These Ensemble Players challenge the possibilities of performance as they embark on some acrobatics of the heart in PAGE-TO-STAGE: One-Woman Performance Series featuring one-woman performances of Filipino literature classics.

These pieces are usually staged with a big cast but will now be machinated by only one performer onstage – using monodrama, puppetry, digital technology, sound art, and other media.

These one-woman performances will push the limits of performance possibilities by maximizing the artists’ skills and stretching their capacity to create and transform while making the work more accessible to more audiences. These One-Woman Performance Series will be available for nationwide school tours and art gallery performances.

Kicking off the series is Exposiciòn Dela Una Mujer an experimental one-woman performance of Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere that will push beyond the usual retelling of the novel and push on re-imagining heroes, nation, and imagined histories.

Exposiciòn Dela Una Mujer (A One-Woman Performance) features one actor’s performance on Rizal’s 1886 novel, Noli Me Tangere. This devise-work features puppetry, digital technology, sound art, and other media machinated by one Sipat Lawin Ensemble Player. The performance kicks off this October with Meila Romero-Payawal.

Romero’s collaborators include multi-disciplinary visual artist-designer and Thirteen Artist Awardee Leeroy New, composer and sound desinger for film, theater, and television Teresa Barrozo, filmmaker Brandon Relucio and resident technical director and lights designer Ninya Bedruz. Exposiciòn Dela Una Mujer is directed by Sipat Lawin’s Artistic Director Jk Anicoche with dramaturgy by Ensemble Player Ness Roque.

Going beyond the usual narrative retelling of the novel, Exposiciòn Dela Una Mujer pushes a performative reading and re-imagining of the Noli Me Tangere, as well as Jose Rizal himself, and imagined histories as structures and icons continouosly deconstructing and reconstructing nation.

NOLI ME TANGERE Exposiciòn Dela Una Mujer is part of Sipat Lawin’s Page-to-Stage mobile performances and is available for local and international touring.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Sipat Lawin Ensemble is an edge-work, site-specific, independent performance company composed of theater artists, engaged in devising relevant new works. Changing the landscape of theater in the Philippines, the group aims to develop a contemporary community theater experience shared among artists and audiences inside and/or outside the four walls of the theater. The Ensemble’s core group of artists also manages the company and its programs alongside producing and developing performances and alternative modes of theater-making.

Stripping theater down to bare essentials of Actor, Action, and Audience, the company started independently producing works in alternative performance spaces in 2009. Since then, Sipat Lawin has produced a series of ensemble-devised anywhere-and-everywhere community collaborations.

As the country’s premiere site-specific theater company, Sipat Lawin Players have conducted performance lectures about their innovative works, alternative mode of production and evolving theater-making process, invited as speakers/performance-lecturers in Ateneo de Manila University’s Company Call 3 (2011), the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s Young Artists Forum (2012), Locus Redux International Art Conference at the Yuchengco Museum (2012), the CCP’s 13 Artists Awards Forum Series on “Collaborations and Crossing Media” (2012), as well as in two of This Is Not Art Festival’s “Critical Animals” panels in Newcastle, Australia (2013). In 2014, the Ensemble also launched Weekends with Sipat, blank-ticketed workshops where experts in different fields shared what they know through talks or workshops.

An active player in the social media platform, Sipat Lawin has been featured in local and international blogs, papers and programs by various networks and news agencies including GMA, Yahoo Philippines, Al-Jazeera and Reuters, among others.

The Ensemble aims to create and develop new forms of inter-action, social functions and modes of communication. Crossing and blurring boundaries among different performance media, SLE collaborates with top artists from different fields.

To the edge of consciousness, edge of theater-making.

Sipat Lawin Ensemble: Contemporary Community Theater, Contemporary Theater Community.

Noli Me Tangere: The Opera had a successful leg of shows in New York and in Washington D.C that the two Philippine National Artists responsible for the libretto of the opera, Felipe de Leon and Guillermo Tolentino, JS Productions’ President Jerry Sibal and Loida Nicolas-Lewis thought that it was time to re-introduce Noli Me Tangere to the younger generation in Manila.

