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| Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra live at the CCP Grounds |
Measures taken worldwide to curb the spread of coronavirus or
Covid-19 have seen numerous classical concerts and events postponed and
cancelled, and concert halls around the world closed for indefinite periods
since March 2020.
Countries banned gatherings, tightened their borders, and
many have now seen various lockdowns for month. Some things are slowly starting
to open up, but seeing live music still remains a rare treat.
As some of us are continuing to stay at home to work,
self-isolate and look after the family, things may be slowly opening up and
going live around the world, but we’re lucky that some classical concerts and
events are being held in outdoors and streamed online for everyone to see—for free
in many cases. It’s something that continues to bring comfort, solidarity and
some beautiful relief in trying times…
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| PPO Concert Program |
And when I was given the opportunity to see the highly
distinguished Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra [PPO] at the Cultural Center of
the Philippines [CCP] concert right at the front lawn of the CCP grounds, I
immediately said yes. After all, it was the first outdoor concert at the CCP
Grounds and I wanted to be part of it.
Seats were on a first come, first served basis. And strict health
and safety protocols were in place during the duration of the event. It was
even livestreamed via the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ official Facebook
page so that even those fans in the comfort of their homes can watch and enjoy
the show and the group’s performances.
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| The PPO gearing up for their first ever concert at the CCP grounds |
The world-renowned Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra [PPO]
returns to the concert stage after almost two years of hiatus due to the
pandemic with a free live concert for the public dubbed as “PPO CONCERT AT THE
CCP GROUNDS” held last March 11, 2022, Friday, under the baton of conductor
Herminigildo Ranera. It was the moment we have all been waiting for. The opportunity to be watching live shows again, sharing the joy and the power of great singing with a live audience and enjoying the gift of music as a whole.
The PPO has returned the stage with renewed variety and
vitality and continued their commitment to present a diverse musical experience
for its audiences. The concert started with classics from Franz von Suppe’s
Light Calvary Overture followed by Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach.
The PPO also gave a spotlight on the innovative work of Filipino composer Francisco
Buencamino Sr.’ Pizzacato Caprice. Then they had also performed another classic
in George Bizet’s Carmen Suite [Prelude, Aragonaise, Habanera and Les
Toreadors.] It was then followed by the more popular “I Will Follow Him” first
recorded in 1961 by Franck Pourcel as an instrumental titled “Chariot” but rose
to popularity after it was used in the Whoopi Goldberg movie Sister Act in
1992.
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| The violinists play with such intensity |
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| Some of the wind instruments from the PPO |
The powerful voices of the duo The Nightingales’ Bianca
Lopez-Aguila and Rhina Palma-Cruz delighted the crowd during the intermission
where they sang a medley of songs from different genre.
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| The powerful divas of The Nightingales |
Part 2 of the concert were the music from the Broadway
musical starting with Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille from Jacques Offenbach’s Les
Contes d’ Hoffmann. It is a magnificent soprano aria that not too many sopranos
can successfully sing and perform. It is a difficult aria in the opera’s first
act after Spalanzi, an inventor, creates his greatest invention yet: a mechanical
doll named Olympia. The said French song was performed by soprano Lara Maigue
during the show.
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| Singer songwriter and soprano Lara Maigue sang Offenbach's Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille |
Such powerful performance by Maigue were followed by another
superb performance from another guest, Mr. Bimbo Cerrudo who sang Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s The Music of the Night and Till I Hear You Sing medley.
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| Isay Alvarez and husband Robert Sena |
Miss Saigon veteran and stage performer Isay Alvarez. Alvarez
was part of the original Miss Saigon cast where she did the role of the bar
girl named Gigi. Her husband, Robert Sena was also part of the original Miss
Saigon cast where he played the role of Thuy and The Engineer. The veteran
stage actors sang two songs from Miss Saigon that night with Sun and Moon and
The Last Night of The World.
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| Miss Saigon veterans Isay Alvarez and Robert Sena sang songs from the said musical |
To further showcase the Filipino music culture, the PPO also
performed greatest Filipino composers’ songs such as Ang Tangi Kong Pag-ibig
performed by Isay Alvarez while husband Robert Sena did a powerful rendition of
Nicanor Abelardo’s Bituing Marikit.
Soprano and singer-songwriter Lara Maigue together with Bo
Cerrudo sang Aaron Paul Del Rosario’s Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin.
The audience went wild during the PPO’s performance of D’ Manila Sounds where they’ve played some of the most favorite songs such as Hotdog's "Manila," and "Ikaw Ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko," Cinderella's "TL Ako Sayo," VST & Company’s “Ipagpatawad Mo,” “Awitin Mo Isasayaw Ko,” "Rock Baby Rock," and APO Hiking Society's 'Pumapatak Ang Ulan," among many other hits during the disco era.
It was indeed a magical evening with the country’s orchestra with esteemed Filipino artists Lara Maigue, Bo Cerrudo, Robert Sena, Isay Alvarez and the Nightingales. The rest of the guests had performed a medley of Canseco, Cruz and Cayabyab’s OPM medley that had wowed the audience.
For the PPO's encore, the audience went crazy over PPO's medley of the most popular K-pop music with songs from Psy's Gangnam Style, Wonder Girl's Nobody, Super Junior's Sorry Sorry Sorry, Bigbang's Fantastic Baby, Kim Kyung Seung and Park Sang Hee's Sigriswil (from the series 'Crash Landing On You'), Momoland's Boom Boom, Blackpink's Kill This Love and of course, everyone's favorite, BTS' Butter.
Once more, PPO had shown that an orchestra is not just mere for classical and opera music but it can also play all kinds of music even the fast songs that we can all dance to.
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| Moi, my nephew Kyle and hubby Jason all enjoyed the show. |
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| Moi and Kyle |
Critic Sergei Bulanov wrote in Music Life: “A burning desire to make music, a sincere love for it, are the key qualities of any musician, without which genuine art is impossible. And the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra does it again and again proves a shining example of this commonplace truth.” Their love and passion for making music together and to be able to share it to their audiences makes such evening a magical one.
The night ended with a strong applause of appreciation from the audience which continued even after some standing ovations. We'd like to thank the Cultural Center of the Philippines [CCP] for giving us this opportunity to watch the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra to perform live for free--giving every Filipino a chance to see them and hear them (both online and in person), staying true to their goal of bringing music closer to every Filipino across the world.
Special thanks to Ms. Annie Alejo for helping us secure front row seats. My nephew Kyle, who's a music fan says it is indeed a memorable night for a youngster like him to see the PPO who performed live before his very eyes. Hoping for more PPO concert soon now that we have loosen our restrictions.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated for this post. Opinions expressed are 100% my own.
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