Carmen in Manila

Last weekend, I caught my fourth opera this year (and I'm not counting "Phantom of the Opera" hehe). I learned about "Carmen" from my friends Jane and Martin so I asked my mom if she wanted to watch and she said she did.

photo from www.carmenmanila.com

"Carmen" was presented by Lyric Opera of the Philippines and directed by Laurice Guillen. It was staged at St. Cecilia's Hall in St. Scholastica Manila (the acoustics here were incredible), making it the first opera I saw outside CCP. It's also the first opera I watched where the entire cast was composed of local talent (the three other operas I watched this year featured international artists from Korea, Japan, and Italy). The cast was really good. The standout performance in my opinion came from Randy Gilongo who took on the role of Don Jose. Of everyone in the cast, he best combined good acting and exceptional vocals. Ana Guillen Feleo, the daughter of Laurice, was believable as Carmen and Kay Balajadia Liggayu received strong applause as well for her performance of Micaela. On top of the great talent, the show also had pretty good production value, from the lights to the sets to the costumes.

curtain call

This four-act opera was created by French composer George Bizet based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. It tells the story of Carmen, a fiery gypsy who catches the fancy of many men, including Don Jose. She and Don Jose become involved but, free spirit that she is, she eventually leaves him for the toreador Escamillo. Consumed by jealousy and not wanting to lose Carmen to any other man, Don Jose kills her in the end. A few of the songs in this opera are quite popular and even non-opera fans will be familiar with them. Among these are the overture, the Toreador song, and of course Habanera: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle. Most people who watched Sesame Street in the 70s and early 80s will know this song because of that scene where an orange sings this song LOL. Here is a brilliant rendition of this song by legendary opera singer Maria Callas:


video uploaded in youtube by Th Paw 

It's amazing that in a year where so many current and very popular international artists like Lady Gaga and Maroon 5 had shows in the country, I somehow find myself watching operas instead. :) Every show I saw, including Carmen, had a pretty good sized audience so I hope it means that more operas get staged in Manila.