Manila Grand Opera House Historical Research

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

Historical Research:
Manila Grand Opera House

Submitted to:

Arch. Norma Alarcon, fuap
Professor

Submitted by:

Vinson P. Serrano
AR 5-5

August 18, 2009

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Acknowledgements 3

Manila Grand Opera House: History and its Greater Glory 4

Manila Grand Opera House: Cultural, Political and National Importance 8

Manila Grand Opera House Photographs from 1900- 2009 10

Bibliography 14

2

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people for their valuable contribution to
the development of this paper. To Ilona Castro, Kimberly Sebastian, and Joan
Angeles of Manila Grand Opera Hotel for having conducted a successful interview, to
the National Historical Institute for providing me written documents needed for this
study, and to Dionella Marie Francisco for the camera used in taking pictures.

And last but not the least, to Arch. Norma Alarcon for giving me an
opportunity to explore the wonders of Manila through this research. To the Almighty
father, thank you for being a great provider of knowledge and wisdom.

V.P.S

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Manila Grand Opera House: History and its Greater Glory

Even before the Philippines be known for the famous Cultural Center of the
Philippines and considered as the world-class theater in the country, very long ago
when it was the Manila Grand Opera House, The Clover Theater and Metropolitan
Theater gave limelight to the brightest stars of the 19th century during the American
occupation.

The Manila Grand Opera House, located at the corner of Doroteo Jose St. and
Avenida Rizal St. was once a huge structure of wood and nipa-roofed structure having
a circumference of about one fourth of a mile which was designed for cycling
contests. Avenida Rizal was then called the Entertainment Capital of Manila during
the prewar and postwar years. 1 Documents proved that it was built on the 1890’s
when it was acquired by a foreigner named N.T. Hashim, and was then known as
National Cycle Track. Later then it became the Teatro Nacional where the Russian
Circus and some American theater companies performed in the 1900. Improvements
were imperative and plans were hatched as early as 1901 to redesign and remodel it. 2

In 1902, the theater became Manila Grand Opera House after it was
transformed into an opera house by Italian impresario Balzofiore in time for a visiting
Italian Opera Company. Seats were divided into the palco proscenio for the
dignitaries, butaca or orchestra for most theatergoers, and gallery, the least expensive
section. 3 Also, the Italian Company supervised the installation of its acoustics. At the
time, its acoustical equipments were said to be so sophisticated that even a whisper of
the actors could be heard by the audience. 4

1
T.G. Santos. “Remembering Avenida Rizal”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2009
2
V.R. de la Torre. Landmarks of Manila 1571- 1930. Manila: Paragon Printing Corporation. 1981
3
T.G. Santos. “Old Manila’s great theaters”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 10/09/05
4
C.P. Morallos. Once upon a theater: Remembering the great Manila Grand Opera House.
Manila: Boulevardier: Nightlife, Travel and Tours. 2009
.
4

On August 9, 1905, an important political event was held at the theater. This is
when the Chambers of Commerce met in a convention where they endorsed then US
Secretary of War William Howard Taft as a candidate for the US presidential
elections. More than 500 guests attended that assembly which included the popular
Alice Roosevelt, daughter of then US President Theodore Roosevelt.

On the following year, on Oct. 16, 1907, the occasion of the inauguration of
the first Philippine Assembly in which the most important American and Filipino
personages were in attendance and was held on this theater due to its size and
prestige. Present dignitaries were then Governor General James P. Smith, the
members of the Philippine Commission, Justices of the Supreme Court,
representatives of foreign governments, officers of the US Army and Navy,
ecclesiastical dignitaries and provincial and municipal officials of the government. It
is on this event when the first Filipino Bishop of Nueva Caceres delivered the
invocation in the presence of Right Rev. Jose Barlin.

Another political event was held in the theater when a meeting organized by
the American Community in the Philippines passed a resolution banning the display
of the Filipino Flag anywhere and for whatever purpose, an action that the local press
and Filipino nationalists opposed and attacked.

