Musicartes stages La Bohème opera at SM Aura Premier’s Samsung Hall

October 18-19, 2014

Samsung Hall

SM Aura Premier, Taguig

Featuring:

Margarita Giannelli, soprano

Scott Ramsay, tenor

Fernando Araujo, baritone

Myramae Meneses, soprano

Greg de Leon, baritone

Nonon Baang, baritone

Viva Voce

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Jonathan Velasco, conductor

Soprano Margarita Giannelli

After a year’s absence, full length operas came back on the live stage in full force this 2014, and to cap it all off is the one considered as the most romantic of all, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème happening this October 18-19, 2014, 7:30 PM at the Samsung Hall of the SM Aura Premier in Taguig.

Baritone Fernando Araujo

This opera, presented by MusicArtes, Inc. and A-Team, is led by the phenomenal soprano Margarita Gianelli playing the seamstress Mimì. Giannelli, a Rosa Ponselle awardee, impressed audiences with her performance as Micaela in Carmen back in 2012 and Aida at the Viva Verdi 1813-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert. Her lover, the poet Rodolfo will be played by American tenor Scott Ramsay. Italo-Brazilian baritone Fernando Araujo plays Marcello while promising young soprano Myramae Meneses play the role of his on and off lover Musetta. Baritones Nonon Baang (Colline) and Greg de Leon (Schaunard) complete the main cast.

Tenor Ivan Nery and baritone Fernando Araujo

Tenor Ivan Nery and soprano Margarita Giannelli

Also appearing in this production are Michael Bulaong, Raymond Yadao and Viva Voce. Maestro Jonathan Velasco conducts the Manila Symphony Orchestra. Directing the opera will be Dr. Anton Juan whose last full length opera was Madame Butterfly, also presented by MusicArtes, Inc. The set design by Otto Fernandez is said to have a modern aesthetic even though the opera will still be set in the early 19^th century. Light design will be by Joseph Matheu while the costumes will be handled by the MusicArtes team.

Soprano Stephanie Aguilar

The opera La Bohème is actually the source material of the popular musical Rent and now is the perfect chance for fans of the musical (and/or the film adaptation) to finally see for themselves where their favorite was actually based from. For me, the main highlights of La Bohème has got to be Sì, mi chiamano Mimì in which Mimì dishes out more poetry than the love struck poet Rodolfo and also her parting aria to her lover, Donde lieta uscì. But for many, their favorite is the most popular aria from the opera which is Musetta’s waltz, Quando men vo. Other highlights in the opera are Rodolfo’s Che gelida manina, Mimì and Rodolfo’s duet O soave fanciulla, and Colline’s Vecchia zimarra which is a sad farewell to his coat. Most of these arias were performed during the press conference held at Chef Jessie's with Margarita Giannelli, Fernando Araujo, Nonon Baang along with understudies Ivan Nery (Rodolfo), Stephanie Aguilar (Musetta).

Baritone Nonon Baang

It will also be very interesting to see how the Samsung Hall will be like since the venue hasn’t been used for a full length opera production before. MusicArtes’ Jay Glorioso told members of the media that one reason why they decided to stage La Bohème there is so that they can reach out to more people, especially those who frequent the SM Aura Premier.

Nonon Baang, Ivan Nery, Stephanie Aguilar, Jonathan Velasco, Margarita Giannelli,
Fernando Araujo, and Jay Glorioso

Ticket prices:

P5000 Orchestra Patron

P4500 Orchestra VIP 1

P4000 Orchestra VIP 2

P3500 Orchestra VIP 3

P3000 Orchestra 1

P2800 Orchestra 2

P2500 Loge Center

P2000 Loge Side

P1500 Balcony Center

P1000 Balcony Side

For inquiries:

Musicartes 895-8098, 519-3603

A-Team (0918) 921-6835

Nonon Baang (0921) 207-6945, (0927) 687-4403

SM Tickets 470-2222

Viva Verdi 1813-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert

Viva Verdi 1913-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert participants
Photo by Kiko Cabuena

Featuring:

