By PABLO A. TARIMAN
Photos by ANNA LEAH SARABIA and JANICE DEE
MANY years after her debut at La Scala, Metropolitan Opera and at the Salzburg Festival, Korean diva Sumi Jo made her triumphant Philippine debut last night at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura with a rousing standing ovation and endless cheers from the teary-eyed audience.
The good news is that Filipino pianist Ismail and flutist Raymond Sarreal did equally well in an evening devoted to the works of Henry Bishop (Lo! Here The Gentle Lark), Antonio Vivaldi (Sposa son disprezzata) and Adolph Adam (Ah, Vous dirais Je, Maman), among others.
Her opening number, “Lo! Here The Gentle Lark,” set the tone for the recital even as she coped with the drone of the air-conditioning system and the bad lighting that obviously hurt her eyes.
The air-conditioning was later turned off.
Here you see three excellent artists at work, the soprano with her amazing and secure coloratura and the pianist flowing spontaneously with the piece and Sarreal providing the superb flute obbligato. The perfect harmony of the three was such you’d overlook the fact that this was the first time they were working together.
It was obvious the soprano was also in awe of the pianist and the flutist and in the Les Toreadors aria by Adam, she asked to be hugged and kissed by the flutist who delivered beautiful and precise obbligato as though he was part of the singer’s vocal chord.
The Adam aria was recognizable to the audience who associate the piece with the children’s rhyme, “Twinkle, twinkle little “and the alphabet song.
On the whole, the soprano showed her amazing vocal range and a musicality that can only come from a major talent of earth-shaking proportion.
Sumi Jo was as poignant as she could be in Jean Paul Egide Martini’s “Plaiser d’amour” and ravishing in Leo Delibes’s Chanson Espagnole which ended ala-Carmen.
At first look, the program looked like pieces from a graduation recital.
But in interpreting them, Sumi Jo applied her incredible vocal gifts to give them a rarefied version never heard from their standard versions.
Thus her “Beautiful Blue Danube” by Strauss, Jr.entranced as her “Villanelle” by Eva Dell’Acqua giving them thoroughly breath-taking lines.
On top of that, her diction was as crystal-clear as her voice sounding very French in the Les Toreadors aria and the Martini art song and sounding very English and American in Michael Balfe’s “I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls.”
Her ability to sustain notes and phrase found another ravishing showcase in the popular Gershwin piece, “Summer Time.”
She brought a bit of her country in the Korean song, “Ari Arirang” which drew thunderous approval from her countrymen in the audience.
Her concluding numbers, “Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” and Verdi’s Sempre Libera (from Traviata) left no doubt that she was an opera star of the first magnitude.
In “Vocalise,” the line was incredibly sustained and the sound was solid at it was limned with a texture that brought special appeal to the piece.
In the finale Verdi number, acting and voice magically merged and the audience stood up to give her and the pianist a rousing standing ovation she richly deserved.
She obliged with two encores, O mio babbino caro and Schubert’s Ave Maria dedicated to her father and the audience asked for more.
To thank the Koreans in the audience, Sumi Jo sang a Korean song with the audience singing with her. Since Ismail didn’t know the piece, the soprano took over the piano and sang with the audience.
Needless to say the audience gave her a resounding cheers and the feedback was largely euphoric.
Says writer Alma Miclat: “The voice was heavenly and indeed it was a delightful and memorable evening. And she has a heart of gold.”
Pianist Daphne Jocson said no words can describe the performance but the Korean diva’s “unbelievable musicality was at its best.”
The netizens had a field day expressing deep admiration for the Korean diva.
“She carries everyone with each soaring note spinning around the auditorium. The recital was simply superb and I am star-struck!” Nix Lopez posted in Facebook.
Pianist-composer Jed Balsamo admitted he was blown away by the Korean diva’s performance. He was proud that “Our very own Najib Ismail gave her splendid support.”
One Jaydee de Ocampo also posted: “What a performance! I was really moved I cried a bit. It was perfect chamber music for Sir Ismail and Sarreal.”
Eloise Gonzalo agreed: “My God I was moved to tears by her performance and Sir Najib was just divine.”
Opera observers noted that Sumi Jo has joined the league of the famous divas who early performed in Manila and who also got electrifying response from Filipino music lovers. They were Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe with pianist Lorenzo Palomo who performed at the Manila Metropolitan Theater in 1979 and Romanian diva Nelly Miricioiu who also got a standing ovation in the same theater in 1984.
After her free master class at St. Scholastical’s College today, Sumi Jo is headed for Singapore for a special gala with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.