An Evening of Bel Canto

Tenor Arthur Espiritu

Featuring:

Arthur Espiritu, tenor

Elainne Vibal, soprano

Myramae Meneses, soprano

Stephanie Aguilar, soprano

Najib Ismail, piano

Programme:

George Frideric Handel Tornami a vagheggiar from Alcina

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ruhe Sanft from Zaide

Gioachino Rossini

     Ah come mai non senti from Otello

     Sombre forêt from William Tell

Vincenzo Bellini

     Qui la Voce from I Puritani

     Vieni,vieni  fra questa from I Puritani

     Prendi, l’anel ti dono from La Sonnambula

     Si, fuggire a noi non resta... Ah, crudel, d'onor ragioni from I Capuletti e i Montecchi

Gaetano Donizetti

     Quel guardo, il cavaliere from Don Pasquale

     Tornami a dir che m’ami from Don Pasquale

     Chacun le sait from La Fille du Regiment

     Ah! Mes amis from La Fille du Regiment

Bel canto, or beautiful singing in English, is a term that I often encounter whenever I dabble into the world of opera. But being the opera newbie that I still am, my idea about bel canto is still somewhat vague and I still couldn’t say if a certain aria was sung bel canto or not. Thankfully, the MCO Foundation, together with the Ayala Museum, came up with the concert, An Evening of Bel Canto that served as a great way for me to familiarize myself with this singing style.

Performers during this evening were Arthur Espiritu, possibly the most celebrated Filipino tenor today and promising young sopranos Elainne Vibal, Myramae Meneses, and Stephanie Aguilar. Accompanied by pianist Najib Ismael, they performed arias that are rarely heard during concerts in here. The MCO Foundation felt that it was time to steer away from the usual arias, offer something new and also have Arthur Espiritu tackle some challenging material.

I learned that bel canto may be an Italian term but it’s application isn’t limited to operas from Italy or in the Italian language, or by Italian composers. The opening number, Elainne Vibal’s Tornami a vagheggiar from Alcina was by George Frideric Handel who was born in Germany but flourished in Britain during the Baroque era. Ruhe Sanft, performed by Stephanie Aguilar, from the unfinished opera Zaide by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was in German. And the final couple of numbers from Gaetano Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment were in French. I initially thought that bel canto came to be during the Romantic period but based on the two opening numbers, it seemed that bel canto already existed during the Baroque and Classical period.

Honestly, the unfamiliar program, taken out of context, meant that the meaning of the songs were lost in me. But I was able to relish the various tones, textures and colors of the sopranos especially Myramae Meneses who stood out with her solo Quel guardo, il cavaliere from Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti. I felt bad for missing her solo concert a while back and I was pleased to be able to have another chance to hear her again.

The most highly anticipated part of the concert was the last song, Ah! Mes amis from Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment in which Arthur Espiritu was awaited to hit the nine high C’s of this very challenging piece. During that night, I heard that Arthur was struggling with colds (not surprising considering the freaky weather at the time) but despite some barely noticeable strain, he was able to hit those C’s. After this number, he humorously let out a huge sigh of relief while basking in the applause of a very appreciative audience.

Arthur along with Elainne Vibal, Myramae Meneses, and Stephanie Aguilar then sang an encore, Libiamo ne' lieti calici from La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, which he explained is not bel canto. Several members of the audience at the back joined in as the chorus giving this number a sort of surround audio experience.

An Evening of Bel Canto was made possible in partnership with the Ayala Museum, BusinessWorld, HighLife, 98.7 DZFE The Master’s Touch and Lyric Piano and Organ.