- It was later translated by the

MUSIC Englishman M.W. Loving.

● Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not)

- The Latin version of the words
PHILIPPINE OPERA
originates from John 20:17.
- The novel was written to expose the
The emergence of Filipino opera started to take shape ills of the Spanish Catholic friars and
during the middle part of the 19th century. the ruling government.
- Composed by Felipe Padilla de Leon
Foreign performers, including instrumental virtuosi,
as well as opera singers and Spanish zarzuela ● El Filibusterismo (The Filibuster)
performers came to the country to perform for - A sequel to the earlier Noli Me
enthusiastic audiences. Tangere. (written 4 years later)
- It tells of the continuing struggle of the
Opera is an art and music form in which singers and Filipino people to achieve freedom
musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and emancipation from colonial rule.
(called a libretto) and a musical score, usually in an - Composed by Felipe Padilla de Leon
elaborate theatrical setting.
● La Loba Negra (The Black She-Wolf)
○ It incorporates many of the elements of - A three-act Filipino opera.
spoken theater, such as acting, scenery, and - Acts I and II are based on history.
costumes, and sometimes includes dance. - Act III is based on a legend attributed
○ The dialogue is entirely sung and not spoken. to Fr. Jose Burgos
- Composed by Francisco Feliciano
● Opera is part of the Western classical music form
and tradition. It started in Italy at the end of the 16th
century and soon spread through the rest of Europe.
BALLET IN THE PHILIPPINES
○ Italian opera captured the creative
imagination of composers, librettists, and
The medium of dance and ballet to interpret novels,
singers alike.
folktales, and stories provides visual excitement as the
characters come alive not in spoken dialogue but in
body movements.
○ Much of the communication is relayed in
Two Types of Opera: pantomime.
● Opera Seria - serious opera
● Opera Buffa - humorous opera It is a performance in which a story is told without
words by using body movements and facial
expressions.
Local Theaters and Early Philippine Operas
Together, the dance or ballet production makes for a
complete drama by itself without a single word being
Local theaters, including:
spoken. Filipino ballets vividly present folktales
● Zorilla Theater
based on local fables. Highly communicative
● Principe Alfonso
movements and steps dramatize the actions in the
● Variedades
respective stories.
● Quiapo and Tondo Theaters
● Cultural Center of the Philippines
● Metropolitan Theater Filipino ballets vividly present folktales based on local
fables for example:
As the locals were being exposed to Western art and ● Lola Basyang
music, they were also realizing their inner talents and ● India’s Ramayana
passion for the arts.
They have been added to the repertory of Philippine
The element of tragedy emanates from the popular dance companies to supplement the Western classical
themes of romance, deceit, murder, vendetta, and ballets, such as:
other elements of human frailty. ● Nutcracker Suite
● Swan Lake
● Sandugong Panaginip (The Dreamed ● Giselle
Alliance) ● Sleeping Beauty
- The first Filipino opera
- Composed by Pedro Paterno ● Lola Basyang
- This was first presented at the Zorilla - Ballet adaptation of Severino Reyes’
Theater on August 2, 1902. folktales Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang.

