Now open for showbuyers: Philippine Opera Company's "Harana" re-run in 2012

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Announcement from Philippine Opera Company

Watch out for the limited return engagement of "ANG BAGONG HARANA" this coming 2012!

Interested show buyers can contact 0917-527-2880 or 881-7168.

Directed by Floy Quintos, "Ang Bagong Harana" showcases the best of Filipino composers from different music genres: Nicanor Abelardo, Ryan Cayabyab, Willy Cruz, Francisco Santiago, Antonio Molina, Resti Umali, George Canseco, Ernani Cuenco, Levi Celerio, Jose Estrella, Constancio De Guzman and  Felipe de Leon, to name a few.

“Ang Bagong Harana” integrates past/present, north/south, colonial/post-colonial experiences and put them into a revue where our whole souls are the source of inspiration. The different suites mixes old songs and new while talking about “who we are Filipinos” and where we have been.

Past shows have featured Philippine opera and theater's celebrated singers: Karla Gutierrez, Aizel Prietos, Charley Magalit, Janine Santos, Marian Santiago, Lawrence Jatayna, Jack Salud, Nazer Salcedo, Marvin Gayramon, Al Gatmaitan, Floyd Tena and Jurgen Unterburg.

Background
Harana, also known as Habanera Filipina, is a form of Philipipne lyrical song from the Spanish colonial period.  It was used as courtship serenades in the Mexican-Spanish tradition based on the Spanish Tango or Habanera rhythm.  While the Spanish version has a lively, seductive tempo; the Filipino version is romantic, lyrical and slow.

Filipino bachelors, accompanied by one or two companions, would bring along a guitar to serenade their ladies under starlit skies.  The lady and her kinsfolk would open the home's window as a polite gesture of appreciation until the set of harana songs were completed.

In the 1920s harana was (re)popularized by performers such as Atang de la Rama, Jovita Fuentes, Conching Rosal, Sylvia La Torre and Ruben Tagalog.

Why harana?
"Today, the young generation may not even know harana's real essence as far as Filipino folk traditions are concerned. And that is the one singular reason why POC is reviving this beautiful Filipino culture," says Karla Gutierrez, POC artistic director.

In 2008, POC staged "Harana" as a vehicle to showcase the evolution of Philippine music through song and movement. Harana went on a tour of Amsterdam in 2009.

It embarked on a Philippine tour in 2010, covering the cities of Cebu, Roxas, Antique, Bohol, Palawan. In 2011, it toured Bacolod, Ormoc, Tacloban, and Samar.  Later in 2011, the show went through some changes and was retitled to "Ang Bagong Harana."

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