Grand concerts of the Filipino as well as foreign artists, zarzuelas, vaudevilles
and the like found a home and an audience in the Opera House. One significant
performance in this opera house is the La Argentina, In dans Bolero Classique which
ran for a week during the 1920’s. A major concert of a Spanish Tenor named Miguel
Fleta was also held during this era. But after two decades of hosting opera and
zarzuela productions, ownership changed in 1942. By then, the building looked more
like a warehouse than a theater.

5

When World War II broke out, the theater continued to operate and was used
surreptitiously and cleverly by the Filipino actors as a venue for anti-Japanese
propaganda. Through patriotic songs the anti-Japanese movement was kept alive.

Toribio Teodoro, a shoe magnate and known as the “shoe king of the
Philippines”, lived there when the Japanese seized his house and shoe factory during
World War II. The building was badly damaged by flood and at that time, the
Department of Labor which happened to be a neighbor of the theater caught fire and
its flames spread to the theater razing it to the ground on November 16, 1943. 5 The
theater was reduced to ashes that only the theater basement remained. 6

By 1945, the theater was completely demolished and reconstruction began
with a modern concrete edifice which is Air-conditioned and equipped with the latest
technology, part of the area occupied by the former theater gave way to commercial
offices and was meant to be a first-class cinema for occasional cultural shows. The
Manila Grand Opera House was then billed as “The Theater with a History.” On April
10, 1947, the theater formally reopened.

In 1947, an important exhibit of murals celebrating great Filipino men from
the rajahs to post-war Republic personages was held. Rizal Day program were also
held on the historic theater where the program enthralled the audience as the people
listened to a kundiman written by Rizal, being the Philippines’ national hero.

During the time that performances were at its peak and people highly
patronized theater shows, a rival theater called Clover located at the foot of the
MacArthur Bridge at the corner of Echague Street in Quiapo, opened its doors to the

5
6
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public. Clover was owned by Spanish-Portuguese impresario Don Jose Zarah. Clover
mainly catered audiences that enjoyed vaudevilles.

The Manila Grand Opera House provided daily entertainment for the masses.
Its main fare was stage shows and movies with an occasional concert, opera and plays
by Lamberto Avellana and Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, among others. 7 Jose A. Estrella, a
famous composer of during the early 1900’s was also part of the Opera House’s
history.

Practically all the country’s Who’s Who in entertainment performed at the
Grand Opera House such as the matinee idol Rogelio de la Rosa, Carmen Rosales, the
singing idol Eddie Mesa, called the Elvis Presley of the Philippines, Diomedes
Maturan, Pilita Corales, actors and actresses Shirley Gorospe, Gloria Romero, Bayani
Casimiro, Gloria Selga, Bobby Gonzales, Elizabeth Ramsey, the Reycard Duet,
Sylvia La Torre, and ballerinas Jovita Fuentes, Isang Tapales, Katy de la Cruz, and
dozens of other big names in the local entertainment galaxy. Comedy actors such as
Dolphy, Cachupoy, Balot, Bentot, Chiquito, Pogo and Togo, Tugak and Pugak, Dely
Atayatayan, Lopito, Patsy, Toto and his Kids and German Moreno are also used to
perform at its grand glittering stage.

Unfortunately, due to technological advancement and the rise of popularity of
television as a common household appliance and the existence of cinema houses, the
fame and spotlight of the Opera House declined, forcing it to close sometime in the
1960’s. On the other hand, same destiny fell into Metropolitan Theater, designed by
Juan Arellano, famous for its magnificent Art Deco style for it did not survive during
this golden period of operatic shows and performances.

7
7

After the building was abandoned for years, the site where it was currently
situated were erected with a five-star hotel called Manila Grand Opera Hotel, which
derives its name from a much revered bygone institution called the Manila Grand
Opera House.