Gian Luca Pasolini, tenor

Alvaro Lozano, baritone

Rachelle Gerodias, soprano

Margarita Giannelli, soprano

Nenen Espina, soprano

Thea Perez, soprano

Andrew Fernando, baritone

Ronan Ferrer, tenor

Coro Tomasino

Ballet Philippines

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Ruggero Barbieri, conductor

Celebrations for Giuseppe Verdi’s 200^th birth anniversary had a fitting finish in the Philippines with Viva Verdi 1913-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The event, presented by the Embassy of the Republic of Italy, featured collaborations between Italian and Filipino artists led by Italian conductor Ruggero Barbieri, who for the first time conducted the Manila Symphony Orchestra. This tandem provided the live music accompaniment for the singers on stage that included tenor Gian Luca Pasolini and baritone Alvaro Lozano from Italy. The Italians were joined on stage by local talents that included sopranos Rachelle Gerodias, Margarita Giannelli, Nenen Espina and Thea Perez, baritone Andrew Fernando, and tenor Ronan Ferrer. Coro Tomasino acted out as the chorus while members of Ballet Philippines provided the dancing. Actor/writer/director Jaime del Mundo wa the evening’s narrator providing useful background information prior to the performance of Verdi’s masterpieces.

But the concert didn’t start out with Verdi’s music. In solidarity with those affected by the super typhoon Yolanda, the evening started with the orchestra playing Air on the G String (August Wilhelmj's arrangement of the second movement Air of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068) while images of the devastation were projected on screen.

After this, it was all business with Verdi. Some of the numbers were trips back to memory lane like Rachelle Gerodias’ reprisal of Violetta and Andrew Fernando’s Giorgio Germont in La Traviata. It was my first time to see and hear live performances from Rigoletto and Aida, both of which had their Metropolitan Opera productions screened some months before. I was really grateful that Jaime del Mundo was on hand or else I’d be completely lost as to what La Forza del Destino and Il Trovatore was all about.

The soloists were top notch with Rachelle Gerodias and Andrew Fernando’s ever reliable performances gave me the opportunity to relax and enjoy most of the night. This concert also gave me a chance to see Ronan Ferrer, Thea Perez and Nenen Espina perform in a featured capacity. Obviously, the audience was curious to see and hear how the Italian guest singers would fare. Tenor Gian Luca Pasolini had some fun showing off by doing some passages while laid down on a bench. On the other hand, Alvaro Lozano, was an imposing presence on stage that supported his equally imposing baritone. But the biggest surprise for many during that night was soprano Margarita Giannelli who wowed everyone with her rendition of Ritorna vicnitor from Aida. I still wonder up to this day why she didn’t do, O patria mia, a more emotional and difficult aria instead.

Alas, the praises I gave for the soloists could not be said for the chorus. Their rendition of Va, pensiero from Nabucco failed to convey the emotions that stirred the Italians to consider this song as their unofficial national anthem. The chorus also seemed a bit lost during the Triumphal March in Aida but I hardly blame them for this since there was supposed to be a dance number by Ballet Philippines during this part. The scene was hardly triumphant as the chorus was left uncomfortably looking at the projected images on stage instead and the audience wondering if there was something else that was supposed to be happening instead. Ballet Philippines’ minimal participation was left to the Zingarelle e Matadori in La Traviata which was the exact choreography from CCP’s production of the said opera.

This production was indeed very intriguing since there seemed to be a lot more stuff that happened behind the scenes like Ballet Philippines’ minimal participation. The Requiem portion was also scrapped but I think that having the Air on the G string tribute piece meant that Requiem had to go, or the chorus was already up to their necks with all that they had to do with the very little preparation time that this entire production had. But most intriguing of all was Alexander Cortez being the director of the whole affair for it was originally announced that Floy Quintos would be at the helm.

Anyways, the Embassy of Italy, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philippine-Italian Association, and Rustan's were able to pull off Viva Verdi 1913-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert and it was still a great success judging by the happy faces of the many people at the lobby after the concert. But I never imagined all the headache and the drama (that completely dissolved away with the audience’s applause) that goes into putting up a show like this. I guess it’s all very fitting considering this is how Giuseppe Verdi’s operas are, full of drama whether it’s on or off the stage.

Manila Symphony Orchestra presents Music for Christ: A Christmas Festival at Santuario de San Jose Parish

December 12, 2013, 7:30 PM

Santuario de San Jose Parish

Greenhills, San Juan

Featuring:

Margarita Giannelli, soprano

Chino Soberano, violin

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Arturo Molina, conductor

Greenhills Music Studio Ensemble

St. Paul Manila University Chorale

The Manila Symphony Orchestra, in cooperation with Santuario de San Jose Parish presents Music for Christ: A Christmas Festival happening on December 12, 2013, 7:30 PM at the Santuario de San Jose Parish in Greenhills, San Juan.

