PHILLIPPINE SARSUWELA

Introduction

When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines in 1565 they introduced not only the Christianity

but also their culture. One of the things they brought was their traditional music drama , the zaruela. In

the latter years of Spanish colonization, the form was introduced to the Filipinos.

The zarzuela ,or commonly known as sarsuwela in the Philippines, is a Spanish lyric-dramatic

genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes. It is a play with songs and dances usually written

in prose. It usually contains one to five acts that usually about love, contemporary issues in the

Philippines. This became an integral part of Filipino music.

 I. History
Spanish Origin
I.1 etymology
the name zarzuela came from a hunting lodge built by Don Fernando in 1643. Later ,

it was enlarged by king Philip IV and used it mainly as a retreat house for

entertainers. They would perform pieces of entertainment called fiestas de

Zarzuela with improvised plots later on this fiestas de Zarzuelas were simply

called Zarzuelas.
I.2 beginnings and influences
in the 17th century the fist opera began to appear then followed other new genres then

inspired Spanish composer to develop their one style of opera which is now known as

Zarzuela.

Arrival in the Philippines

The Sarsuwela (Zarzuela) introduced to manila in 19th century with a performance of

Jugar con fuego (playing with fire)by the group of Dario Cespedes And later, more groups arrived.

Sarswela presented not only in Manila but in Iloilo, Cebu, Pangpanga, and Bicol.