MAPEH

• Opera


  Part of Western classical music form and tradition, started in Italy at the end of the 16th century and soon spread throughout the rest of Europe
• Opera

  Musical and art form wherein singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining the text (called a libretto) and the music, usually in an elaborate theatrical setting
• Opera


  • Incorporates many of the elements of theater, such as acting, scenery, costumes, and sometimes, even dance
  • Typically presented in an opera house, cultural center, theater, or auditorium
  • Accompanied by an orchestra or a chamber ensemble
  • Dialogues are sung and not spoken - they are called recitatives
• The emergence of the Filipino opera started to take shape during the middle part of the 19th century
• Foreign performers, including instrumental virtuoso, as well as opera singers and Spanish zarzuela which is also known as the drama simbolico dominated the Philippine theater scene
• The element of tragedy, emanating from the popular themes of romance, deceit, murder, vendetta, and other elements of human frailty, became a favorite narrative of the Filipino opera
• Some works were based on previous literary creations, such as Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
• Local theaters

  • Teatro Zorilla
  • Vista del Teatro Principe Alfonso XII
  • Variedades
  • Teatro de Tondo
  • Circo Teatro de Bilibid
  • Teatro Filipino
  • Teatro Popular
• The first Filipino opera is the Sandugong Panaguinip with libretto in Spanish by Pedro Paterno, a poet, novelist, musician, and government official, and was translated into Tagalog by Roman Reyes, and music by Ladislao Bonus
• Sandugong Panaguinip was first staged at the Zorilla Theater on August 2, 1902
• Sandugong Panaguinip was produced by Molina-Benito Theater Company which was owned by Juan Molina (father of soprano and actress Titay Molina and National Artist Antonio Molina)
• Sandugong Panaguinip was later translated by the Englishman M.W. Loving with the title, The Dreamed Alliance
• The Orquesta Molina (Molina Orchestra) was known for their interpretation of operas as well as other classical compositions
• Subsequent Filipino operas

  • Lakangbini by Patricio Mariano
  • La Loba Negra
  • Noli Me Tangere
• Operatic divas included Nelia Manalo, Mercedes Matias-Santiago, National Artist Jovita Fuentes, Isang Tapales, the bass-baritone Jose Mossesgeld Santiago, and later on some of their students including Elmo Makil, Gamaliel Viray, Emmanuel Gregorio, Irma Potenciano, and Fides Cuyugan
• The establishment of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) by virtue of Executive Order No. 30 in 1966 paved the way for other Filipino operas to be staged at a legitimate venue of international standard
• Leandro Locsin designed the architectural structures of the CCP, Carlos "Botong" Francisco designed the logo, and Lucrecia Kasilag became the first Theater Director - all three eventually became National Artists
• Jaime Zobel de Ayala and former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos served as Executive Director and Chairman respectively alongside the CCP's Board of Trustees that include Juan Ponce Enrile, Antonio Quintos, Fr. Horacio Dela Costa, Ernesto Rufino, and Antonio Madrigal
• 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
• The music of La Loba Negra was composed by National Artist Francisco Feliciano, with libretto by soprano Fides Cuyugan-Asensio
• The premiere of La Loba Negra was held in 1984 with National Artist for Theater and Film Lamberto Avellana as director
• Synopsis of La Loba Negra


  1. Prologue depicting a woman dancing around a priest tied to a log, scolding him in a haunting atmosphere

  2. Scene shifts to the Governor's Palace Ballroom where a welcome party is in progress

  3. Governor Bustamante downplays the ostentatious revelry and gift giving

  4. Fray Totanes asserts the power of the church over the state

  5. Dolores, the Governor's daughter, chides Fray Totanes

  6. Fray Totanes intercepts the gifts meant for the Governor

  7. Doña Luisa sings an aria about an Aztec god

  8. Governor Bustamante discovers the Treasury coffers are empty and orders Torralba's imprisonment

  9. Priests plot the assassination of Governor Bustamante

  10. Doña Luisa, now disguised as La Loba Negra, commences her revenge by slaying the friars

  11. Doña Luisa's vengeful emotions are purged out, and before she dies, she speaks of a bright tomorrow
• The music and libretto of La Loba Negra have closely collaborated to portray the dramatic moods in the opera
• The dramatic moods are particularly depicted in the murder scenes that are effectively contrasted with the solemn sounds and religious fervor of the liturgical rites
• Noli Me Tangere, the Opera


  Three-act opera composed by National Artist Felipe Padilla de Leon, with libretto by National Artist Guillermo Tolentino. It premiered in 1957 at the FEU Auditorium.
• Philippine Opera started during the middle part of the 19th century
• Three original Philippine operas are La Loba Negra, Noli Me Tangere, and El Filibusterismo
• Ballet


  A performance in which a story is told without words by using body movements and facial expressions
• Original Filipino ballets vividly present folktales and local fables
• Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang

  • Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Marya
  • Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin
  • Ang Prinsipe ng Mga Ibon
• Tatlo Pang Kuwento ni Lola Basyang


  • Ang Palasyo ng Mga Dwende
  • Labindalawang Masasayang Prinsesa
  • Anting-Anting
• Rama Hari


  The Philippine adaptation of the Indian epic Ramayana set to music, dance, and drama
• The Ramayana is one of the two great Indian epics that talk about Indian life around 1000 BC and how dharma was practiced</b>
• Dharma is a type of behavior said to be in accordance with the order that makes life and the universe possible
• The epic Ramayana consists of 18 books containing approximately 24,000 verses divided into 500 songs