La Loba Negra | |
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Opera by Francisco Feliciano | |
Librettist | Fides Cuyugan-Asensio |
Language | Tagalog |
Premiere | 16 August 1984 Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater, Manila |
La Loba Negra (The Black She-wolf) is an opera in 3 acts by Francisco Feliciano with libretto by Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. The opera was based on a novel attributed to Jose Burgos. The opera tells of the story of the Governor-General Francisco Bustamante and his subsequent assassination and the revenge of his wife Luisa, now called La Loba Negra, after the death of her husband.
The laloba negra is the music was written in a vibrant expressionist style, contains violent contrasts in pitch and instrumentation, rapidly shifting keys and meters, and vivid orchestral color, as heard in eerie wolf calls and forest sounds. The work was premiered in 1984 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer. It was acclaimed by critics as an extraordinary work of the 1980s. The last production was in 1985, with the same cast and venue. Occasionally, excerpts of the opera were performed. Luisa's aria "Napakahaba na ng Gabi" was sung at the composer's funeral.