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UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

Historical Research: Manila Grand Opera House

Submitted to:

Arch. Norma Alarcon, fuap Professor

Submitted by:

Vinson P. Serrano AR 5-5

August 18, 2009

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Acknowledgements 3

Manila Grand Opera House: History and its Greater Glory 4

Manila Grand Opera House: Cultural, Political and National Importance 8

Manila Grand Opera House Photographs from 1900- 2009 10

Bibliography 14

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people for their valuable contribution to

the development of this paper. To Ilona Castro, Kimberly Sebastian, and Joan

Angeles of Manila Grand Opera Hotel for having conducted a successful interview, to

the National Historical Institute for providing me written documents needed for this

study, and to Dionella Marie Francisco for the camera used in taking pictures.

And last but not the least, to Arch. Norma Alarcon for giving me an

opportunity to explore the wonders of Manila through this research. To the Almighty

father, thank you for being a great provider of knowledge and wisdom.

V.P.S

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Manila Grand Opera House: History and its Greater Glory

Even before the Philippines be known for the famous Cultural Center of the

Philippines and considered as the world-class theater in the country, very long ago

when it was the Manila Grand Opera House, The Clover Theater and Metropolitan

Theater gave limelight to the brightest stars of the 19th century during the American

occupation.

The Manila Grand Opera House, located at the corner of Doroteo Jose St. and

Avenida Rizal St. was once a huge structure of wood and nipa-roofed structure having

a circumference of about one fourth of a mile which was designed for cycling

contests. Avenida Rizal was then called the Entertainment Capital of Manila during

the prewar and postwar years.1 Documents proved that it was built on the 1890’s

when it was acquired by a foreigner named N.T. Hashim, and was then known as

National Cycle Track. Later then it became the Teatro Nacional where the Russian

Circus and some American theater companies performed in the 1900. Improvements

were imperative and plans were hatched as early as 1901 to redesign and remodel it.2

In 1902, the theater became Manila Grand Opera House after it was

transformed into an opera house by Italian impresario Balzofiore in time for a visiting

Italian Opera Company. Seats were divided into the palco proscenio for the

dignitaries, butaca or orchestra for most theatergoers, and gallery, the least expensive

section.3 Also, the Italian Company supervised the installation of its acoustics. At the

time, its acoustical equipments were said to be so sophisticated that even a whisper of

the actors could be heard by the audience.4

1 T.G. Santos. “Remembering Avenida Rizal”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2009 2 V.R. de la Torre. Landmarks of Manila 1571- 1930. Manila: Paragon Printing Corporation. 1981 3 T.G. Santos. “Old Manila’s great theaters”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 10/09/05 4 C.P. Morallos. Once upon a theater: Remembering the great Manila Grand Opera House. Manila: Boulevardier: Nightlife, Travel and Tours. 2009 .

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On August 9, 1905, an important political event was held at the theater. This is

when the Chambers of Commerce met in a convention where they endorsed then US

Secretary of War William Howard Taft as a candidate for the US presidential

elections. More than 500 guests attended that assembly which included the popular

Alice Roosevelt, daughter of then US President Theodore Roosevelt.

On the following year, on Oct. 16, 1907, the occasion of the inauguration of

the first Philippine Assembly in which the most important American and Filipino

personages were in attendance and was held on this theater due to its size and

prestige. Present dignitaries were then Governor General James P. Smith, the

members of the Philippine Commission, Justices of the Supreme Court,

representatives of foreign governments, officers of the US Army and Navy,

ecclesiastical dignitaries and provincial and municipal officials of the government. It

is on this event when the first Filipino Bishop of Nueva Caceres delivered the

invocation in the presence of Right Rev. Jose Barlin.

Another political event was held in the theater when a meeting organized by

the American Community in the Philippines passed a resolution banning the display

of the Filipino Flag anywhere and for whatever purpose, an action that the local press

and Filipino nationalists opposed and attacked.

Grand concerts of the Filipino as well as foreign artists, zarzuelas, vaudevilles

and the like found a home and an audience in the Opera House. One significant

performance in this opera house is the La Argentina, In dans Bolero Classique which

ran for a week during the 1920’s. A major concert of a Spanish Tenor named Miguel

Fleta was also held during this era. But after two decades of hosting opera and

zarzuela productions, ownership changed in 1942. By then, the building looked more

like a warehouse than a theater.

