Photos by Mita Angela M. Dimalanta
Baguio City’s music lovers savored rare vocal treats during the weekend with two back-to-back concerts featuring the magic of cinema through their music and a balanced program of opera and Neapolitan favorites.
The first happened on Oct. 11 at the University of the Cordilleras (UC) Auditorium Friday afternoon with an audience of more than 500 consisting of mostly students and old-timers in the City of Pines.
Called Cinema Magic: The Music, the program narrated by Jose Javato of PASIPO Ensemble Philippines gave Baguio audiences a magical cinematic trip down memory lane starting with old Hollywood favorites to movie musicals and with music from iconic Filipino movies.
Featured singers with Gabriel Allan Paguirigan on the piano were Angeli Benipayo, Nerissa de Juan and tenor Ruzzel Clemeno.
One didn’t expect much from such a popular program but when the audiences started screaming at both singers and the movie visuals, one realized it’s what they need now to connect with the lure of cinema past and present.
The movie clips provided the instant nostalgia trip and the live music sang by excellent singers were the perfect brew on which the Baguio audiences had a vocal feast Friday afternoon.
Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times set the vibrant mood
The program opened with songs from the movies of the mid-1930s from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, Jerome Kern’s Swing Time and Marguerite Monnot’s Paris Chante Toujours.
Pianist Paguirigan was a compleat music ensemble by himself opening with Smile from the Charlie Chaplin classic through an electric piano.
Tenor Ruzzel Clemeno dished out a revealing The Way You Look Tonight from the Jerome Kern song album. The vocal line was robust, the diction impeccable and with a dash of good acting, he easily won the crowd.
With the French song re-popularized by the recent Paris Olympics by Celine Dion, the Edith Piaf favorite Hymne D’La Amour found Filipino expression in the interpretation of soprano Angeli Benipayo who gave it an angelic opera sound that a pop singer couldn’t possibly provide. You could feel the hysteria from the crowd sounding like a scene from the opening of the Paris Olympics.
The PASIPO Ensemble (Benipayo, De Juan and Clemeno) showed their vocal cohesiveness singing Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany with snatches of film clips showing Audrey Hepburn ogling at a New York shop.
More nostalgia trip as De Juan sang a beautiful version of Windmills of Your Mind from the film The Thomas Crown Affair.
Easily the big highlight in the Pelikulang Pilipino section was a rendition of the theme song from Bituing Walang Ningning rendered with pathos and electrifying vocal power by De Juan.
The excellent narration by Javato provided context in which the movie theme songs were interpreted.
Arthur Espiritu brings Italy to Baguio City
For the second time, tenor Arthur Espiritu was heard in Baguio City with a new repertoire billed as Rendezvous in Italy with guest singers Benipayo and De Juan who happen to be the tenor’s prized pupils.
Emceed by Prof. Ben Tapang, the concert opened with pianist Paguirigan doing Dance of the Fairies from Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice.
Next was a taste of Bellini as song writer with Espiritu, Benipayo and De Juan interpreting Ma rendi pur contento, Malinconia, ninfa gentile and the nebulous Vaga Luna sang with utmost lyricism by De Juan.
The big highlights were the comic and lively music lesson scene from Barber of Seville with Benipayo and Espiritu, De Juan’s Come scoglio from Cosi fan tutte and the duet of Espiritu and Benipayo in Sulla tomba che rinserra from Donisetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.
The divine duets of the night were Bellini’s Mira o Norma sang with perfect rapport by De Juan and Benipayo and Da tutti abbandonata from Maria Stuarda rendered with dramatic fervor by Espiritu and De Juan.
The concert winded up with the audience cheering the trio version of Non ti scordar di me by De Curtis.
The concert yielded several encore numbers among them Funiculi, Funicula and Sana’y Maulit Muli one of which was dedicated to writer and tireless cultural worker Babeth Lolarga.
Espiritu’s seamless rendition of Torna a Surriento was almost hair-raising in its execution.
The glory of the Paris Olympics was once more recalled with Benipayo’s encore number Hymne D’La Amour dedicated to this writer.
The young and the old alike have very striking things to say about the two Baguio concerts.
“I now understand the importance of music in the movies,” said Prof. Peejay C. Natiola. “It is true what Victor Hugo said that music is expresses when words are silent.”
Arlene Arevalo exclaimed after hearing Espiritu: “Tenor Espiritu is indeed a national treasure. What a voice! You can hear the emotions and the pathos in his voice.”
Opera lover Dr. Benito Sunga was ecstatic: “What a memorable concert! The golden voice of tenor Espiritu with the combination of two soprano voices, Angeli Benipayo and Nerissa De Juan were as smooth as honey and butter. What else can you ask for? The combination is simply pure heaven!”
Mario Gatus who drove all the way from Manila to Baguio to watch the concert, enthused:“Tenor Espiritu’s E lucevan le Stelle from Tosca alone is worth the trip going to Baguio. The rest are simply icing on the rich Italian dessert that they served.”
Espiritu at Manila Pianos Nov. 16
Espiritu will be heard anew on November 16, 2024, 7 p.m. at the Manila Pianos.
His coming international engagements include the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca at Staatstheater Karlsruhe (Germany) on October 21, more La Boheme at Oper Köln until January 2025 and the lead role in Faust February to March 26 at Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Italy and The Prince (Rusalka) at the Opera de Massy in France in May 2025.
Benipayo soloist in 2023 EduConcert in Vietnam
In a latest development, soprano Angeli Benipayo has been chosen as a soloist of the 2024 EduConcert organized by the Vietnam Youth Music Institute (VYMI) and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO). She is the only Filipino and foreigner who applied and got accepted into the program which will run from October 22-26 with a culminating concert on October 27.
(The Baguio concerts were made possible by Cultural Events Organizer and Guacamole Productions with support from JoyBus/Genesis Transport Services Inc., University of the Cordilleras, Canto Bogchi Joint and Bulalo Joint. For tickets to Arthur Espiritu’s November 16 Manila Pianos concert, text 09065104270 or email artsnewsservice@gmail.com)
