MSO honors soprano Conching Rosal at FEU Auditorium

Conching Rosal

Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) returns to the Far Eastern University (FEU) Auditorium on August 29 with Opera at Kundiman, honoring the soprano who sang Bizet’s Carmen in Tagalog In celebration of Buwan Ng Wika. Opera at Kundiman: The Legacy of Maestra Conching Rosal is presented by the Manila Symphony Orchestra Foundation, Inc. and Standard Insurance, co-presented by EastWest Bank, ACMobility, and BYD, in partnership with FEU, under the season title “In Pursuit of Excellence: CELEBRATION–The MSO Centennial Season.”

Manila Symphony Orchestra

For many music lovers today, it may come as a surprise that one of the world’s most celebrated operas was performed in Tagalog. On Aug. 29, 1956, exactly 70 years ago, the MSO staged Georges Bizet’s opera, Carmen (1875) at FEU Auditorium, which served as the orchestra’s home throughout most of the 1950s. Celebrating its 98th anniversary this year, FEU remains one of the country’s foremost educational and cultural institutions. Its auditorium, inaugurated in 1949, is a celebrated Art Deco masterpiece designed by National Artist for Architecture Pablo Antonio Sr.

The musical director then was Herbert Zipper—the successor of MSO founder Alexander Lippay—and the production staged by his wife Trudl Dubsky-Zipper. Instead of the original French, Carmen was presented in Tagalog using a translation by Manuel Carballo Santiago and Vicente Liwag. The title role was performed by a young Filipino soprano who would become one of the country’s most distinguished opera singers. She was Conchita “Conching” H. Rosal.

This year, the MSO revisits this remarkable era in Philippine musical history through Opera at Kundiman: The Legacy of Maestra Conching Rosal, the fourth concert of its Centennial Season. The performance celebrates not only the MSO’s 100th anniversary, but also the 100th birth anniversary of Rosal, whose contributions left a lasting mark on both Philippine opera and kundiman.

Born in San Jose, Batangas in 1926, Conching Rosal discovered her love for singing in her parish church before pursuing formal studies at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music. She established herself as one of the Philippines’ leading sopranos through acclaimed performances in productions such as Madama Butterfly, Aida, and Ang Kiri, becoming one of the defining voices of Philippine opera from the 1950s through the 1970s.

While Rosal earned acclaim on the operatic stage, she was equally devoted to kundiman. Through her concerts and recordings, she helped preserve and popularize many of the country’s best-loved art songs, introducing generations of Filipinos to this treasured musical tradition.

Reflecting this legacy, the program features kundiman and Filipino vocal works by Nicanor Abelardo, Francisco Santiago, Leopoldo Silos, Constancio de Guzman, and Manuel Velez, alongside selections from Bizet’s Carmen, to be performed, once again, in Tagalog.

To perform are four of the Philippines’ foremost opera artists—Rachelle Gerodias-Park, First Aliw Awards Hall of Fame Best Female Classical Performer (soprano); Michelle Mariposa, Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition grand finals winner (mezzo-soprano); Arthur Espiritu, Metropolitan Opera tenor and George London Award Winner; and Byeong-In Park, international opera baritone and vocal mentor. They will be joined by the MSO, the FEU Chorale, and the FEU Dance Company, under the baton of MSO music director, Maestro Marlon Chen.

Michelle Nicolasora, mezzo soprano

Tickets are available on TicketWorld at P5,000 for VIP, P3,500 for Premium Patron, P3,000 for Regular Patron A, P2,500 for Regular Patron B, P2000 General Admission A, and P1,000 for General Admission B. Discounts are available for students, seniors, PWDs, diplomats, and early birds. Official media partners are 98.7 DZFE-FM|The Master’s Touch and The Manila Times. Sponsor is the EON Group.