As quoted on an interview with The Philippine Star, Jerry Sibal, a premier New York event and floral designer had said, “It is the perfect time to bring back the Noli opera to Manila because there have been a lot of Broadway productions staged here (Manila) recently. The younger generation is so immersed in the Internet that they’ve forgotten history and culture. I think it’s high time that we educate them, as it is our history that identifies us as Filipinos.”

Sal Malaki who will play Crisostomo Ibarra and Rachelle Gerodias as Maria Clara, two world-class talents will lead the Manila production of Noli Me Tangere. Gerodias one of the most sought after sopranos completed her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Vocal Literature from the famed Eastman School of Music in New York and graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music. She has also been awarded “The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service.”

Malaki on the other hand is one of the most in demand artists of the Los Angeles Opera Company, under the general direction of world-renowed tenor and conductor Placido Domingo. He has appeared in more than 105 Los Angeles Opera productions since he joined the company in 1995. In the same article from, The Philippine Star, Malaki is quoted saying, “This is our very own and we can claim this tunay na Filipino. We learned about Noli when we were young…but we continue to learn”

As for Gerodias, she says that she looks forward to interpreting Maria Clara’s character. She is quoted, “Noli Me Tangere is probably the most beautiful operatic work that is truly Filipino, I feel proud to be part of this production. Aside from the beautiful music everyone will enjoy, it is a story about love, honor and hope, things we all need to draw inspiration from.” Playing alternate for Ibarra are Manila-based undiscovered greats, Ivan Nery for Ibarra and Myramae Meneses for Maria Clara both from St. Scholastica’s College in Manila with bachelor’s degrees in music under the illustrious soprano Camille Lopez-Molina.

The cast of Nolie Me Tangere: The Opera

Aside from the people who were involved in the play itself, one more person who should be credited for her bringing supporting the opera, and for her passion in education in the Philippines is Loida Nicolas-Lewis. She was originally from Sorsogon City, Philippines but later moved to the United States of America to pursue her law career and manage businesses.

She later opened The Lewis College in her hometown in Sorsogon City because she believes that it is better to share her blessings in helping educate the Filipino citizens, as this is where the future will depend on. With that vision that she have, this was also is the same for our national hero, Jose Rizal. He also believed and had that in mind when he wrote his novel “Noli Me Tangere” and is also why Loida Nicolas-Lewis felt that it is “her civic duty to keep promoting” the Noli Me Tangere novel. She is quoted saying, “I believe God has a plan for everyone and if we are faithful and open ourselves to that plan, our lives will be blessed. Noli Me Tangere: The Opera will run from September 11 to 29 at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre in Resorts World Manila. The Manila Philharmonic Orchestra led by Maestro Rodel Colmenar will lend their musical prowess to the production that will be directed by theatre director Freddie Santos. Honorary guests for the opera include Boy Abunda, Gemma Cruz Araneta, Willy and Marion Cosculluela, Secretary Albert del Rosario, Margie Mora-Floirendo and Loida Nicola Lewis.

The official poster for Noli Me Tangere: The Opera

Schedules are as follows: Gala Night: Thursday at 8pm on September 11, 2014 Regular Run is September 14 at 3pm, 17 at 8pm, 21 at 3pm, 24 at 8pm, 28 at 3pm, 2014 at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre, Resorts World Manila, 3^rd Floor, Newport Mall, Newport Blvd, Newport City Cybertourism Zone, Pasay City.

For more details, Visit their Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/nolioperamanila or call their number at 899-7938 to 39.

For ticket inquiries contact Dennis Villaluz at (02) 788-9108, 0916-8571-553 or 0932-175-8599 Students will valid id may avail discounted tickets for the balcony seats at P500 through the generosity of San Miguel and chairman and CEO Ramon Ang.

All Information from: The Start articile ‘Nole Me Tangere: A beautiful opera that is truly Filipino and “Why Loida Lewis continues to believe-an invest- in education from the Inquirer.

MyRizal Team with Cris Villongco. (L-R) Paul Zaldarriaga, Loi Ilustre, Maite Gallego, Cris Villonco, Lisa Bayot, Miko Liwanag. 5 August 2011 at the CCP's Little Theater

Noli Me Tangere poster. Gala Night 5 August 2011 at the CCP's Little Theater.

