PHILIPPINE

OPERA
AND MUSICAL
PLAY
 Objectives
1 Identify the different Philippine operas
2 Describe the characteristics of Philippine Opera

3 Explain how significant Philippine operas are

Explains how elements in a musical/theatre play are combined with
4 music & media to achieve certain effects,
Create appropriate sounds, music, gestures, movements, and costume
5 using media and technology for a selected part of a musical play
Performs an excerpt from a 20th or 21st century Philippine musical and
6 highlight its similarities and differences to other western musical play
 Philippine Opera and Musical Play

The Philippine opera is a music performed dramatically in a

theatrical setting. Its common themes include murder,
revenge and romance. The Philippine musical plays are in a
way serve as fruits of theater and are highly influenced by
Broadway presentations. Its themes include adaptation from
novels and the likes.
 History of Philippine Opera and Musical Play

American The
Pre-colonial Spanish Colonizatio Japanese
Time Regime n Occupation
(900–1521) (1565–1898) (1898–1946) 1942-1945
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultur https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japa
al_achievements_of_pre- ory_of_the_Philippines_(1565%E ory_of_the_Philippines_(1898%E nese_occupation_of_the_Philippi
colonial_Philippines#:~:text=The 2%80%931898) 2%80%931946) nes
%20cultural%20achievements
%20of%20pre,forebears%20of
%20today's%20Filipino%20people.
 Elements of Opera and Musical Play

Librettist
a person who writes
the text of an opera or
Composer, Choreographers,
other long vocal work. Conductor, & Dancers &
Instrumentalist Soloist
Choristers Stage Costume
a member of a choir, Director, Set,
especially a child or
young person singing
Lighting
the treble part in a Designers
church choir.
Manila Grand Opera
House
was a theater and opera house located in the district of 
Santa Cruz in Manila on the intersection of Rizal Avenue and
Doroteo Jose Street. It was the Philippines' premiere
entertainment venue during the Spanish and American
colonial periods and the most popular theater in the 1900s
Mertopolitan Theater
is a Philippine Art Deco building found near the Mehan
Garden located on Padre Burgos Avenue corner
Arroceros Street, near the Manila Central Post Office. It
was designed by architect Juan M. Arellano and
inaugurated on December 10, 1931.
 Teatro Zorrilla
a prominent theater in the 
Philippines. Once located along
Calle Iris (now a part of 
C.M. Recto Avenue), Manila, the
theater was named after José
Zorrilla (1817 - 1893), a Spanish
 poet and playwright. 
 Other Philippine Opera Houses
Pandacan Teatro del Teatro de
Thater Principe Alfonso Tondo

Mars
What are the notable
operas here in the
Philippines?
1
Sandugong
Panaguinip
- Original Filipino opera by Pedro Paterno
(novelist,poet, and musician)
- It was staged at Teatro Zorrilla on August 2,
1902.
- It was about the conflict between the people
of Pasig, Cainta, and Antipolo against a
Muslim invasion.
 Did you know?
Sangdugong Panaguinip is the first Philippine
opera in the Tagalog language. It was
composed by Ladislao Bonus who is dubbed
as the “Father of Philippine Opera.” Bonus is
the maternal grandfather of Felipe M. De Leon
Jr., a music scholar and humanities professor
at the University of the Philippines, and son of
National Artist for Music, Felipe Padilla de
Leon.
2
Noli Me Tangere
- Recognized as the “first truly Filipino
opera.”
- A Philippine opera written by different
experts: Felipe Padilla de Leon (music) ,
Giullermo Tolentino (libretto) and Lucio
San Pedro, Lucino Sacramento, and Felipe
Padilla de Leon (orchestration)
3
La Loba Negra
- By Francisco Feliciano, National Artist for Music in
2014
- with libretto by Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. The opera was
based on a novel attributed to Jose Burgos. The opera
tells of the story of the Governor-General 
Francisco Bustamante and his subsequent assassination
and the revenge of his wife Luisa, now called La Loba
Negra, after the death of her husband.
 Did you know?
The music was written in a vibrant expressionist
style, contains violent contrasts in pitch and
instrumentation, rapidly shifting keys and meters,
and vivid orchestral color, as heard in eerie wolf
calls and forest sounds. The work was premiered
in 1984 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines,
with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by the composer. It was acclaimed by
critics as an extraordinary work of the 1980s.
4
San Andres B
“SAN ANDRES B is not a biographical sketch of Andres
Bonifacio nor does it attempt to present the historical events
leading to the 1896 Revolution. This is a look at how a
nation transformed and evolved after the events of the 19th
c. The life of Andres Bonifacio was just one of the means in
which the heightened level of the Filipino’s personal and
national consciousness from the time of the Propaganda
until the establishment of the Katipunan could be presented.
He came to be the embodiment of the Filipino
consciousness.” (Christine de Vera)
 Did you know?
- The opera was directed by Floy
Quintos; composed and conducted by
internationally recognized and multi-
awarded musicians, Josefino “Chino”
Toledo; and libretto written by National
Artist for Literature, Virgillo Almario
(2003)
Musical Play
- Is much more popular than
opera,
- It is less intense and dramatic,
more contemporary, melodies
use moderate voice range, and
acting is less.
  a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and 
Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera Madame Butterfly, and
similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned
by her American lover. 
 Did you know?
Filipino theater legend Lea Salonga is the
first Asian woman to win the prestigious
Tony Award for portraying Kim in the
original Broadway run in 1991. She also
won the Laurence Olivier Award two
years earlier for her role in the London
West End production.

http://theaterfansmanila.com/13-fun-facts-about-miss-saigon/#:~:text=Filipino%20theater%20legend%20Lea%20Salonga,the%20London
%20West%20End%20production.
1
Honorata de la Rama-
Hernandez 
- commonly known as Atang de la Rama,
was a singer and bodabil performer who
became the first Filipina film actress.
- A play that explores the story of a woman
who is the epitome of womanhood.
 Did you know?
- Atang de la Rama also became the lead
star in around 50 zarzuelas in various
languages and performed not only in
locally-renowned venues but also in
“open plazas” and “cockpits.” (From
www.nhi.gov.ph)