Fides Cuyugan-Asensio
Fides Cuyugan-Asensio | |
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![]() Fides Cuyugan-Asensio in 2022 | |
Born | Fides Belza Cuyugan (1929-08-01) August 1, 1929 (age 95) Lucena, Tayabas, Philippine Islands |
Nationality | Filipino |
Occupation(s) | soprano, librettist, director, teacher |
Spouse(s) | Manuel D. Asensio, Jr. |
Awards | ![]() |
Fides Belza Cuyugan-Asensio (born August 1, 1929) is a Filipino coloratura soprano, director, librettist, TV host, translator, and teacher.[1]
Biography
Fides Belza Cuyugan is born on August 1, 1929, in Lucena, Philippines. She is the daughter of Gervasio Santos Cuyugan and Jacinta Belza. During the war she directed, wrote, performed, and designed short musicals and plays. She studied at the Philippine Women's University and finished two courses - a Bachelor of Arts in English, specializing in Drama in 1950 and a Bachelor of Music, Major in voice and minor in piano in 1951.
Her graduation recital in 1951 was well-received. It appeared in the front page of The Manila Times declaring "A star is born". More significantly, she was praised by the grand dame Jovita Fuentes (who was in the audience), who proclaimed that the young soprano would "inherit my mantle someday."[2] After graduating she received a scholarship from the Curtis Institute of Music in Pennsylvania where she graduated in 1955 with an Artist's Diploma, major in voice with special studies in stage movement and eurhythymics. She married Manuel D. Asensio, Jr. in 1954 and after graduating from Curtis Institute she returned to Manila.
Since 1955, she has become one of the leading performers and producers of opera in the country. She made her operatic debut in 1955 singing as Adele in Strauss' Die Fledermaus. She also performed in many world premiere performances of Filipino operas, like in Rosendo Santos' Mapulang Bituin, Eliseo Pajaro's Binhi ng Kalayaan, Kasilag's Dularawan, and most notably as Sisa in Felipe de Leon's Noli me Tangere in 1957. She has also sung lead roles in Menotti's The Telephone, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Verdi's La Traviata, Britten's Turn of the Screw, and Debussy's L'Enfant Prodigue and many more. She also directed productions of several Filipino and Western operas.
In 1969-1974 she appeared as one of the hosts in the TV show Sunday Sweet Sunday and in 1989-2002 in the TV show A Little Night of Music. She also appeared in four films: in Oro Plata Mata (1982), Niño (2011), Aparisyon (2012), and in Mana (2014).[3]
In 1986, Fides Asensio formed the Music Theater Foundation of the Philippines (MTFP), a non-profit organization dedicated to promote, stage, and give scholarships to young classical performers. In 1988, she was appointed Chairman of Voice and Music Theater Department at the U.P. College of Music, a position she held until she retired in 1997. After her retirement, she was granted the title of Professor Emeritus by the U.P. Board of Regents. She is the artistic director of the Opera Guild of the Philippines and the president of the MTFP since 1987.[1][4][5]
Honors and awards
Asensio is among the people listed in the 1999 book Outstanding Woman of the Philippines by Victoria Paz, She was also awarded the PAMA-AS Gintong Award for the Musical Arts by the NCCA in 2005 and the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining Award in 2015.[1]
She was also recognized as a National Artist for Music in 2022.[6]
Librettos
Fides is also known for writing opera librettos for several Filipino composers. Some of the librettos she wrote are listed here:[1][7]
- Lucrecia Kasilag's Larawan ng kababihan: Maskara at Mukha (1981)
- Lucrecia Kasilag's Why Flowers Bloom in May (2008)
- Francisco Feliciano's La Loba Negra (1984)
- Ryan Cayabyab's Spoliarium (2003)
- Rey Paguio's Mayo - Bisperas ng Liwanag (1997)
- Raymond and Jeannelle Roldan's "Song of Joseph" (2009)
- Raymond and Jeannelle Roldan's "Legend of M: Marya Makiling at ang mga Nuno sa Punso" (2013)
References
- ^ a b c d Gatchalian, E., Tan, A. (2019). CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art (Vol. 7: Music). Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines.