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 - It was meant to instill and rekindle the light and easy to understand. This includes:
interest of the Filipino youth in the beauty, ● Love and romance
richness, and heritage of Philippine ● Social acceptance,
Literature. ● Jealousy and intrigue
● Adventure
Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang featured the
following stories: The singing is usually amplified, unlike the operatic
■ Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Marya quality of classically trained voices.
■ Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin
■ Ang Prinsipe ng Mga Ibon - Many songs from Broadway musicals have
become popular hits and some have achieved
The second episode, Tatlo Pang Kuwento ni Lola semi-classical status because of their
Basyang, included the following stories: sustained popularity.
■ Ang Palasyo ng Mga Dwende ● Climb Every Mountain from Sound of
■ Labindalawang Masasayang Music
Prinsesa ● I Could Have Danced All Night from
■ Anting-Anting My Fair Lady
● If I Loved You from Carousel
● Rama Hari (King Rama) ● If Ever I Would Leave You from
- The Philippine adaptation of the Indian Camelot
epic Ramayana is set to music, dance, ● Some Enchanted Evening from South
and drama. Pacific
- Originally presented on February 8 to 17, ● Sun Moon from Miss Saigon.
1980
- Ryan Cayabyab (Music) - A number of other musicals were adaptations
- Alice Reyes (Choreography) of classical operas.
- Bienvenido Lumbera (Literature) ● Miss Saigon is based on Puccini’s
- Salvador Bernal (Theater Design) Madame Butterfly
● Aida from Verdi’s opera with the same
title.
Passaggio - used in classical singing to describe the
transition area between the vocal registers ● Lea Salonga - Filipino artist who attained
international status on both London’s West
End and Broadway
○ She is best known for portraying Kim
MUSICAL PLAYS in the musical Miss Saigon.
○ First Filipina to have won various
The musical play is a popular and generally lighter international awards for a single role.
form of musical drama than the opera. ○ First Asian to play the role of Eponine
in the musical Les Misérables.
The themes are usually more contemporary, and the ○ She also played the role of Mei-Li in
musical melodies are more manageable by the Flower Drum Song.
average singer.
● Miss Saigon
The acting is less intense and dramatic. - It is a modern adaptation of Giacomo
Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly,
The choreography and dance sequences provide which also tells the tragic tale of a doomed
visual breaks from the ongoing plots. romance wherein an Asian woman is
abandoned by her Caucasian lover.
Musical plays have been associated with the - Musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg
Broadway plays of New York City and West End and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Richard
Productions in London. Maltby, Jr.
- The London production became one of the
Theatre Royal’s (Drury Lane)
longest-running musicals.
Broadway Musicals
● The Phantom of the Opera
- Broadway musical by Andrew Lloyd
● Showboat - The first major Broadway musical.
Webber and Richard Stilgoe, with
○ Featured the popular mode of
lyrics by Charles Hart and music by
transport in the American frontier.
Lloyd Webbe
○ Floating theater that tied up at towns
- One of the longest-running Broadway
along the waterways
musicals of all time.
- It is based on the novel The Phantom
Broadway musicals are family entertainment with
of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.
themes and texts which are generally
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 Crisostomo Ibarra disguised as
● Les Misérables Simoun.
- It is perhaps the most famous of all French
musicals and one of the most famous ● Magsimula Ka
musicals performed worldwide. - The play responds to the young
- Tells the story of paroled convict Jean people’s lingering question of whether
Valjean who, failing attempts to find work there is hope for them in this cruel
as an honest man, breaks his chains and world. A major factor in realizing this
conceals his identity in order to live his life hope is to start and uphold one’s talent
again. or ambition despite all odds.
- Known as “Les Mis,” is a musical
composed in 1980 by French composer
Claude-Michel Schönberg with libretto by
Alain Boublil.
- It is based on the novel Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo.

Musical Plays in The Philippines

● Andres Bonifacio: Ang Dakilang

Anak-Pawis
- Five-act work commissioned by
Alfonso Puyat in 1979, depicting the
life of revolutionary hero Andres
Bonifacio.

● Atang - Dulang May Musikal

- It is a musical based on the life of the
first superstar of the Philippines,
Atang Dela Rama.

● Katy!
- About the life of bodabil star Katy de
la Cruz. It was initially presented by
Actors Studio East Production in
1988.

● Florante at Laura
- Was presented in celebration of the
200th birth anniversary of the author
Francisco Balagtas-Baltazar.

● Daragang Magayon
- A production for poetry and mixed
media for male and female narrators,
female voice, two percussionists, two
pianists, and two dancers, is based on
a poem by Merlinda C. Bobis.

● Noli Me Tangere
- The musical play closely follows the
storyline of the original novel and the
opera.
- The musical play assumes a more
contemporary approach in the musical
compositions owing to Cayabyab’s
chromatic and rhythmically innovative
style.

● El Filibusterismo
- The musical play closely follows the
Rizal novel, whose major character

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