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When World War II broke out, the theater continued to operate and was used

surreptitiously and cleverly by the Filipino actors as a venue for anti-Japanese

propaganda. Through patriotic songs the anti-Japanese movement was kept alive.

Toribio Teodoro, a shoe magnate and known as the “shoe king of the

Philippines”, lived there when the Japanese seized his house and shoe factory during

World War II. The building was badly damaged by flood and at that time, the

Department of Labor which happened to be a neighbor of the theater caught fire and

its flames spread to the theater razing it to the ground on November 16, 1943.5 The

theater was reduced to ashes that only the theater basement remained.6

By 1945, the theater was completely demolished and reconstruction began

with a modern concrete edifice which is Air-conditioned and equipped with the latest

technology, part of the area occupied by the former theater gave way to commercial

offices and was meant to be a first-class cinema for occasional cultural shows. The

Manila Grand Opera House was then billed as “The Theater with a History.” On April

10, 1947, the theater formally reopened.

In 1947, an important exhibit of murals celebrating great Filipino men from

the rajahs to post-war Republic personages was held. Rizal Day program were also

held on the historic theater where the program enthralled the audience as the people

listened to a kundiman written by Rizal, being the Philippines’ national hero.

During the time that performances were at its peak and people highly

patronized theater shows, a rival theater called Clover located at the foot of the

MacArthur Bridge at the corner of Echague Street in Quiapo, opened its doors to the

5 C.P. Morallos. Once upon a theater: Remembering the great Manila Grand Opera House. Manila: Boulevardier: Nightlife, Travel and Tours. 2009 6 V.R. de la Torre. Landmarks of Manila 1571- 1930. Manila: Paragon Printing Corporation. 1981

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public. Clover was owned by Spanish-Portuguese impresario Don Jose Zarah. Clover

mainly catered audiences that enjoyed vaudevilles.

The Manila Grand Opera House provided daily entertainment for the masses.

Its main fare was stage shows and movies with an occasional concert, opera and plays

by Lamberto Avellana and Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, among others.7

Jose A. Estrella, a

famous composer of during the early 1900’s was also part of the Opera House’s

history.

Practically all the country’s Who’s Who in entertainment performed at the

Grand Opera House such as the matinee idol Rogelio de la Rosa, Carmen Rosales, the

singing idol Eddie Mesa, called the Elvis Presley of the Philippines, Diomedes

Maturan, Pilita Corales, actors and actresses Shirley Gorospe, Gloria Romero, Bayani

Casimiro, Gloria Selga, Bobby Gonzales, Elizabeth Ramsey, the Reycard Duet,

Sylvia La Torre, and ballerinas Jovita Fuentes, Isang Tapales, Katy de la Cruz, and

dozens of other big names in the local entertainment galaxy. Comedy actors such as

Dolphy, Cachupoy, Balot, Bentot, Chiquito, Pogo and Togo, Tugak and Pugak, Dely

Atayatayan, Lopito, Patsy, Toto and his Kids and German Moreno are also used to

perform at its grand glittering stage.

Unfortunately, due to technological advancement and the rise of popularity of

television as a common household appliance and the existence of cinema houses, the

fame and spotlight of the Opera House declined, forcing it to close sometime in the

1960’s. On the other hand, same destiny fell into Metropolitan Theater, designed by

Juan Arellano, famous for its magnificent Art Deco style for it did not survive during

this golden period of operatic shows and performances.

7 T.G. Santos. “Old Manila’s great theaters”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 10/09/05

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After the building was abandoned for years, the site where it was currently

situated were erected with a five-star hotel called Manila Grand Opera Hotel, which

derives its name from a much revered bygone institution called the Manila Grand

Opera House.

The hotel opened only in September 2008, it is now a great landmark in

Sta.Cruz, once the favorite shopping center of the Manila of old. Drenched in history,

the Manila Grand Opera Hotel rises on the former theater’s 6,000 sq. meters lot that

owner Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua acquired during the 60’s with the

original intent of converting it into a movie theater. At the time, the Ambassador was

engaged in movie theater operations aside from other business ventures such as cars,

insurance, health, publishing and media operations and others. A sparkling eight-

storey edifice on the corner of historic Doroteo Jose St. and Avenida Rizal within the

vicinity of the colorful Chinatown in Binondo, the new hotel is wrapped in soft blue

and yellow hues. At night the façade is brilliantly illuminated making it the focal

point in the area. A historical marker at the hotel’s entrance stood to commemorate

the first Philippine Assembly happened in the historical Opera House. 8

Manila Grand Opera House: Cultural, Political and National Importance

Manila Grand Opera House was the main venue of theatrical shows and operas

during the 19th century in Manila. Prior to cinema houses and the sprouting of much

high-class shopping centers and cinemas in the Philippines, it is during the golden age

of Manila Grand Opera House that paved the careers of the most reputable actors and

actresses in the country. With the existence and grand capacity of the Opera House, it

is where political meetings such as the grand meeting of the First Philippine

Assembly were held. This historical event eventually led into other most important

happenings in the Philippine politics such as the declaration of Sergio Osmeña as

