Acclaimed tenor appeals for help for Eastern Samar

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s Prince of Opera, Arthur Espiritu, the first Filipino tenor to sing at La Scala di Milan in Italy, has appealed for help for the typhoon victims of Eastern Samar, particularly for Llorente town not yet reached by relief operations.

“We have not heard from the relatives of my wife, Christina Jobocan, who is from Llorente and not even from our nuptial godfather, Llorente Vice Mayor Tanny Hugo,” said the tenor who has ready relief goods but could not find trucks to transport them to Eastern Samar.     

The tenor said he was also horrified upon seeing the extent of the damage wrought by Typhoon Yolanda. “The destruction is so unreal and I couldn’t imagine how much suffering those people have experienced.”

The tenor said he could relate to the victims because some years back, his family was also victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. “That hurricane destroyed our home. We had to pick ourselves up and rebuild from zero. I can feel what they felt. But compared to what I saw in New Orleans, what happened in Samar and Leyte was far worse. The extent of the damage is huge and covers a much wider range of land. More lives were lost. It just breaks my heart.”

When Katrina happened, the tenor was performing at the Santa Fe Opera and was about to go back to New Orleans to celebrate his birthday before another engagement with Pittsburgh Opera.

He recalled: “As it turned out, I sold my car in Santa Fe and flew straight to Pittsburgh because my family had already evacuated. I didn’t experience Katrina while it passed New Orleans, but when I came back home, some of our things were looted, most of my clothes had molds. There was nothing left to recover — my books, CD collections along with my grand piano which was totally damaged and irreparable. We lost everything. I just found myself dazed and floating like a zombie. I could not describe my emotions but I just stood there and watched the whole entire neighborhood gone. Cars over other cars, fences, backyard pools. Houses moved in the middle of streets. Just total destruction.”

Espiritu is still gathering old clothes and medicine for Llorente town.

Espiritu is all set to perform as one of the soloists in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle at the Ayala Museum on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. Then, he will proceed to Hong Kong’s First Pacific event with Regine Velasquez, Joanna Ampil, Sam Concepcion, Charice, Ryan Cayabyab singers,  Sharon Cuneta, Ogie Alcasid and Aga Muhlach, among others.

After his Manila and Hong Kong engagements, the internationally-acclaimed tenor flies to Leipzig, Germany to rehearse for Oper Leipzig’s new production of Don Pasquale, then off to Baden Baden in March to perform Edmondo in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut with Maestro Simon Rattle at the Baden Baden Festspielhaus. He will debut as Fernando in Donizetti’s La Favorita in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Now a father of a baby boy named Aaron, Espiritu admitted fatherhood had changed every aspect of his life. “I am the happiest man alive so far. Now, my life is no longer revolving around my career. I have acquired a much different perspective in life. All in a very good way. For one, it has changed me as a man. I’m enjoying every minute with him and watching him grow. Seeing him smile is simply breathtaking.”

The typhoon that killed hundreds in the Visayan region elicited shock and an outpouring of sympathy from the country’s leading performing artists.

“It is horribly sad,” said pianist Cecile Licad who expressed willingness to participate in any fund-raising concert. The pianist once again received standing ovations for her performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Hawaii Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony in Texas.

Another artist who wanted to cheer typhoon victims is violinist Cho Liang Lin who has forthcoming engagements with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan and the symphony orchestras of Detroit, San Antonio and Shanghai. He wrote to Licad saying how deeply he was touched by the plight of typhoon victims. “If there are events that I can help to cheer the victims, please let me know. I am in!” the noted violinist said.

Prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde said she cried and is still in shock after seeing the TV footage of typhoon victims. “I am still feeling so helpless and empty at the thought of continuing my Swan Song Series,” she added. “That’s when I thought of transforming my farewell concerts into something with a bigger purpose and that is to raise funds for the typhoon victims.”

Elizalde added all proceeds from the ballet show will all go to typhoon victims.

(Those who want to help tenor Arthur  Espiritu in the fundraising for typhoon victims of Llorente town in Eastern Samar are advised to get in touch with these numbers: 0927-3206744 or 0915-4985063.)