Alvarez, Beatriz Tardio
Ph.D. in Philippine Literature in Spanish from the University of the Philippines;
Postgraduate Studies on Gender and Feminism, Complutense University (Spain);
M.A. in Spanish Language and Literatures, University of Alcalá (Spain)

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to achieve a literary appreciation to the Noli and the Fili, in view of their literary context. Rizal’s two novels have been primarily studied through the looking glass of history, often neglecting them as literary works in their own right.This paper attempts to remedy this lacunae by two means: pointing to their narrative tradition and context; and the literary background of Rizal himself. It will provide the basis for a literary approach and evaluation of Rizal’s principal literary works. It focuses on the 17th century and the French Classicism, and will show how Rizal reads the Moralist writers of the French Classicism to find in them inspiration, materials, and influences for the style and structure of his novels. This appreciation will be guided by their intertextuality with the work of La Bruyère, Characters.

Read the article by clicking on this link: Rizal’s Novels as Literature

Rizal’s Novels as Literature

Of all the prominent Filipino heroes, perhaps none is more well-traveled than the prolific writer Jose Rizal. Because of his unfortunate run-in with the guardia civil and his unpopularity with the Dominicans, among other things, Rizal heeded the advice of others and left the Philippines in 1882. His studies, writing, and political endeavors brought him to Madrid, Berlin, Switzerland, Japan, United States, France and so on.

With Rizal’s tracks scattered across the globe and because of his large role in the country’s struggle for freedom, it is no surprise that his name has become known to people of other nationalities.

His life has been retold and researched by numerous scholars, both local and foreign. Some even go to the extent of devoting their whole lives to knowing Rizal.

Among them is Lucien Spittael, a Belgian historian and member of the Order of Knights of Rizal, a fraternal organization dedicated to studying and promoting the teachings of Rizal.

Discovering Rizal

Spittael was married to Madeline, a Filipina, in 1972. But it was only in 1991 that he became interested in Dr. Jose Rizal. He was the president of the Belgian-Filipino Association when he attended a meeting at the Philippine Embassy in Belgium in 1991. It was the centennial year of Rizal’s El Filibusterismo which was first printed in Ghent, Belgium.

Spittael then started reading Rizal’s biography and writings. Impressed by Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, he started studying the hero’s life and ideals.

“A new world was opening to me,” he said.

He was assigned to work in Heidelberg, Germany and for the next few years he retraced Rizal’s footsteps.

“I really walked in Rizal’s footsteps in the described towns, climbed the 519 steps of the Cathedral tower in Cologne, located the statues, visited museums, performed the same train trips and executed Rizal’s Rhine trip from Mainz to Bonn six times. During those Rhine trips, sometimes I really imagined I made the trip back in 1886 while reading Rizal’s diary,” he wrote.

Suzanne Thill

Spittael’s most cited discovery is Suzanne Thill, an 18-year-old girl who lived in the same building Rizal was residing in during his stay in Brussels, Belgium. Based on stories and letters, Rizal, while in Brussels, had a relationship with a certain Suzanne. Historians initially thought it was Suzanne Jacoby, his 45-year old landlady. But in 1995, Spittael , after researching in the Brussels City Hall archives, discovered that there were two Suzannes in the building, the younger being Thill, Jacoby’s niece.

Spittael said several letters with the signatory “Petite (young) Suzanne” and one signed “Suzanne T.” were found to have been sent to Rizal in Madrid, as proof that Rizal’s girlfriend was the younger Suzanne.

It also led him to find the exact location of the boarding house in rue de Philippe de Champagne after it was renumbered from 38 to 42 in 1900.

Rizal in Belgium

Rizal moved from Paris to Brussels in 1890 because he needed to live frugally and focus on his work. His friends—including fellow propagandist Marcelo Del Pilar and reformist Valentin Ventura—and their social life proved to be a distraction from Rizal’s task.

