FIDES CUYUGAN-ASENSIO
Fides Cuyugan-Asensio, or Tita Fides to her students, is one of the Philippines' prolific sopranos for more than half a century, her name synonymous to opera in the national consciousness. As singer, actress, producer, librettist and pedagogue--these facets bring to us a woman that is unique among her peers, an inspiration to those who have known her, and a fount of tremendous artistic contributions that Philippine music theatre will yet see in years to come.
Fides, born in Lucena on August 1, 1931, is the youngest of four children. As a young girl, she showed interest in writing plays and aptitude in music. Jovita Fuentes being one of her earliest voice teachers, later tutored by Felicing Tirona, she was chosen as scholar by Lucresia Kasilag, earning her Bachelor of Arts major in English, and Bachelor of Music major in Voice at the Philippine Women's University. She continued to pursue further studies at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, USA--the first Filipina to do so.
Upon graduation, Fides opted to return to the Philippines and devote her energies to the propagation of opera and music theatre. As coloratura soprano, she excelled in the lead roles of Lucia di Lamermoor, Abduction from the Seraglio, La Traviata, Die Fliedermaus, Hansel and Gretel, The Telephone, L'Enfant Prodigue, Turn of the Screw, Marriage of Figaro, Il Segreto di Susanna, and Saint of Bleecker Street, while equally immersing in Filipino theatrical works, giving life to the lead female roles of Walang Sugat, Minda Mora, Ana Maria, Mapulang Bituin, Binhi ng Kalayaan, Dularawan, Lapu-lapu, La Loba Negra, Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag and Noli Me Tangere.
Delving into television, unheard of for opera singers during her day, she was the first cross-over artist, hosting and directing Sunday, Sweet Sunday, a show dedicated in the performance of opera and Broadway musical excerpts from 1969 to 1974. She resumed hosting duties to A Little Night of Music, which launched singers of various genres, from 1989 to 2001, earning her Best TV Musical Show Host in the 1994 Star Awards by the Philippine Movie Press Club. As a movie actress, she portrayed various characterizations in Mana (2014), Aparisyon (2012), Nino (2012) and Oro, Plata, Mata (1982).
As stage director, Fides completed productions of Hansel and Gretel, La Serva Perdona, Tales of Hoffman, Secret of Suzanne, L'Enfant Prodigue, Down in the Valley, Aloyan, Larawan ng Himagsikan, Rebecca, Romeo and Juliet and Don Giovanni, passing on her passion, knowledge and experience to students and professionals alike.
As President and Artistic Director of the Music Theater Foundation Philippines, as well as its counterpart Music Theater Foundation Philippines, USA, she continues to support emerging opera artists and advocate the production of Filipino operas and musicals in the country and abroad. As librettist, she immerses herself in the creation of Filipino theatrical works, with Larawan at Kababaihan: Mukha at Maskara and Why Flowers Bloom in May by Lucrecia Kasilag; Spoliarium by Ryan Cayabyab; Mayo Bisperas ng Liwanag by Rey Paguio; Song of Joseph and Legend of M: Marya Makiling at Mga Nuno sa Punso by Raymond and Jeannelle Roldan; and La Loba Negra, by Francisco Feliciano.
Most of all, Fides is a voice teacher par excellence, sharing her passion to an impressive roster of students that give remarkable contributions in the field of opera and music theatre. Among them are Margarita Yulo-Gomez, Camille Lopez-Molina, Andion Fernandez, Johanna Cabili, Lorna Llames, Rica Nepomuceno, Lena McKenzie, Lemuel Cuento, Jonathan Badon, Nazer Salcedo, Marvin Gayramon, Emily Britanico-Morales, Luz Tolentino, Tricia Amper-Jimenez, Karla Gutierrez, Ana Feleo, Lara Maigue, Kitchy Molina and Alegria Ferrer.
A Professor Emeritus and former Voice and Music Theatre and Dance Department Chair of the University of the Philippines College of Music, Fides is also a faculty member of her alma mater, the Philippine Women's University, which awarded her a Doctorate in Humanities, honoris causa.
Fides is likewise the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, for Noli Me Tangere given by Honorary Chairman Loida Nicolas Lewis in 2014; the Gawad Buhay Award, by Philstage in 2013; for Best Musical Production of Spoliarium in the 2003 Aliw Awards; Gawad Siglo ng Aliw, 1999 Aliw Awards; Most Outstanding Alumna, Philippine Women's University in 1969, and the Asia Opera Award, Seoul, South Korea in 1990 and 1993.
Well into her eighties, Fides shows no signs of slowing down. She has recently started a series of lecture concerts called Voices, intended to raise awareness in vocal categories of performing artists to national audiences, as well as actively assisting a new production of Spoliarium to be performed in the United States, while initiating plans to resume Song of Joseph in 2016. She has also founded the Fides Cuyugan Asensio Institute of Music and Arts, which foster learning and love for the arts among students of all ages.
