The UST Conservatory of Music and the Research Center for Culture and Arts and Humanities (RCCAH) are hosting “Zarzuela Viva” activities to promote history and culture through the arts from Aug. 14 to 26.
“Zarzuela Viva” is a month-long event organized by Instituto Cervantes, a worldwide nonprofit language organization under the Spanish government.
The UST leg of the “Zarsuela Viva” will host screenings of professional recordings of “El barberillo de Lavapiés” by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri on Aug. 14 and “El sobre” verde by Jacinto Guerrero at the UST Central Laboratory Auditorium on Aug. 14 and 28.
Anton Heinrich Rennesland, director of RCCAH, cited “Tiempo de Zarzuela” as a reminder of how the zarzuela is a significant part of Hispanidad culture, allowing Filipinos to reflect on its importance in the contemporary context.
“What we ultimately aim is a revived appreciation of these types of performances, especially if we can produce a local version,” Rennesland said.
The Conservatory of Music will conduct a four-day workshop from Aug. 18 to 22 for advanced music students, to be instructed by Spanish pianist Ramón Grau of Teatro de La Zarzuela in Madrid.
Prof. Maria Alexandra Chua, the Conservatory dean, said these workshops would bring Music students closer to the “transcultural nature of Zarzuela and its Filipino adaptation, Sarswela.”
The workshop will conclude on Aug. 26 with a performance of “Zarzuela-Sarswela” featuring Grau, Teatro de la Zarzuela, and participating students at the Education Auditorium of the Albertus Magnus building.
Drawing attention to Chua’s research project MusikaPilipinas, Rennesland called for a greater appreciation of the arts.
“It aligns with UST’s ongoing cultural and academic initiatives, specifically the MusikaPilipinas project led by the UST RCCAH,” he said. Kirsten Therese C. Barrameda