In Brussels, Rizal worked in a clinic and spent time on his various interests such as shooting and sculpting. It was there that he worked on El Filibusterismo. Lacking money and beset by the troubles in his hometown of Calamba, Rizal found a publisher in Ghent who agreed to be compensated in small partial payments.

Barong and salakot discovered

In 2009, Spittael and his wife discovered several unpublished letters of Rizal. One of them was addressed to a certain Dr. Bastian, friend of Blumentritt and owner of a private ethnographic museum.

Rizal supposedly sent him around twenty objects.

Spittael wrote to the ethnological museum in Berlin—which miraculously survived two world wars—and was allowed to see the items. It was mostly clothing items:  saya, kalikut, calzon, barong, salakot (Rizal’s own), different camisas, etc.

Pictures of the 21 objects were presented in the recent International Sesquicentennial Conference: Rizal in the 21st Century sponsored by the University of the Philippines.

Citizen of the world

Dubbed the first Global Filipino, Rizal traveled to other countries and learned their culture and language. In Cuba, students are required to memorize “Mi Ultimo Adios.” In Malaysia, he was named the Great Malayan and in China, Austria, Germany and Spain, monuments were built and festivities have been held in his honor.

“Rizal is alive here in many minds,” said Knights of Rizal chapter commander Rainer Weber during Rizal’s 150^th birthday celebration at the Rizal Park in Wilhemsfeld, Germany, the same country where Rizal studied ophthalmology.

Heidelberg’s mayor Dr. Joachim Gerner also said, “The city is proud that Rizal is one of the people in the 19th century who lived and studied in Heidelberg, later on becoming a leader in his country in the movement of liberation, against colonialism.” The former mayor of Heidelberg also became a member of the Knights of Rizal.

But more than Rizal’s physical connection to the places he visited, people of other nationalities identify with him because of the universality of his aspirations, not only for himself but for his countrymen.

Spittael said, “Rizal’s love for the Philippines, for freedom, love for country was his constant inspiring passion, which motivated him to sacrifice everything. He suffered everything for his country and his kababayans. His whole life was dedicated to his country.”

While it makes Filipinos proud that foreign scholars are immensely devoted to Rizal, it may be disheartening for others that some of their countrymen remain ignorant about the patriot’s life.

Interestingly, Rizal once wrote to Blumentritt, “Is it not sad, I said to my countrymen, that we have to learn from a foreigner about ourselves? Thanks to the German scholars we get accurate information about ourselves, and when everything in our country has been destroyed and we wish to verify the historical correctness of certain facts we shall have to come to Germany to search for these facts, in German museums and books!”

August 5 – 28
3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino
P600

Cris Villonco (4th from left) as Maria Clara with MyRizal Team, Paul Zaldarriaga, Loi Ilustre, Maite Gallego, Lisa Bayot and Miko Liwanag

Tanghalang Pilipino is kicking off its 25th theater season with a restaging of Noli Me Tangere: The Musical adapted by Ryan Cayabyab from Jose Rizal’s first novel, with libretto by National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera and under the direction of Audie Gemora.

Noli Me Tangere: The Musical opens August 5 at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater). Playing alternately as Crisostomo Ibarra are Mark Bautista and Gian Magdangal, while the role of Maria Clara will be portrayed by Cris Villonco. Costumes are designed by National Artist for Theater Design Salvador Bernal.

Maite Gallego ang Jerald Napoles (as Elias)

Theater passes are available at Yuchengco Museum for only P600 (save P400 off the original ticket price). Each pass can be exchanged for a ticket to your preferred performance at Tanghalang Pilipino.

For more information about Noli Me Tangere: The Musical, visit the Tanghalang Pilipino website or email tanghalanprod@yahoo.com.

We, the pastry team of Diamond Hotel Philippines, offered our culinary expertise in line with the celebration of 150 years of Jose Rizal. As I, Pastry Chef Daniel Back and my sous-chef Robert Mempin decided on a form this celebratory cake would take, I remembered seeing the original copy of his first book ‘Noli Me Tangere’. Inspired by this powerful image, we set to work.
Initially,  we made a large Supermoist Cake, this being one of the most popular cakes we sell at the hotel’s tea lounge Kohikan and our patissiere in the Power Plant Mall, Makati called The Cake Club.  The Supermoist Cake is a dark and luxurious chocolate cake covered with chocolate ganache and finished with chocolate shavings.

