Who's afraid of the opera?

We Filipinos have a word for the idiom "going under the knife": Opera. No one knows for sure why the world's most feared music genre became a Pinoy term for surgery, but nevertheless no word is more apt to describe the experience when listening to booming voices singing about love and loss.

Opera just rips you. The shrill voices pierce you like a doctor's scalpel. And suddenly, your deepest emotions, hurts and hopes come spilling out like you've been cut by Hannibal Lecter. Perhaps this is why many are not fond of the art.

But there's nothing wrong in being cut open. Digging into yourself and spilling out is part of the cathartic experience of opera. For this reason, Martin E. Lopez of SinagTala, a promotion and production organization that showcases Filipinos excelling in performing, literary and visual arts, believes Filipinos need to be exposed to opera music especially in this time of mutinies and mysterious multimillion bank accounts. Tomorrow, SinagTala is staging Sopranos - no, not the TV series - at the Philamlife Theater on United Nations Avenue in Manila. On the slate are three of the most powerful Filipina sopranos today: Rachelle Gerodias, Lilac Caña and Theodosia Tadiar.

In a way, Sopranos is also a mutiny of sorts. Rare is a concert the combines the talents of three women renowned in opera here and abroad. Gerodias has won in many competitions, including the National Music Competition for Young Artists and the Kundiman ng Lahi contest in 1990, the Mozart Aria competition in 1992, and the Civic Morning Musicals Vocal competition in 1995. She has praised by The Business Times in Singapore as "that effervescent Rachelle Gerodias as Kathy the barmaid hit the high peaks with delightful ease and dominated the stage despite her petite frame." Recently, she became the first recipient of the Aliw Award for Best Female Classical Performer.

Caña, on the other hand, has been described by critics as the "golden voice." Based in Toronto, Canada, Caña began classical voice training in Austria with the American Institute of Musical Studies and later graduated with honors at the University of Toronto Opera Performance Program. She also studied at the prestigious Glenn Gould Professional School at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Caña performs in Canada, the United States, and the Philippines.

Tadiar is also a star in her own right. After studying at the Accademia Internazionale delle Arti and at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Tadiar left audiences entranced during performances in Hoxton Hall in London, La Consolata Hall in Rome, and of course in many venues here in the Philippines.

"The Philippines is blessed with so much talent," says Lopez in an interview. "Filipinos in classical music are many but few are given the exposure and recognition they deserve. Never has there been a project like this."

Gerodias, Caña and Tadiar will be joined by 14 other talented Filipinas who will deliver Broadway and classical Filipino tunes. Proceeds from the concert, Lopez adds, will go to the Divine Mercy Mobile Center for Music and Arts Therapy, a non-profit organization that uses music and art to help develop and educate children and adults with physical and mental disabilities.

Sopranos is by Philamlife, Philstar.com, The Philippine Star, Metro Magazine and 98.7 DZFE. Tickets are priced at P1000, P500 and P300. For inquiries and reservations, call SinagTala at 726 1567 or 0918 XINTALA (946-8252).