8 C.P. Morallos. Once upon a theater: Remembering the great Manila Grand Opera House. Manila: Boulevardier: Nightlife, Travel and Tours. 2009

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Speaker while Manuel Quezon, as Majority Floor Leader of the Philippine

Assembly.9

These happenings gave the opportunity for these two significant

politicians in their becoming as Philippine Presidents.

The flourishing days of operas, theaters, dramas were also considered as the

main contribution of this structure in the field of arts and humanities. This Opera

House gave venue to express the artistic prowess of some of the giants of Philippine

theater as mentioned in its history. For the Opera House showcased the best of the

talents not only of the Filipino people but also different performances of Americans,

Spanish, and Russian performers.

The appreciation of art and the political events held on this venue proved that

the Manila Grand Opera House was not just an ordinary Opera House in the 90s. It is

where people gave much importance to the real value of art and humanities, and the

power of politics to recreate the nation towards prosperity. Manila Grand Opera

House is indeed, of cultural, political and national importance.

9 M.C. Guerrero. Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People: Under Stars and Stripes. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited. 1998

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Manila Grand Opera House Photographs from 1900- 2009101112

Above: Manila Grand Opera House Façade during its golden years.

Left: A cigarette vendor behind the Manila Grand Opera House’s Historical Marker of the Philippines Historical Committee.

Right: The comedy “La Raza” played during the eve of Spain’s national holiday honoring its patron saint, San Santiago, was held at Manila Grand Opera House.

10 M.C. Guerrero. Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People: Under Stars and Stripes. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited. 1998 11 V.R. de la Torre. Landmarks of Manila 1571- 1930. Manila: Paragon Printing Corporation. 1981 12 Personal Photographs of Vinson P. Serrano, taken August 12, 2009

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Manila Grand Opera House Photographs from 1900- 2009131415

Above: Closing ceremony of the Flag Rally at the Manila Grand Opera House.

Clockwise from Far Left: 1 Centro Escolar de Señoritas left the Opera House after a grand meeting.

2 Manila Grand Opera House façade circa 1920s.

3 US Secretary of War William Howard Taft

13 M.C. Guerrero. Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People: Under Stars and Stripes. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited. 1998 14 V.R. de la Torre. Landmarks of Manila 1571- 1930. Manila: Paragon Printing Corporation. 1981 15 Personal Photographs of Vinson P. Serrano, taken August 12, 2009

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Manila Grand Opera House Photographs from 1900- 20091617

Above: Location map of Landmarks in Manila during 1571- 1930 showing the Manila Grand Opera House.

Right: A photograph of the First Philippine Assembly.

16 M.C. Guerrero. Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People: Under Stars and Stripes. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited. 1998 17 V.R. de la Torre. Landmarks of Manila 1571- 1930. Manila: Paragon Printing Corporation. 1981

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Manila Grand Opera House Photographs from 1900- 200918

Clockwise from Left to Right: 1 Present condition of the Historical marker by the Philippines Historical Committee. 2 Modern façade expressed by its materials gave a new light to Manila. 3 Manila Grand Opera Hotel towards LRT Dorotero Jose Station. 4Interior view of the MGOH lobby. 5 Man’s eye view of the MGOH entrance.

18 Personal Photographs of Vinson P. Serrano, taken August 12, 2009

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Bibliography

T.G. Santos. “Remembering Avenida Rizal”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2009 C.P. Morallos. Once upon a theater: Remembering the great Manila Grand Opera House. Manila: Boulevardier: Nightlife, Travel and Tours. 2009 V.R. de la Torre. Landmarks of Manila 1571- 1930. Manila: Paragon Printing Corporation. 1981 T.G. Santos. “Old Manila’s great theaters”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 10/09/05

M.C. Guerrero. Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People: Under Stars and Stripes. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited. 1998