Going on its second and final week, constant reminders not to let the remaining performances of Alice Reyes' Rama, Hari pass by were not hard to miss. The primary reason is that it would be at least a decade until this epic rock opera ballet gets seen on stage again.
With this in mind, I made it a point to savor every moment viewing this production that boasts the collaborative works of five National Artists namely Alice Reyes (direction and choreography), National Artist for Dance; Ryan Cayabyab (music), National Artist for Music; Bienvenido Lumbera (libretto and lyrics), National Artist for Literature; Salvador Bernal (set and costume design), National Artist for Theater Design, and Rolando Tinio (English translation), National Artist for Theater and Literature.
I also made sure to catch the performance where the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth was led by Ryan Cayabyab himself, taking over conducting duties from his son Toma Cayabyab who had another conducting engagement on the same night
With the 2023 run still relatively fresh on my mind, I was now able to focus on the dancers a lot more considering that my attention was more on the singers and the music during my previous viewings.
The show this time around went smoother, tighter, more polished and it also looked like the dancers did savor the final week of performances. The usually reserved Ejay Arisola was able to express more now as Rama allowing him to keep pace with the ever expressive Katrene San Miguel.
Veterans John Ababon (King Dasaratha), Dan Dayo (Hanuman), and Sarah Alejandro (Kooni/Gintong Usa) delivered solid performances having already eased into their roles. This staging also gave Ricmar Bayoneta the spotlight as the antagonist Ravana.
On the other hand, Karla Santos (Kaikeyi) and Krislynne Buri (Soorpanakha), who were both new to me back in the previous staging, continued to make their mark as future leads in Alice Reyes Dance Philippines.
For two seasons now, Renzen Arboleda has positioned himself as one to watch, not just in ARDP, but also in the local dance scene as well. It was a delight to see yet another noteworthy outing from him as Lakshmana. This young man is destined to be one of the leading danseurs in the country, that is if a foreign company doesn't snag him first.
The dance numbers with the entire company on stage looked too crowded and at times a bit messy. But this owed more to the smaller size of the Samsung Performing Arts Theater stage compared to that of the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Main Theater Stage. The smaller stage also resulted in the reduced size of the Salvador Bernal sets. This just didn't have the wow factor compared to how grand the original scale was as seen at the CCP during the last Rama, Hari staging there back in 2012.
There is nothing left to be said with the singers that performed on this night. Arman Ferrer and Shiela Valderrama-Martinez as Rama and Sita were in their finest. Jonel Mojica (Ravana), Audie Gemora (King Dasaratha), Rafflesia Bravo (Soorpanakha/Kooni), Katrene Sunga (Kaikeyi/Gintong Usa), and Paw Castillo (Lakshmana/Hanuman) all sounded well rested and one just wished that they, along with the other singers did an original cast recording. But no recording was made for this run as far as I know. Thank goodness that I savored every moment of the dancing, singing, and the music to get me through for at least ten years until the next staging.
No comments:
Post a Comment