This concert celebrating the holiday season will feature music of the masters dedicated to the Master Composer, the heavenly Father. Program includes works by international composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel and local ones like Ryan Cayabyab, and Ariel Arambulo. Soloists for the evening are soprano Margarita Giannelli and violinist Chino Soberano who will be performing alongside musical groups including the Manila Symphony Orchestra, Greenhills Music Studio Ensemble, St. Paul Manila University Chorale among many others.

The Manila Symphony Orchestra

Music for Christ: A Christmas Festival will benefit relief efforts for Typhoon Yolanda and the CASA MARELLO Home for the Aged Priests of Oblates of St. Joseph (OSJ), the holy order in charge of Santuario de San Jose Parish.

Ticket prices:

Gold P1000

Silver P500

For inquiries:

MSO 523-5712, info@manilasymphony.com

TicketWorld 891-9999

Viva Verdi Gala Concert at the CCP celebrates Giuseppe Verdi's 200th birthday anniversary

December 10, 2013, 7:30 PM

Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)

CCP Complex

Pasay, Metro Manila

Featuring:

Gian Luca Pasolini, tenor

Alvaro Lozano, baritone

Rachelle Gerodias, soprano

Margarita Giannelli, soprano

Thea Perez, soprano

Nenen Espina, soprano

Ronan Ferrer, tenor

Andrew Fernando, baritone

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Ruggero Barbieri, conductor

The Embassy of the Republic of Italy, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Italian Association, and Rustan’s, present Viva Verdi 1813-2013 Bicentennial Concert, an event in honor of the 200^th  birth anniversary of the great Romantic opera composer Giuseppe Verdi to be held on December 10, 2013, 7:30 PM at the CCP’s Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

The concert, directed by Floy Quintos will feature selected opera scenes from La Forza del Destino, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Nabucco, La Traviata, and Aida. A couple of Italian singers, tenor Gian Luca Pasolini and baritone Alvaro Lozano leads the lineup in this concert. Joining them are leading Filipino singers namely sopranos Rachelle Gerodias, Margarita Giannelli, Thea Perez, and Nenen Espina, tenor Ronan Ferrer, and baritone Andrew Fernando. Also included in the cast are Coro Tomasino, Ballet Philippines, narrator Jaime del Mundo, and Maestro Ruggero Barbieri conducting the Manila Symphony Orchestra.

Viva Verdi 1813-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert will also feature an exhibit, entitled Giuseppe Verdi, the Composer, the Man, the Patriot which opened at the Yuchengco Museum last month. It will be on display at the University of the Philippines’ College of Music this December 9-18, 2013. The exhibit is a traveling multimedia exhibition presenting three different aspects of Giuseppe Verdi.

Giuseppe Verdi is considered as one of the greatest opera composers of the Romantic era, alongside Giacomo Puccini, Gaetano Donizetti, Gioacchino Rossini, and Georges Bizet. It was a Golden Age for opera, where elaborate costumes and set designs ably complimented the dramatic singing and acting in a grandiose setting of elegant operatic venues of Europe. The themes represent human frailties, emotions, and experiences in everyday life, such as love, anger, treachery, and tragedy – which ironically are still very much persistent in today’s society. In this way, opera serves as a mirror of ourselves but presented in dramatic and artistic fashion.

An added value of Viva Verdi 1813-2013 and of the 13^th Edition of the Week of the Italian Language is the educational component, the involvement of students of music and Italian, who will be offered free transportation and entrance to the Theater on December 10^th, and the Master Class on Italian Opera and Giuseppe Verdi conducted by Italian tenor Gian Luca Pasolini and Italian baritone Alvaro Lozano, which will be held at the College of Music, on December 11^th.

Viva Verdi 1813-2013 promises to be the country’s culminating climax to honor the great Italian opera composer and Italian culture, where his informative exhibits and operatic excerpts will aptly demonstrate his genius and legacy.

This event is sponsored by Rustan’s, Elburg Shipmanagement Philippines Inc., Italian Maritime Academy Phils Inc., Crewtech Shipmanagement Phils Inc., PIASI, FILA, The Peninsula Manila, HSBC, Trevi Foundations Philippines, and Furnitalia.

Ticket prices:

P1500 Orchestra Center

P1000 Orchestra Side

P800 Balcony I

-20% senior citizen discount

For inquiries:

CCP Box Office 832-3704

Ms Lulu Casas 895-2109

culturale.manila@esteri.it

TicketWorld 891-9999