{"id":16179,"date":"2013-10-02T03:10:42","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T03:10:42","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2013-10-02T03:10:42","modified_gmt":"2013-10-02T03:10:42","slug":"First-Filipino-Opera-Ready-for-Center-Stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=16179","title":{"rendered":"First Filipino Opera Ready for Center Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, The FilAm reported that Philippine history would be made in the fall with the premiere of \u201cNoli Me T\u00e1ngere\u201d (Touch Me Not), the first Filipino opera to run in New York.<\/strong> In a follow-up story, The FilAm\u2018s Cristina DC Pastor takes readers behind the scenes before the October 4 premiere of \u201cNoli\u201d at Hunter College.<\/p>\n

The theatrical production is based on a novel by physician and activist Dr. Jos\u00e9 Rizal that recounts the political and social abuses in the Philippines during Spanish colonial rule in the 19th century.<\/p>\n

Pastor gives the background of the story, starting with altar boy Basilio, played by pop singer Kirby Asunto, 15, a girl who will perform the male character.<\/strong> Elijah Sirilan, a student at Metuchen Christian Academy in New Jersey, and his sister Zion will take turns in playing Basilio\u2019s younger brother Crispin.<\/p>\n

In the story, Basilio and Crispin are the sons of Sisa, who becomes deranged on learning her boys suffer beatings from the cruel hands of Spanish friars. Noli uses the romance of lovers Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria Clara to dramatize the harsh socio-political conditions in the Philippines under Spanish rule.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With a price tag estimated at around $500,000, \u201cthe production did not scrimp and cut corners, said the producers\u201d when it came to efforts to stage the first Filipino opera in New York, as Pastor\u2019s description of the costumes only suggests.<\/p>\n

The actresses wore richly elaborate \u2018baro\u2019t saya\u2019 gowns fashioned from silk and taffeta to recreate the look of the high society women of Rizal\u2019s era. Set and costume designer Jerry Sibal made sure to distinguish the characters using colors and texture. The shy Maria Clara wears a gown the color of a blush of lime green, while Dona Victorina\u2019s dress captures her meanness in thick folds of black fabric. Sisa\u2019s dress is of more modest style and does not have the ornate lace and embroidered finery of the other women\u2019s.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However high the costs or elaborate the costumes, at the foundation of the New York staging of \u201cNoli\u201d lies its importance for the Filipino community.<\/p>\n

Businesswoman and philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis said the opera should be a point of pride among Filipino Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want Filipinos to be proud of our culture. This is our own. It is world-class,\u201d said Nicolas Lewis, head of the executive committee that is producing the Noli. She said the music alone \u2013 referring to the exceptional \u2018kundiman\u2019 of composer and National Artist Felipe Padilla de Leon \u2014 ranks among the best alongside the operas of Puccini and Verdi.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoli Me T\u00e1ngere, the Opera\u201d will run October 4, 5 and 6 at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/thefilam.net\/archives\/12670<\/a><\/em>
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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