The hotel opened only in September 2008, it is now a great landmark in
Sta.Cruz, once the favorite shopping center of the Manila of old. Drenched in history,
the Manila Grand Opera Hotel rises on the former theater’s 6,000 sq. meters lot that
owner Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua acquired during the 60’s with the
original intent of converting it into a movie theater. At the time, the Ambassador was
engaged in movie theater operations aside from other business ventures such as cars,
insurance, health, publishing and media operations and others. A sparkling eight-
storey edifice on the corner of historic Doroteo Jose St. and Avenida Rizal within the
vicinity of the colorful Chinatown in Binondo, the new hotel is wrapped in soft blue
and yellow hues. At night the façade is brilliantly illuminated making it the focal
point in the area. A historical marker at the hotel’s entrance stood to commemorate
the first Philippine Assembly happened in the historical Opera House. 8

Manila Grand Opera House: Cultural, Political and National Importance

Manila Grand Opera House was the main venue of theatrical shows and operas
during the 19th century in Manila. Prior to cinema houses and the sprouting of much
high-class shopping centers and cinemas in the Philippines, it is during the golden age
of Manila Grand Opera House that paved the careers of the most reputable actors and
actresses in the country. With the existence and grand capacity of the Opera House, it
is where political meetings such as the grand meeting of the First Philippine
Assembly were held. This historical event eventually led into other most important
happenings in the Philippine politics such as the declaration of Sergio Osmeña as

8
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Speaker while Manuel Quezon, as Majority Floor Leader of the Philippine
Assembly. 9 These happenings gave the opportunity for these two significant
politicians in their becoming as Philippine Presidents.

The flourishing days of operas, theaters, dramas were also considered as the
main contribution of this structure in the field of arts and humanities. This Opera
House gave venue to express the artistic prowess of some of the giants of Philippine
theater as mentioned in its history. For the Opera House showcased the best of the
talents not only of the Filipino people but also different performances of Americans,
Spanish, and Russian performers.

The appreciation of art and the political events held on this venue proved that
the Manila Grand Opera House was not just an ordinary Opera House in the 90s. It is
where people gave much importance to the real value of art and humanities, and the
power of politics to recreate the nation towards prosperity. Manila Grand Opera
House is indeed, of cultural, political and national importance.

9
M.C. Guerrero. Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People: Under Stars and Stripes. Hong
Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited. 1998

9


Above: Manila Grand Opera House Façade during its golden years.

Left: A cigarette vendor behind the Manila Grand Opera House’s Historical Marker of the Philippines
Historical Committee.

Right: The comedy “La Raza” played during the eve of Spain’s national holiday honoring its patron
saint, San Santiago, was held at Manila Grand Opera House.

10
11
12
Personal Photographs of Vinson P. Serrano, taken August 12, 2009

10


Above: Closing ceremony of the Flag Rally at the Manila Grand Opera House.

Clockwise from Far
Left: 1 Centro Escolar
de Señoritas left the
Opera House after a
grand meeting.

2 Manila Grand
Opera House façade
circa 1920s.

3 US Secretary of War
William Howard Taft

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15

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Above: Location map of Landmarks in Manila during
1571- 1930 showing the Manila Grand Opera House.

Right: A photograph of the First Philippine Assembly.

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12


Clockwise from Left to Right: 1
Present condition of the Historical marker by the Philippines Historical Committee. 2 Modern façade
expressed by its materials gave a new light to Manila. 3 Manila Grand Opera Hotel towards LRT
Dorotero Jose Station. 4Interior view of the MGOH lobby. 5 Man’s eye view of the MGOH entrance.

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13

Bibliography

T.G. Santos. “Remembering Avenida Rizal”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2009

C.P. Morallos. Once upon a theater: Remembering the great Manila Grand
Opera House. Manila: Boulevardier: Nightlife, Travel and Tours. 2009

V.R. de la Torre. Landmarks of Manila 1571- 1930. Manila: Paragon Printing
Corporation. 1981


M.C. Guerrero. Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People: Under Stars and
Stripes. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited. 1998

14

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