Summary
Highlights
The video introduces the topic of 20th and 21st-century multimedia forms, specifically performance arts like opera, ballet, and musical plays, as a part of the visual arts category.
Filipino opera emerged in the 19th century with the arrival of foreign performers. The term 'Sarswela' refers to Spanish tradition or the life of Filipinos during Spanish colonial times. Opera is defined as a dramatic work where singers and musicians perform a text (libretto) with a musical score, accompanied by an orchestra, and the dialogue is entirely sung.
The video lists early local theaters such as Zorilla Theater (1817-1893), Principe Alfonso Theater, Bireddy's Theater, Chiapa Theater, Tondo Theater, Manila Grand Opera House, and Metropolitan Theater. The first Filipino opera, 'Sandugong Panaginip' (The Dream Alliance) by Pedro Paterno, premiered at the Zorilla Theater in 1902.
Dr. Ramon Javier is recognized as the first 'Empresario' for promoting local talents in opera. Patricio Mariano wrote 'La Cambida'. The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), established in 1969 by Imelda Romualdez Marcos, provided a prestigious venue for Filipino operas. Felipe Padilla de Leon composed 'Noli Me Tángere' (1970) and 'El Filibusterismo' (1975), two famous Filipino operas. Francisco Feliciano composed 'La Loba Negra'.
Filipino ballet often presents folk tales based on local fables and epics. Examples include 'Lola Basyang', which aims to immerse Filipino youth in the richness of Philippine literature, and 'Rama Hari', a Filipino adaptation of the Indian epic Ramayana.
Filipino musical plays primarily adapt novels, literary works, or biographical sketches of famous artists. Themes are usually contemporary, with less intense acting compared to opera. The first Broadway musical was 'Showboat'. Notable Filipino musical plays include 'Andres Bonifacio: Ang Dakilang Anak-Pawis' (1979), 'Charito Solis' (a musical based on the life of the first superstar of the Philippines), 'Alikabok' (2008), 'Katy!' (about Katy dela Cruz), 'Florante at Laura', 'Ragang Magayon', and 'Magsimula Ka' (a long-running musical staged at the CCP).