- ^ San Diego Jr., Bayani (January 7, 2012). "Yesterday: Diva in residence". Inquirer.
- ^ "Fides Cuyugan-Asensio". IMDB.
- ^ Guerrero, Amadís Ma. (July 6, 2013). "Fides Cuyugan Asensio–grand dame of the Philippine stage". Inquirer.
- ^ Ross, Craig. "Fides Asensio".
- ^ "Nora Aunor, seven others named new National Artists". MSN.
- ^ Ang, Walter (August 1, 2011). "45-year-old virgin opera; tribute to Fides Cuyugan Asensio". Inquirer.
External links
- v
- t
- e
- 1973 Juan Nakpil
- 1976 Pablo Antonio
- 1990 Leandro Locsin
- 2006 Ildefonso P. Santos Jr.
- 2014 José María Zaragoza
- 2018 Francisco Mañosa
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/National_Artist_of_the_Philippines.svg/80px-National_Artist_of_the_Philippines.svg.png)
- 1973 Francisca R. Aquino
- 1976 Leonor Orosa
- 1988 Lucrecia Reyes
- 2006 Ramon Obusan
- 2014 Alice Reyes
- 2022 Agnes Locsin
- 2006 Ramón Valera
- 2022 Salvacion Lim Higgins
- 1976 Lamberto V. Avellana
- 1982 Gerardo de León
- 1997 Lino Brocka
- 2001 Ishmael Bernal
- 2003 Eddie Romero
- 2006 Fernando Poe Jr.
- 2009 Manuel Conde
- 2018 Kidlat Tahimik
- 2022 Nora Aunor
- 2022 Marilou Diaz-Abaya
- 2022 Ricardo Lee
- 1997 Carlos Quirino
- 1973 Amado V. Hernandez
- 1973 José Garcia Villa
- 1976 Nick Joaquin
- 1982 Carlos P. Romulo
- 1990 Francisco Arcellana
- 1997 N. V. M. Gonzalez
- 1999 Edith Tiempo
- 2001 F. Sionil José
- 2003 Virgilio S. Almario
- 2003 Alejandro Roces
- 2006 Bienvenido Lumbera
- 2009 Lazaro Francisco
- 2014 Cirilo F. Bautista
- 2018 Ramon Muzones
- 2018 Resil B. Mojares
- 2022 Gémino Abad
- 1973 Antonio Molina
- 1976 Jovita Fuentes
- 1988 Antonino Buenaventura
- 1988 Lucrecia Kasilag
- 1991 Lucio San Pedro
- 1997 Levi Celerio
- 1997 Felipe Padilla de León
- 1997 José Maceda
- 1999 Ernani Joson Cuenco
- 1999 Andrea Veneracion
- 2014 Ramon Santos
- 2014 Francisco Feliciano
- 2018 Ryan Cayabyab
- 2022 Fides Cuyugan-Asensio
- 1987 Atang de la Rama
- 1997 Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero
- 1997 Rolando Tinio
- 1999 Daisy Avellana
- 2001 Severino Montano
- 2003 Salvador Bernal
- 2018 Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio
- 2022 Tony Mabesa
- 1972 Fernando Amorsolo
- 1973 Botong Francisco
- 1973 Guillermo Tolentino
- 1976 Napoleon Abueva
- 1976 Victorio Edades
- 1981 Vicente Manansala
- 1990 Cesar Legaspi
- 1991 Hernando R. Ocampo
- 1997 Arturo R. Luz
- 1999 J. Navarro Elizalde
- 2001 Ang Kiukok
- 2003 José T. Joya
- 2006 BenCab Cabrera
- 2006 Abdulmari Imao
- 2009 Federico Aguilar Alcuaz
- 2014 Francisco Coching
- 2018 Larry Alcala
- National Commission for Culture and the Arts
- Cultural Center of the Philippines
- YouTube: Fides Cuyugan-Asensio Gawad CCP para sa Sining Musika