Interview: Dr. Fides Cuyugan Asensio (Voice ’55)
You have performed in world premieres of several Filipino operas, such as Rosendo Santos’ Mapulang Bituin and Felipe de Leon’s Noli Me Tangere. As a champion of music in your native tongue and the work of Filipino composers, how do you perceive the evolution of Philippine opera over the years?
I sang my Philippine Opera debut in 1957, singing the mad woman Sisa in the premiere of an opera based on the Philippine national hero Jose Rizal’s novel Noli me Tangere. This novel sparked the Philippine revolution against Spain. After [the world premiere of] another musical theater piece, Mapulang Bituin, was staged in Manila, no opera was staged again. Strictly speaking, Mapulang Bituin was a musical theater piece that was more in the American Broadway musical genre.
It is sad to note that the evolution of the Philippine opera has been extremely slow. What opera that found [its] way into Manila was sponsored by the elite society, and only operas from Italy were shown in Manila with foreign conductors and singers.
What guiding principles have you imparted to your students, and what are your hopes for the future of opera and musical theater in the Philippines?
In 1986, I established the Music Theater Foundation of the Philippines and became chairman of the voice and music theater department of the College of Music at the University of the Philippines (UP). I had high hopes of having an opera season in Manila [featuring] Philippine operas, but again, there were no Filipino operas written and composed by Filipinos except for Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, written by librettist Guillermo Tolentino and composer Felipe Padilla de León. Both are based on Rizal’s novels. So, the situation found me resorting as chairman of voice, College of Music, UP, to staging, trying, and testing foreign operas like Hansel and Gretel, which was a huge success.
I tried my hand at translating and adapting foreign operas to local settings. We had two successful stagings. One of which was Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Menotti’s The Saint of Bleecker Street. The reception of these two translations/adaptations into the Filipino language and setting encouraged me to write the librettos of operas like La Loba Negra (The Black She Wolf), Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag, Larawan ng Kabaihan, Maskara at Mukha, etc. Even though my latest opera, Spoliarium, was written in English (English being a universal language), it was still Filipino in content and intent.
I dedicated my time more and more to nurturing the talent of the students for the musical arts, whether it be in performing or creating with my army of students—to whom I bequeathed the legacy of creating their own army, eventually of students dedicated to nurturing Filipino opera.
Being conferred the title of National Artist for Music in 2022 is a testament not only to your invaluable contributions but also to your exceptional artistry and enduring legacy. Reflecting on your extensive career, what does this recognition mean to you personally and professionally, and what message would you like to share with aspiring Filipino artists?
First of all, before the students embark on their own musical journey, it behooves them to find their strengths and develop the strengths, whether in performing, creating, or even in sponsoring this glorious musical art. And after they find the strength, nurture it, and never veer from the path. Most important of all, share and share until it hurts. My national artist status came very late in my life. But the fact did not stop me from doing what I like to do. Passion for opera and sharing that passion are what I would like to bequeath to the young.
Interview with Dr. Fides Cuyugan Asensio by Ryan Scott Lathan. This interview was edited and condensed.
ABOUT DR. FIDES CUYUGAN ASENSIO
Born on August 1, 1931, in Lucena, Philippines, to Jacinta Belza and Dr. Gervasio Santos Cuyugan, Dr. Fides Cuyugan Asensio (Voice ’55) is a distinguished coloratura soprano, librettist, director, educator, and proud alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music. Widely celebrated as the “Grand Dame of the Philippine Stage,” her early love for opera was sparked by her mother, a pianist from Buhi, Camarines Sur, who often played simplified piano excerpts from famous operas while young Fides hummed along. In 1938, after the family relocated to Manila, she began formal musical training at the Philippine Women’s University grade school, where she studied piano and music theory—laying the foundation for the remarkable artistic journey ahead.
In 1947, Dr. Fides Cuyugan Asensio enrolled at the College of Music and Arts, where she studied under the esteemed Dean Felicing Tirona. Her graduation recital drew widespread acclaim, with The Manila Times declaring, “A star is born,” and celebrated soprano Jovita Fuentes famously predicting that Fides would “inherit my mantle someday.” She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in 1951, majoring in voice with a minor in piano—solidifying her place as one of the Philippines’ most promising young artists.
In the fall of 1951, Dr. Cuyugan Asensio entered Curtis, where she studied voice with Mme. Euphemia Gregory. She became the first Filipino to graduate from the school in 1955. While at Curtis, she performed the soprano lead in Gian Carlo Menotti’s (Composition ’33) half-hour opera for television, The Telephone, at [Field Concert Hall], who said of her performance, “She could have been my original Lucy.” She fondly recalls the time she received a standing ovation at the school, singing [Heitor] Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileras No.5, with eight celli, and how this memorable Curtis moment “brought tears to my heart and soul.”
After her marriage in 1954 to Manuel D. Asensio Jr., she returned to Manila (where she would be the reigning coloratura soprano for three decades) and made her professional opera debut as Adele in Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus at the Far Eastern University Auditorium. She later gained prominence for playing Sisa in the 1957 world premiere of Felipe de Leon’s opera Noli Me Tangere with the Manila Symphony, and then took on many leading roles in operas such as Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and Claude Debussy’s scène lyrique (cantata), L’Enfant Prodigue. There were also world premiere performances, including Rosendo Santos’ Mapulang Bituin and Eliseo Pajaros’ Binhi ng Kalayaan.
During the late 1970s, Dr. Cuyugan Asensio began to direct operas in Manila since there were very few directors at the time who were interested in the art form. During this time, she also wrote the librettos for Lucrecia Roces Kasilag’s Larawan Ng Kababaihan: Maskara at Mukha (debuted in 1980) and Francisco Feliciano’s La Loba Negra (debuted in 1984). Both of these works were staged to great popular and critical acclaim at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila. For years she was seen on television screens in homes across the Philippines, hosting Sunday Sweet Sunday (1969–74)—the first show broadcast in color in the country—and A Little Night of Music (1989–2002), and she made appearances in films such as Oro Plata Mata (1982) and Aparisyon (2012).
In 1986, Dr. Cuyugan Asensio formed the Music Theater Foundation of the Philippines (MTFP), a non-profit organization dedicated to promote, stage, and give scholarships to young classical performers. Two years later, in 1988, she was appointed chairman of the voice and music theater department at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Music, a position she held until she retired in 1997. After her retirement, she was granted the title of professor emeritus by the UP board of regents. Dr. Cuyugan Asensio received numerous prestigious awards throughout her career, including the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining Award in 2015, and in 2022, was honored as a National Artist for Music, solidifying her legacy as a trailblazing legend in Philippine arts and culture.
