TOKYO, June 25 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATI...

TOKYO, June 25 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH illustrations AFTER OPERA, OTHER INFO)

A joint Japanese and Filipino cast and company staged an opera Wednesday in Tokyo onward the life of Takayama Ukon arguably Japan's best known Christian daimyo, that was attended from more than 600 the bulk of mankind including Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon.

The two-act opera, ''Lord Takayama Ukon'' is a co-production by way of the Tokyo Opera Association and the Catholic University of Santo Tomas in Manila. It celebrates the historical ties between the sum of two units countries mainly through the Christian faith.

The Japan tour started with a three-day flow at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan music hall in the capital's Taito Ward.

The audience at Wednesday's opening point out to was particularly impressed from the performances of three native Filipino dancers during the same scene in the play.

The opera depicts the life of Ukon (1552-1615) who refused to disavow his Christian faith. He was forced into exile in November 1614 subordinate to the Tokugawa shogunate government and died the following February in Manila.

It places the story of Christianity against the backdrop of the civil wars in Japan and the persecution of Christianity which intensified in 1614

The opera has been staged to mark the 450th anniversary of the daimyo's birth and the 100 years since Japan mobilized construction laborers to work forward the scenic Kennon Road linking Baguio in northern Luzon with the lowlands in the first wave of Japanese migration to the Philippines.

The work is the brainchild of Edward Ishita, 55 who is opera director and general director of the Tokyo Opera Association.

Ishita has a Japanese father and a Filipino mother, and said he has always dreamed of fostering religious ties between the two nations.

He said he was happy with Wednesday's performance and reliances that the play will luckily convey his message -- no violence in the world.

The composer Father Manuel Maramba, from the Philippine university, said he possibility of goods the opera, with its universal message of peace, will appeal to a wide audience.

Allen Chen, stage manager for the Philippine side, reflected sounded this sentiment, saying it is an example of ''good will'' at work.

Thea Perez single of the chorus members in the Filipino cast, said it was an entirely strange experience working with the Japanese cast. The opera, she said, is a ''work of regard with affection dedication, and being a Christian.''

It will also be staged from June 29 to July 13 in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture; Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture; Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture; Kyoto; Nago and Ginowan, the couple in Okinawa Prefecture; and Osaka.

It will also be performed in the Philippines in August.

The opera is sung for the greatest part in Japanese, and some parts in English, Tagalog and Spanish, with the Filipino soloists also singing in Japanese.

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