The Legends and the Classics

Featuring:

Lea Salonga

Cecile Licad

Lisa Macuja

Wilfredo Pasamba

FILharmoniKA

Gerard Salonga, conductor

Ballet Manila

Up to this moment, despite the concert happening more than two weeks ago, I am still trying to sink in the fact that multi-awarded theater actress Lea Salonga, piano virtuoso Cecile Licad and celebrated ballerina Lisa Macuja managed to be in one show. And this show was aptly called The Legends and the Classics. These three women, icons in their respective disciplines have amassed numerous achievements between themselves and have served as an inspiration to numerous young artists, musicians, dancers and dreamers. When they perform individually, their respective shows have always been hot ticket items so when the three of them joined forces for what was just a one night affair, demand for tickets was at an all time high that a second night had to be put up.

I am extremely fortunate to be among those who were able to experience this concert featuring world class Filipino talents. I’ve been to numerous concerts and shows at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and I was surprised to see only a few of the regulars there during the second night and was amused as well by the newbies who had difficulty in finding their respective sections inside the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater). A stellar cast, a unique concept and the festive atmosphere made me believe earlier on that this will be one heck of an experience for me.

I’ve had some clues as to how things would go since stage director Roxanne Lapus gave a brief outline of the flow of the show during the press conference. And it seemed that her vision came to fruition without a hitch starting from the opening number that featured Lea Salonga singing Nais Ko and Cecile Licad and Lisa Macuja with the rest of Ballet Manila eventually joining her on stage. The concert featured a seamless collaboration between the three, with each of them given a moment to shine and then combining to create a pretty darn good picture. Well, it wasn’t just a pretty picture since it was also easy on the ears as well with the live music by FILharmoniKA conducted by the show’s music director Gerard Salonga.

Going to the individual performances, Lea Salonga was her usual self, performing with pristine vocals and technical perfection. She managed to squeeze in some humor when handed a glass of water in between songs by a Ballet Manila danseur stating that this was in her contract. She sang a medley of Broadway songs from roles that she has portrayed (Memory from CATS, On My Own and I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables) before singing a couple of songs from Wicked (For Good and Defying Gravity) which is a more recent hit. She then reminded the audience that she wasn’t just a theater actress but also a Disney Princess as well as she went on to sing a medley of Disney songs (Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas, Reflection from Mulan and A Whole New World from Aladdin). I’m not a huge fan of medleys but somehow they made the solo songs As If We’ve Never Said Goodbye from Sunset Boulevard, Hahanapin Ko and I’d Give My Life for You from Miss Saigon a lot more special. And she made people note the significance of the last song not just on her career but how it tied up with the venue as well. Her Miss Saigon journey started at the CCP where the auditions were held. She said that she sang it in a concert before she left for London to star in the musical and to sing it again after more than two decades on the very same stage was just amazing. So once I heard the all too familiar opening bars of this song, I felt goose bumps all over my body fully realizing the significance of what was happening right before my very eyes. I wasn’t the only who felt this since right after the song was finished, the audience stood up to give Lea a standing ovation.

Lisa Macuja actually did a number first before Lea performing the world premiere of Augustus Admian III’s choreography of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet with music by Sergei Prokofiev. Ballet Manila’s principal danseur Rudy de Dios joined Lisa in this number as her Romeo. And right after Lea’s set was the Grande Divertissement from Paquita with music by Ludwig Minkus, with Lisa joined by the rest of the Ballet Manila. It’s remarkable knowing that Lisa is close to retiring and yet she can still keep up with the much younger dancers. Her chaine and piqué turns remain fast, sharp, tight and very secure. I couldn’t contain my gasp when she did what I think were eight well centered turns in an assisted pirouette during the Pas de deux in Paquita. Equally amazing was the move during Romeo and Juliet where Rudy de Dios tossed her in the air. And she quickly had to do two quick revolutions in mid-air before being caught by her partner and they immediately did the next move without skipping a beat. And the 32 fouettés en tournant at the coda of Paquita was such a sight to behold. Lisa started the turns sans the music thus setting the pace for the orchestra. It was amazing to see how focused she was during the turns despite the audience roaring in applause with Lisa still having a long way to go. As expected, a standing ovation from the audience right after this section.

I’ve always wondered if there would be an element of surprise in this show since classical concerts normally have the programme/repertoire announced in advance. And the staples of classical ballet have remained the same and it was usually up to the principal dancers, the company and the rest of the production team to come up with a show that would match up to the world standards. I initially thought that Lea would be bringing in the surprise since she did refuse to divulge anything when I asked her about her planned song selection when I met her during the Kanta Pilipinas music video shoot. Unexpectedly, it was actually Cecile Licad who gave the most unexpected performance of the evening for me. I’ve never seen her play as explosive, playful and irreverent when she did her opening number of Frédéric Chopin’s Andante spianato et grande polonaise brilliante in E flat major, Op. 22. I’ve read a facebook status of Gerard Salonga stating that Cecile wanted a bading (gay) and lasing (drunk) Chopin. I wondered what that meant at the time and only realized what it was all about when I saw the actual performance. And Gerard’s description was spot on. It felt to me like Cecile realized that this was not the usual classical concert with a more discerning audience and decided to take risks, be flamboyant, be crazy (lukaret was the word of the day during the press conference), and ultimately have fun which was how she played Pasquinade, Caprice Op. 59 and Souvenirs d'Andalousie, Caprice de concert sur la caña, Op. 22 by Louis Moreau Gottschalk that followed the Chopin. I think that if she started with the Gottschalk pieces, then I would’ve been more prepared for her unconventional and very surprising Chopin. What wasn’t surprising was yet another standing ovation once she finished her set.

RAd and Lea Salonga

Clearly, the highlights of the show were the collaborations between two of the artists. One such collaboration was Lisa Macuja dancing The Dying Swan with music by Camille Saint-Saëns while being accompanied by Cecile Licad and cellist Wilfredo Pasamba. While Paquita was a display of technical prowess and more designed to impress, this number was more subtle and was meant to move the emotions instead. Then Lea went on stage once again for a medley of Michel Legrand songs (What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life, Windmills of Your Mind and Piece of Sky) with Ballet Manila and Lisa Macuja joining her. And during the climax of this medley, when Lea sang “watch me fly”, Lisa once again showed her unmatched turning abilities with those amazing chaine turns. The finale featured all three again Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas which was how people felt at that time: that the show wouldn’t end and still go on. The show ran for two and a half hours without an intermission and yet it didn’t felt that long at all. After this number, what seemed to go on without an end was the standing ovation by the audience.

RAd and Cecile Licad

Right after the concert, I, along with a pianist friend who watched the concert with me, dashed towards the orchestra pit to congratulate Gerard and tell him how surprised I was by Cecile’s performance. After that, we waited at the lobby to see if there would be the usual meet and greet but I guessed that that wouldn’t be possible since the three would’ve been mobbed. So I decided to drag my friend near the backstage area and wait for the three there. Fortunately, our patience paid off since we were able to have photos and autographs taken with Lea Salonga, Cecile Licad, Lisa Macuja and Wilfredo Pasamba as well. This has been an exhilarating experience and very different from the usual concerts that I see at the CCP. Thank you very much to producer Lisa Macuja and Angela Blardony Ureta for this memorable experience.

RAd and Lisa Macuja