The Little Singers of Monaco at the Sky Dome

The Little Singers of Monaco

The performers were the Little Singers of Monaco, a 28 member boy’s choir made up of 10-18 year olds with all but five singing with soprano voices. But judging by the screams that filled the Sky Dome at SM City North EDSA, one might think that it was teen heartthrob Justin Bieber or K-pop idol Lee Min Ho who performed there instead. Never had I imagined seeing once again musicians (and a boy’s choir at that) with a classical repertoire treated like pop/rock stars.

The choir led by its director Pierre Debat was recently in the country for a series of performances. I was able to catch the one at the SM City North EDSA which was the first of their mall performances a few days after they made their Philippine debut at the FEU Auditorium.

The "Men" section of the Little Singers of Monaco

I was a bit uneasy at first when I saw a sea of high school students who still in their uniforms inside Sky Dome as I entered. Based on past experiences, high school students have the tendency to be a rather difficult audience especially in performances like this. I knew that the choir had to have a commanding performance for them to capture this kind of audience’s attention.

The audience responded with polite applause when the choir performed the first few songs which were by composers from the Baroque era like Nicolas Bernier, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, and Johann Sebastian Bach. I guess that most of them shared my indifference with Baroque music which is hardly material for a grand opening of a concert. But the audience did eventually warm up as the music went to the Romantic era and beyond with songs by Felix Mendelssohn, Jacques Offenbach, Gabriel Fauré, Charles Hubert Parry, and Engelbert Humperdink along with contemporary composers like Philippe Mazé and Sally DeFord. Allan Velli, was the featured soloist in many of these songs.

But it was the folk songs from Monaco that really got the audience mesmerized especially the song Suta u magiu. Nicholas Theux did vocal leaps in this song that had the audience applauding after each and every chorus. The rest of the songs were mostly upbeat, with simple and hummable tunes, thus enabling the audience to appreciate the performances more. And by the time that the choir was in the home stretch with the French songs, the audience already had their undivided attention. Choir director Pierre Debat asked the audience to join the choir in singing L'hymne à l'amour and I was very surprised to hear people who knew it and sang along for I didn’t. And when the group sang their last song, Les Champs-Elysées, the choir didn’t need to persuade the audience to clap to the beat since the audience themselves started to do so once they got the hang of the rhythm.

Director Pierre Debat

So it was no surprise that the high school kids responded with such glee when it was announced that they would be able to take their photos with the Little Singers of Monaco after the concert. I was astonished to see how the boys were treated like teen idols which I didn’t expect at all. A beaming Fortune Ledesma, Consul General of the Principality of Monaco looked very pleased not just by the audience turnout but by the response as well.

Goofing around to PSY's Gentleman

After the concert, I was able to spend some time with the singers. While signing their names at the poster and tarpaulin inside the Sky Dome, some gamely danced to PSY’s Gentleman which was being played inside. That was surprising for me to know that this Korean sensation has reached Monaco as well. Afterwards, I was able to join the choir and the rest of their entourage for dinner over at Burgoo. During this time, I was reminded that these boys were still teenagers, prone to goofing around and acting like kids which majority still are. It always interests me to see how artists and musicians behave off the stage which is usually very different from their demeanor while performing on stage.

The Philippine tour of the Little Singers of Monaco is sponsored by the Consulate General of Monaco headed by Consul General Fortune Ledesma together with SinagTala Management for Filipino Performing Artists and its executive director Martin Lopez in cooperation with the Department of Tourism, Manila Pavilion Hotel, Ayala Malls, SM Malls and DZFE 98.7 FM, the official media partner.