multimedia form

• Opera is part of the Western classical music form and tradition. It started in Italy at the end of the 16th century.
• Italian operas were being presented, and it was the Italian opera that captured the creative imagination of composers, librettists and singers alike.
• Opera

  An art and musical form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called libretto) and a musical score, usually in an elaborate theatrical setting. It incorporates many of the elements of spoken theater, such as acting, scenery, costumes, and sometimes dance.
• The performance is typically given in an opera house, cultural center, theater, or auditorium. It is accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, and the dialogue is entirely sung and not spoken.
• The emergence of the Filipino opera started

  Middle part of the 19th century
• Foreign performers, including instrumental virtuosi, as well as opera singers and Spanish zarzuela performers came to the country to perform for enthusiastic audiences.
• As the locals were being exposed to Western art and music, they were also realizing their own talents and passion for the opera.
• That period in Philippine history was ripe for artists to voice their own sentiments about love of country and longing for independence from colonial rule.
• Filipino opera


  • The element of tragedy, emanating from the popular themes of romance, deceit, murder, vendetta, and other elements of human frailty, became a favorite story pattern
• Some operatic works were based on previous literary creations, such as Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. The tragic endings and unresolved conflicts made them excellent choices for an operatic production.
• The first Filipino opera is said to have been Sandugong Panaginip by Pedro Paterno, a poet, novelist, musician, and government official. This was first presented at the Zorrilla Theater on August 2, 1902.
• It was later translated by the Englishman M.W. Loving with the title The Dreamed Alliance.
• Prominent figures and ensembles that contributed significantly to the promotion of opera

  • Composer Bonifacio Abdon as the first Filipino opera conductor
  • Dr. Ramon Javier as the first Filipino opera impresario who promoted local talents to participate in foreign productions
  • The Orchestra Molina was known for its interpretation of operatic works as well as other classical compositions
• Subsequent Filipino operas

  • Lakangbini by Patricio Mariano
  • Nelia Manalo portraying the leading role of Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata
  • Mercedes Matias-Santiago as Lucia in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lamermoor
  • National Artist Jovita Fuentes as Mimi in Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme
• The establishment of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) by then First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos in 1969 paved the way for other Filipino operas to be staged at a legitimate venue of international standard.
• La Loba Negra (The Black She-Wolf)

  A three-act Filipino opera. Acts I and II are based on history. Act III is based on a legend attributed to Fr. Jose Burgos, one of the three martyred priests, Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora who were executed in Bagumbayan (now Luneta) in 1872.
• La Loba Negra


  • Music composed by National Artist Francisco Feliciano, with libretto by soprano Fides Cuyugan Asensio
• Premiere of La Loba Negra

  1. Presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines in cooperation with the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music at the CCP Main Theater from August 16 to 25, 1984

  2. Direction by Lamberto Avellana

  3. In a second season in 1985, direction by Peque Gallaga and Jorge V. Ledesma, production design by Don Escudero, costume design by National Artist Salvador Bemal, lighting design by Dennis Marasigan, and choreography by Rene C. Hinojales
• Cast of La Loba Negra

  • Ms. Asensio alternated with Eleanor Calbes as Doña Luisa/La Loba
  • Jimmy Melendrez alternated with Noel Velasco as Governor-General Fernando Bustamante
  • Nomer Son as Antonio Torralba
  • Gamaliel Viray/Nolyn Cabahug as Fr. Sebastian Totanes
  • Aileen Espinosa Cura as Florentina Dolores
  • Lito Carating/Elmo Makil as Kapitan Macatangay
  • The composer himself conducted the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Choral support from the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Singers Harmonics, Tiples de Santo Domingo, Pasyon Singers of Cardona, and the Zarzuela Foundation Chorus
• The story of La Loba Negra takes place in the 17th century, during the time of Spanish rule in the Philippines. It revolves around the tragic assassination of Spanish Governor-General Fernando Bustamante, whose administration was greatly admired for its planned reforms in the colonial administration.
• Music and libretto


  • Closely collaborate to portray the dramatic moods in the opera
  • Effectively contrast the solemn sounds and religious fervor of the liturgical rites with the murder scenes
• The moral issue of vengeance may perhaps be explained by the temporary insanity of Doña Luisa brought on by the brutal killings of her husband and son
• Asensio: 'The night is long but the sun will rise... and rise again in the East.'