MSO IV: Verdi’s Opera Extravaganza

Tanya Corcuera, Noel Azcona, Camille Lopez-Molina, Nomher Nival
and Myramae Meneses

Featuring:

Camille Lopez-Molina, soprano

Noel Azcona, baritone

Myramae Meneses, soprano

Tanya Corcuera, soprano

Nomher Nival, tenor

Viva Voce
Manila Symphony Orchestra

Arturo Molina, conductor

Programme:

Giuseppe Verdi

     La Forza Del Destino

          Overture

     Nabucco

          Va, pensiero

     La Forza Del Destino

          Pace, pace mio Dio

     La Traviata

          Un di felice eterea

          Di provenza il mar, il suol

          Libiamo ne lieti calici

     I Vespri Siciliani 

          Overture

     Rigoletto

          Caro nome

          La donna e mobile

          Un di sa ben rammentomi… bella figlia dell’amore

     Un Ballo in Maschera

          Morro ma prima in grazia

     Don Carlos

          O don fatale

    Otello

          Credo

     Il Trovatore     

          Mira d’acerbe lagrime

     Aida

          Gloria all’egitto ad isside

The previous week leading into this concert was marked by illness due to exhaustion coupled with the unpredictable weather. And if one looks at the blog entries that I’ve written for the past few months, then one can form an idea on how busy I’ve been. So I decided to take things easy and made sure that I’d recover in time to see the Manila Symphony Orchestra’s concert Verdi’s Opera Extravaganza at the Santiago Francisco Hall. I knew that I really had to make it up to them and catch this performance in celebration of Giuseppe Verdi’s 200^th anniversary of his birth since I missed the orchestra’s previous concert featuring violinist Diomedes Saraza Jr., which I heard was literally a standing room only affair.

Soprano Camille Lopez-Molina

When concert started with Arturo Molina conducting the orchestra with the very familiar overture from La Forza Del Destino, I knew that the concert repertoire was perfect for me because I could just take things easy and just enjoy the performances. And I did appreciate the next number which was Va, pensiero from Nabucco performed by Viva Voce who were at the gallery above the stage. This tune is a big deal for Italians and they even consider it as their unofficial national anthem. Then it was time for the featured soloists to do their solos, starting with soprano Camille Lopez-Molina doing Pace, pace mio Dio from La Forza Del Destino. I was surprised and slightly amused to see her donning the same ensemble she wore during her show stopping aria from Lorenzo.

Tenor Nomher Nival

The La Traviata portion that came right after had me thinking about the previous staging of the opera that I was able to see thrice. So it was nice reliving those memories when Nomher Nival and Myramae Meneses performed Un di felice eterea and baritone Noel Azcona did Di provenza il mar, il suol. After this, Viva Voce joined all of the soloists including soprano Tanya Corcuera who has yet to do her solo in singing the popular drinking song Libiamo ne lieti calici which ended the first half of the concert.

Soprano Myramae Meneses

The overture to I Vespri Siciliani started the second half of the concert before Myramae Meneses took to the stage to do her solo which is Caro nome from Rigoletto. Nomher Nival then took a shot at the most famous aria from that opera which is La donna e mobile. Then the quartet of Meneses, Nival, Corcuera and Azcona did Un di sa ben rammentomi… bella figlia dell’amore. Around this time, I was pleased to have seen the Met Opera in HD screening of Rigoletto since I now had a clear idea on what was going on stage and also how nice it was to finally see these arias performed live.

Baritone Noel Azcona

After this, things took a turn to the unfamiliar and darker route as Tanya Corcuera sang Morro ma prima in grazia from Un Ballo in Maschera, Camille Lopez-Molina with O don fatale from Don Carlo, Noel Azcona with Credo from Otello and Camille and Noel doing Mira d’acerbe lagrime from Il Trovatore. This was the time when the concert ventured into Verdi that I am not familiar with. Although I barely had an idea on what these arias were all about, I felt the malevolence, despair and impending doom based on what I saw in their performances.

Finally, Viva Voce performed the Gloria all’egitto ad isside from Aida. At one point when I looked back once again on my previous Aida experience, I thought that the orchestra would play the entire march but they played a shortened/concise version or else it would’ve been a very, very long night. Thank goodness that the concert ended in this triumphant mood which was boosted further by an encore of Libiamo ne lieti calici, thus making me feel energized and upbeat which I really needed at that time.

Arturo Molina, the Manila Symphony Orchestra

One thing I realized with this concert was how differently I was able to appreciate arias from operas that I’ve seen performed in its entirety compared to those that I was only able to listen on its own through various recordings and recitals. It felt like was I trying to relive the experience of the opera and also imagining how these singers would be if they were in those roles in a full opera production. And for the ones that I’ve heard only for the first time, it made me wonder if I would be able to have the chance to see the entire opera in the near future. This concert capped the MSO’s Color Your World series for this year but they will return early next year with a performance celebrating the orchestra’s 88 years.