MUSIC Philippine Opera Flashcards
is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work
combining text (a libretto) and musical score in a theatrical setting.
opera
lines are sung
instead of being spoken.
opera
Completing the elements of an opera are
acting, scenery, costumes, and
sometimes dance.
It was
inspired by “May Day Eve,” a short story
written by Nick Joaquin, the Philippine
National Artist for Literature.
Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag
This is a Filipino opera whose music was
written by Reynaldo T. Paguio and the
libretto by Fides Cuyugan Asensio.
Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag
The _____________ performed in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller
musical ensemble.
performers
ensemble. The Philippines boasts this art form and has been lucky enough to have it shown
not only locally but internationally as well.
opera
It was
inspired by “May Day Eve,” a short story
written by_________ the Philippine
National Artist for Literature.
Nick Joaquin,
The opera is
about love and hate, sorcery and
patriotism.
Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag
Its main character, Agueda, begins as a rich, spoiled girl, well-educated in European
literature on revolutions and the Age of Enlightenment. At a party, she hears the predictions of
Anastacia, a fortune teller, that the country will have unrelenting oppression by foreign rulers. Only
Agueda responds to Ansastacia’s exhortations to give aid to a country in deep distress by asking
her how she might help the country find the light.
Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag
They are interrupted, however, because the party mood returns and Agueda asks
Ansastacia instead who will be her future spouse. Ansastacia promises to tell Agueda this during the
May Day mirror ritual. After being warned by Anastacia that, instead of seeing her future husband
reflected in the mirror, she might see the devil, Agueda nevertheless decides to participate in the
May Day mirror ritual.
Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag
A man named Badong has stealthily crept up behind her. When she opens her eyes,
she sees him pearing over her shoulder. Theirs is to be a stormy relationship. Agueda and Badong
marry, but they cannot stop the prophecy of Anastacia. Agueda’s romantic love for Badong yields
to her love for the country, and she joins the peasant revolt in the countryside. Tragically, Agueda
meets death, but not before seeing the light that eluded her in life—the light that dispels some of
the darkness in the lives of the oppressed.
Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag
is one of the novels that greatly influenced Dr. Jose Rizal’s ideals.
La Loba Negra
It was written by Father Jose Burgos and the music was by Francisco Feliciano It is actually a
“subversive” melodrama.
La Loba Negra
It tells of the rage and lust for vengeance of a woman whose husband was the victim
of assassination carried out by corrupt friars. The historical account of the vengeful widow, who was
a descendant of the Incas of Mexico, led a band of bandits in her quest for justice.
La Loba Negra
billed as the first Filipino opera, was composed in the Western
operatic tradition.
Noli Me Tangere
The three-act opera is based on the novel of the same title by the Philippine
nationalist and doctor José Rizal, who was executed in Manila in 1896.
Noli Me Tangere
He was inspired by “Uncle
Tom’s Cabin” to write about the inequities in Filipino society.
Noli Me Tangere
With a Latin title (“Touch Me Not”), it
explores the oppression of the local people by priests and the government during the Spanish
colonization.
Noli Me Tangere
Because of its Rizal provenance, it has enjoyed a longer life than most Filipino operas.
Noli Me Tangere
In the opera, the meandering plot follows Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra, a young Filipino
who returns home after studying in Europe. After his father dies, Juan dreams of setting up a local
school in his memory. The various plot twists include Juan’s love affair with the sweet Maria Clara;
his rage at the unexpected exhumation of his father’s body from its grave; an altercation with a
cruel Spanish priest called Padre Damaso; and Juan’s eventual murder by the Guardia Civil. The
sprawling opera also involves the Filipino woman Sisa and her two children, Basilio and Crispin.
Noli Me Tangere
whose alternate title is The Reign of Greed, is about an unseen dark
force, a force that is so powerful that it controls even the characters trivial actions and choices,
often leading to nothing but tragic endings.
El Filibusterismo
This unseen and destructive force is greed.
El Filibusterismo
In El Filbusterismo, Crisostomo Ibarra returns to San Diego, disguising himself as the rich
jeweler Don Simoun. He seeks revenge against the people responsible for his misfortunes. He plans
to start a revolution, convinces the youth and masses to take arms, and ultimately rescues his
immortal beloved from the confines of the convent. It is the intention of this production to
reconstruct the face of greed as painted by the great Jose Rizal in this novel and to resonate with
Rizal’s definition of greed as the key evil that chains and enslaves the mind, heart, and soul of a
society away from the real path towards genuine freedom.
El Filibusterismo
Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag was
written by
Reynaldo T. Paguio and the
libretto by Fides Cuyugan Asensio.
La Loba Negra was written by
Father Jose Burgos
Philippine Opera EXAMPLES
- Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag
- La Loba Negra
- Noli Me Tangere
- El Filibusterismo
