National Parks Development Committee, Paco Park Presents, and the Opera Workshop Class of Dr. Alegria O. Ferrer present Mayo.
..Bisperas ng Liwanag on Friday, May 24, 2024 at 6:00 p.
m. at the Paco Park. The adaptation features the music of the late Reynaldo T.
Paguio and libretto by National Artist for Music, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. Neo-Romantic lyricism is the characteristic of the piece and the music was arranged for orchestra by Mr. Nick Pacis.
The concept on the subjectivity of time as a directorial view of Ferrer, changed the overall staging. The turn of the century elite setting, costumes and refined movements are transformed to a more realistic condition without having to compromise the beauty of the libretto and music. The present transitions into the future as the future transforms into the past, and the past evolves into the present.
The magnificence of the presentation encapsulating the shifting passages of time lies in the fact that it all unfurls directly before the observer’s eyes. The story begins with an old Badong walking tirelessly, as he had been walking for decades, with flowers to give to his beloved Agueda. In the wink of an eye, the first meeting between the two ill-fated lovers came to life once again.
The narrative then shifts to the past and viewers are introduced to Agueda, a young woman disillu-sioned with love due to her parents’ unhappy marriage. The flowers on Badong’s hands, on the eve of May Day, will never reach its destination. The flowe.
