The Cultural Center of the Philippines unveiled its 2020 performance season. CCP vice president and artistic director Chris Millado presented the CCP’s year-long programming in a press conference held recently at the CCP Tanghalang Huseng Batute.
CCP welcomes the new year with forthcoming productions from its resident companies – the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theatre, Tanghalang Pilipino, Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, Bayanihan Dance Company, UST Symphony Orchestra, National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA), and the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Local and international outreach performance tours are likewise set for some of the resident companies throughout the year.
A University Theater Season is set in 2020 wherein select university-based theater groups take to the CCP venues to showcase next-generation talent in their productions of original Filipino works, adaptations of classics and experimental work. The season of university theater productions ramps up to the 13th International University Theater Association’s (IUTA) Congress and Festival to be held in August.
International Filipino tenor Arthur Espiritu leads a stellar international cast from Italy and Manila in the staging of the opera “Lucia Di Lammermoor” by Gaetano Donizetti, the Italian-language libretto written by Salvadore Cammarano based upon Sir Walter Scott’s historical novel “The Bride of Lammermoor.”
Ternocon II, a unique competition involving the young designers in a mentoring atelier workshop with established designers in a process that engages the history, technique, and construction of the classic Filipino terno, culminates in a grand fashion concert where the winners are announced.
Other events include concerts (Triple Threats), festivals (CCP Jazz Festival in Baguio City, Banda Rito Banda Roon: Symphonic Band and Clarinet, The Rainbow LGBTQI Arts; Festival of Arts and Ideas), plays (Tanghalang Pilipino’s “Batang Mujahideen” and “Lam-Ang, an Ethno-Epic Musical”), a production of “Senadala at Persyanus: Ang Bagong Mukha ng Moro by community-based theater organization Komedya ng Don Galo, and other productions.
Highlights of the 2020 CCP season calendar include the inauguration of the CCP’s newest venue Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Black Box Theater), the first CCP Arts and Social Media Festival, Launching of Rare Digitized CCP Performances Collection of the CCP Library and Archives, and the Genesis Magazine Anniversary Edition, CCP Digital Time Capsule, Luces: Festival of Illuminations, CCP Arthouse Cinema screenings, Philippine Hip-Hop Dance Championship and the like.
The CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art (EPA) will soon be available digitally in 2020 including a Digital Installation, Website launch, Mobile Application, and Offline Version as well.
There are also the CCP regular events such as the Pasinaya, considered the largest multi-arts festival in the country; the Virgin Labfest, the annual festival of raw, untested and unstaged one-act plays, followed by an Extra Virgin LabFest to be held in other regions; Cinemalaya, the largest independent film festival with the aim to support cinematic works by upcoming and veteran Filipino filmmakers.
Proud of its art education and outreach programs, the CCP continues to hold various training and workshops for national rondalla, national folk dance for teachers, choral groups, and summer dance, to name some.
Must-see exhibitions include the following: “1986 People Power Revolution – The aftermath from Cultural Center of the Philippines to Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas: The Center in the Midst of Change”, “Valerio Nofuente and Emmanuel Sanchez Collections: The Banned Library Materials During the Martial Law Era”, “Allegories And Realities Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi: In Retrospect”, Launching of the 21AM (21st Century Arts Museum), “1st of May: The Roles of Amado Vera Hernandez and Isabelo Florentino De Los Reyes in the History of the Labor Movement in the Struggle for Social Justice and Liberation”, Severino Rivera Reyes (1861-1942) “Father of the Tagalog Sarsuwela”, “Launch of the CCP Print Folio: 20/30 I & II: A Limited Edition Print Portfolios in Celebration of the 50th Year Anniversary of CCP”, Cinemalaya Eye Fix, among other shows.
