Having presumed that “Voices Through Time” would start at 8 p.m. — as all performances at the CCP main theater do — I missed practically its first half. I caught up with Jonahtan Zaens, bass baritone, singing Bach’s aria Ich habe genug (It is enough) and “Why do the nations so furiously rage together?” from Handel’s Messiah, with Najib Ismail on the harpsichord, and Mark Anthony Carpio, counter tenor, rendering G. Caccini’s Ave Maria with the Chiang Kai Shek Youth Choir, and finally soloists, the Madrigals and Youth Choir in Donezetti’s Per te d’ immenso giubilo from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor.
The second half opened with the strong, refined voices of the same youth choir under the direction of Irma Tan Su in Martini’s Plaisir d’ Amour (The Joys of Love), tenor Randy Gilongo emphatically intoning Schubert’s art song Der Erlkonig (The Erl King), and bass baritone Zaens boldly articulating Heinrich Poos’ contemporary Pater Noster.
Camille Lopez Molina was immensely stirring in Pace, Pace mio Dio from Verdi’s opera La Forza del Destino. Although the aria is usually for a dramatic soprano, it was deeply gratifying to hear Camille’s version, her mellifluous, resplendent voice rising gloriously and moving listeners as she, portraying Leonora, prayed for inner peace and implored the Almighty to end her excruciating pain. I had not heard Camille singing more tantalizingly, sustaining top notes with dramatic fervor.
Mezzo soprano Clarissa Ocampo as Delilah opened her heart at the sound of Samson’s voice, her aria Mon Coeur s’ouvre a ta voix from Saint-Saens’ opera rending the audience’s sensibilities. The male dance ensemble of Teatro Ambahon, remarkable though it was, seemed out of place, deflecting attention from the singer’s profoundly expressive rendition.
French guest artist Jerome Correas, bass baritone, who performed under the auspices of Alliance Francaise, impressed with his vocal and emotive talent, his miming, with a roll of photographs, considerably enhancing the “catalogue” aria from Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni.
Camille and Clarissa, Jerome and Randy joined vocal forces in the quartet Non, ti fidar, o misera from the same opera, and again sang together in a riveting interpretation of Ave Formosissima and O Fortuna from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Madrigals and the Youth Choir, along with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, under the fiery and fervid direction of Chino Toledo, fortifying the massive volume through its thunderous end.
“Opera Ball” at Fort Bonifacio’s NBC Tent was suffused with Viennese music, particularly with Strauss compositions, conducted with verve, vibrance and spirit by “balikbayan” Ernest Hoetzl who regularly returns for the Johann Strauss of the Philippines’ Opera Balls. These are a recreation of Vienna’s opera soirees of the imperial age, with international celebrities watching 200 debutantes and their escorts introduced to society.
The steering committee for the Fort’s grand affair consisted of Consul Fortune Ledesma, JSSP president and over-all chairman; Cristina Belton, chairperson; Letty C. Syquia, adviser, and Mandarin Oriental GM Helmut Gaisberger, program chairman.
The lilt of Strauss music invigorated the dinner-concert as Hoetzl conducted the songs, the singers’ voices joyously ringing and enriching the evening’s festive mood with Czardas (Die Flederamus) sung by soprano Ana Feleo, Eine Nacht in Vendig sung by Nolyn Cabahug, and the soirited, merry duo Trinke Liebchen, trinke schnell (Die Fledermus).
Tenor George Yang interpreted the only selection by Lehar, the exquisitely melodious Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (Yours Is My Heart Alone), again affirming his established place in the ranks of our leading tenors. A rousing rendition of the overture to Mozart’s opera Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) opened the concert.
Gener Caringal choreographed the waltzes performed by the eight debutantes (in elegant Pitoy Moreno gowns) and their escorts.