The Quest for Adarna at Repertory Philippines

The peaceable and prosperous kingdom Berbania is ruled by the beloved King Fernando and his equally loved wife, Queen Valeriana. They are blessed with three sons – all mighty warriors. The eldest and heir to the throne is the pompous Prince Pedro; the second son is the dashing Prince Diego; and, the youngest, the kind-hearted Prince Juan.

Their idyllic life is shattered when King Fernando is struck down by a mysterious sickness and can only be healed by the song of the mythical bird, Adarna. Anyone wanting to capture her must travel to its home on Mount Tabor, a journey that is difficult and froth with danger.

Pedro goes to find the bird first, falls under the Adarna’s spell and fails. Diego follows and also fails. Juan succeeds where is brothers did not, captures the Adarna bird, and frees his brothers. But his brothers do not want Juan to be hailed a hero and crowned as king so Pedro and Diego plot against Juan and leave him to die on Mount Tabor. They bring the Adarna bird back to Berbania and receive all the glory. The King, however, remains ill because the Adarna refuses to sing.

Meanwhile, Juan is rescued by the Princess Maria Blanca of the Crystal Kingdom. They join forces to rescue Maria’s sisters from the seven-headed serpent then return to Berbania. As soon as Juan arrives at Berbania, the Adarna sings – the King is healed, wrong doings are forgiven, relationships restored and love triumphs over all