After a well-received 40th concert season at the Samsung Theater, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) under music director Maestro Grzegorz Nowak has embarked on a nine-city tour of the United Kingdom.

What is annatto? We call it achuete, from the Nahuatl word achiotl, a native of tropical America, introduced to the Philippines by the Spanish. Annatto comes from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana), a natural dye with golden yellow to orange-red hues. Its nickname, lipstick tree, comes from its use as cosmetic.

Opera-loving audiences in Metro Manila are up for a rare vocal treat when young sopranos interpret rarely sung opera heroines Saturday, May 3, 7 p.m. at Manila Pianos along Paseo de Magallanes in Makati City.