Rizal's Noli Me Tangere to stage in NY

By Don Tagala, ABS-CBN News North America Bureau

August 15, 2013

NEW YORK CITY— Written by Philippine National Artist Felipe Padilla de
Leon, the  Noli Me Tangere  Opera will premiere in New York this fall as
part of the centenary celebration of the birth of the national artist.
Tess Dizon-De Vega, Deputy Consul General Philippine Consulate said, Ang
operang Nole Me Tangere ay base sa NobeLa ni Gat Jose Rizal, isang nobelang
tungkol sa kalayaan, tungkol sa pakikipaglaban ng ating bansa para makamit
ang kalayaan, ang kasarinlan.

Based on the controversial novel with the same name, Rizal’s Noli Me
Tangere — or touch me not in Latin – exposes the ills of the Philippine
Society, the oppression of the Spanish rule and the atrocities committed in
the name of the Catholic Church — back in the day.
Antoni Mendezona, who plays Maria Clara said this is a story of love,
betrayal and revenge between her lover Juan Crisostomo Ibarra and her
father Padre Damaso.

It strikes home really, because Maria Clara was meztiza and that’s what I
am, Mendezona said, Maria Clara was such a Filipina completely struggled
with her identity when she found out about Father Damaso. “Noli Me Tangere”
the opera debuted in the Philippines in 1957 and this is the first time it
will be staged in New York. New York is the center of the world, to show
the world that we have talent, more than talent, we have genius like
Puccini and Verdi in Felipe De Leon and his masterpiece is Noli me
Tangere ,said Loida Nicolas Lewis, Chair of the Foundation for Filipino
Artists

Noli Me Tangere, a three-act-opera , will be staged by the Foundation for
Filipino Artists at the Kaye Playhouse at the Hunter College in Manhattan
this October 4,5 and 6.

You may contact Don Tagala at don_tagala@abs-cbn.com for more information.