We started by alternating 3 layers of  dark supermoist chocolate sponge cake and chocolate ganache.   Then we rolled out the white fondant icing, primarily used for wedding cakes, and carefully placed it over the cake.  The cake was made to ‘rest’ overnight in our chocolate room which is usually reserved for house-made pralines and bon-bons.  In the morning, a scanned version of the Noli Me Tangere  book cover was printed on edible paper using edible ink was placed over the cake. The sides were then framed with white chocolate and the book binding was made from white chocolate as well.  To secure the edible paper, the sides of the paper were bordered with dark chocolate.   Once the image and cover was in place, we placed the cake on a custom-made wooden plinth similar to the Rizal stand ready for transport to Fort Santiago in Intramuros.

While Chef Robert and I were preparing the commemorative cake, the rest of the pastry team produced over 100 petit Noli Me Tangere cakes complete with the same artwork. These cakes were given to the Descendents of Jose Rizal and other important guests. In all, the special Noli Me Tangere cake took us 2 days to create. It was a pleasure to be a part of this historical celebration in honor of  the 150 years of Jose Rizal.

Diamond Hotel's "Noli Me Tangere Cake"

Mini Noli Cakes. Photo by Pedro Javier.

Jose Rizal-labeled confections

Get to watch a modern ballet adaptation of Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere entitled Crisostomo Ibarra on July 2, 2011. The shows are at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. at the NSCC Plaza in Caoayan. Admission is free.

For inquiries, contact the Heritage Affairs Office via Ms. Eliza Agabin at 0915-5574555.

In celebration of this momentous event, government units, the academe, and other culture, history and art-oriented institutions have planned grand events for Sunday. Among these is My Rizal 150′s Maligayang Bati, Jose Rizal, an evening of art, music, poetry and fireworks in Fort Santiago.
The Banda ng Maynila (brass band of the City of Manila) will kick-start the event by playing live music. They will be followed by the Ateneo Chamber Singers, who will be performing classics, as well as one song especially composed for the event, on the Main Stage at the flagpole area of Plaza Moriones.

Berklee alums Tess Salientes and Gerard Salonga have also prepared a specially composed musical theme for the event. There will be a fireworks display after their performance.

Camp Suki will be offering kalesa rides, on-the-spot artists who can sketch/draw your portrait (for a fee), and a turn-of-the-century photo shoot complete with costumes.

Gerardo de Leon’s 1961 classic Noli Me Tangere will be shown on one of the walls of the ruins of the American barracks, courtesy of CCP and SOFIA (Society of Filipino Film Archivists) who were responsible for the restoration of the film.

Sipat Lawin Ensemble will be performing an avant-garde  piece wherein they are going to march backwards from Luneta to Fort Santiago doing a reenactment of Rizal’s execution. They will also be doing pocket performances throughout the evening.

Heroes Square will also do their 30-minute play on Rizal and Josephine Bracken inside the Rizal Shrine, which will remain open all night. The play will start after the firework display and the Buhay na Kasaysayan members, dressed in period military uniform, will draw the crowd into Rizal Shrine.

Traditional food from the era in which Rizal lived will be sold by concessionaires Ilustrado, Barbara’s, and Adarna Food and Culture.

The Manila Diamond Hotel is baking a special birthday cake for Jose Rizal, recreating Rizal’s book stand with his Noli Me Tangere placed on top. Rizal’s book stand is being restored by Escuela Taller of Intramuros.

The Lopez Museum will be showcasing  their extensive Rizal collection, and will be on display at the Plaza Armas.

Registration starts at 5:00 p.m., and the program starts at 6:00 p.m. Ticket prices are P100 per adult and P50 for kids below 12 years of age. Entrance is free for guests who will come in period costumes, or dress as their favorite characters from Jose Rizal’s novels.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa T. Bayot
Tel. nos:
(+632) 817-8062
(+632) 894-0505

Maite P. Gallego
Email add: maitepgallego@yahoo.com.ph