Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
IVAN Niccolo Nery is one of four brothers whose first name is a variation of John. There’s a Gian Francesco, a Johann Frederic and a Jan Lambert. Even his sister Anna has a name that is the female version of John.
Nery’s first two names fittingly point to his chosen path of vocal training in the classics. The 24-year-old tenor will have his first solo recital as part of the Manila Chamber Orchestra (MCO) Foundation’s Young Artists Series on Sept. 18 at the Ayala Museum. To be accompanied on the piano by Najib Ismail, he will sing the songs of Mozart, Strauss, Torelli, Puccini, Scarlatti and Hahn.
Unlike other family members who have chosen careers in mass communication, accounting, management, nursing and psychology, Nery faced parental opposition when he announced that he wanted to seriously train in voice after a short-lived stint with rock bands in high school at San Beda College. He heard the usual “Walang pera diyan (There’s no money there).”
But he has good motivators in teachers like Camille Lopez and Pablo Molina at St. Scholastica’s College (SSC) School of Music, even in acclaimed tenor Arthur Espiritu whose master classes in Manila he attended twice. He said, “I learned a lot from Arthur. He and my teachers spoke the same language, complemented one another. He has been very encouraging and has told me to pursue my studies, possibly even abroad.”
Last year’s grand prize winner of the Jovita Fuentes Vocal Competition, he has portrayed Crisostomo Ibarra in Felipe de Leon’s opera Noli Me Tangere, was the understudy for Don Jose and performed the role of Remendado in Bizet’s Carmen and was again understudy for the role of Lt. Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. While the cast of the last opera awaited the arrival of Mexican tenor Dante Alcalá, Nery stood in for him. When he arrived, he taught Alcala the blocking he learned from director Anton Juan.
His dream role, however, is to play Romeo after he saw a DVD of the Royal Opera House’s production of Charles Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette starring Roberto Alagna and Leontina Vaduva as the star-crossed lovers.
He said, “I fell in love with the role because it’s vocally demanding. You’re in every scene. Before I saw it, I hated French. I didn’t know how to sing it. After I saw Romeo et Juliette that’s when I appreciated French.” His course requires him to study three other languages (Italian, German and Spanish) and to minor in piano. All SSC voice majors must study piano apart from a theater subject.
He considers his coming recital as “more difficult than appearing in an actual opera. All the weight is on me. I’m more exposed (to the audience). In opera I get breaks if I’m not included in a scene. It’s easier to draw out an emotion in the story’s context. In a recital, I will have to make my own interpretation for the art songs.”
A day or two before a performance, he doesn’t do anything that will hurt his throat. He refrains from imbibing alcohol or eating spicy or sweet foods and dairy products. He said, “Post-performance, I pig out!”
He joins the Viva Voce’s summer camp in Baguio along with 30-plus other members, all voice students from different schools that offer music programs. Nery described their activities, “We have classes daily. We do nothing but sing. In the morning, some of us jog. We go through breathing and yoga exercises, we climb a hill and once we reach the top, we search for our primal sound. We’re like wolves howling.”
When his parents watched his performances and even heard him voice over an ice cream commercial with snippets from French and Italian arias, they were convinced their son had chosen right. They saw for themselves that Nery liked what he was doing and have been supportive since then.
Angel Nacino, MCO Foundation’s executive director, said since the Young Artist Series began in 1994, many soloists have left for abroad to hone their talents. The foundation helps with recommendations for scholarships and sourcing funds for events. She said, “When they’re successful abroad, they come home for visits and tell us, ‘I’m back, feature me, please.'”
Now on its 28th season, the foundation used to have 50 concerts per season. The number has fallen to 10-12 concerts a year since the foundation lost its old venues, the Francisco Santiago and Antonio Molina Halls. Moving to the museum, Nacino said, has been “a liberating experience because the foundation used to be tied with a bank. Today other companies are partnering with us.”
For tickets to Nery’s recital, call TicketWorld at 891-9999 or the MCO secretariat at 750-0768 and 0920-954-0053.