Repertory, Ballet Philippines and MSO share stage for the first time
A historic collaboration among three cultural institutions — Repertory Philippines, Ballet Philippines and the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) — happened for the first time in one stage Friday night at The Theatre at Solaire.
The timeless tales of the reimagined classics “Peter and the Wolf” and “Little Red Riding Hood” were brought to the audience through music, theater and dance.
Ballet Philippines, which celebrates its 56th season with the theme, “Our Stage, The World,” was represented by its president, Kathleen Lior-Liechtenstein.
“The theme is a mission that reflects our ambition for Filipino artistry to rise, resonate and redefine what it meant to perform on the world stage,” said Kathleen.
“This year, we took our first bold step overseas in Osaka World Expo 2025 in Japan, where Ballet Philippines proudly transformed architecture into living dance, arts performance at the Philippine Pavilion designed by Carlo Calma, our very own.”
“This November, Ballet Philippines will be in Europe to bring Filipino ballet to some of the world’s major theaters. The world is our stage, but here at home is where our heart beats.”
“Tonight is destiny and history unfolding,” added Kathleen. “With the 56th season of Ballet Philippines, the 58th year of Repertory Philippines and MSO standing strong at 99 years.”
The heart of Ballet Philippines beats for its outreach programs and together with Rep and MSO, they have shared more than a thousand free tickets to their various special guests, their beneficiaries, the men and women in uniform — the Navy, the Philippine Army, the Marines, the Philippine Air Force, the Philippine National Police — the out-of-school youth, the orphans, the indigenous people, the NGOs (non-government organizations) and the Good Shepherd sisters.
“Art is not just a privilege but art is for everyone,” Kathleen said. “So as Ballet Philippines dances to far off stages, we ask you to stand with us, champion us as we proudly carry the banner of Philippine culture with us.”
Meanwhile, Mindy Perez-Rubio, Repertory Philippines president and CEO (chief executive officer), is likewise proud to celebrate the partnership for the first time in history in the Philippines of three distinct performing arts companies.
It has always been the dream of Mindy, ever since she joined the San Francisco Symphony League, to present “Peter and the Wolf” with actors.
“Every Christmas time, in San Francisco, they would present ‘Peter and the Wolf’ with just the orchestra and a celebrity narrator from Hollywood,” shared Mindy. “They invited the likes of John Lithgow, Robin Williams, Sean Connery.
“So, I talked to May-May and Maanne if they would like to join forces, the three of us, and present a program for children, something for outreach and I was honing in for ‘Peter and the Wolf. Without batting an eyelash, they both said yes. That’s why we are all here tonight.”
“Peter and the Wolf” was by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, who wrote the symphonic piece specifically for children, to introduce them to the different instruments of the orchestra played by each character in the story.
The celebrity narrators in every performance will read the story to the audience. They are all doing the stint, pro-bono, according to Mindy.
On the first night, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa read the story. “She has a background in theater and is also a violinist,” informed MSO president Marianne Hontiveros. “She has played with an orchestra in the past.”
The bird will be played by the flute, the duck is played by the oboe, the cat by the clarinet, the grandfather by the bassoon, the big bad wolf by the French horn, Peter by the strings, the blast by the hunter’s shotgun played by the kettle drums.
Other celebrity narrators were singer-actress Karylle Tatlonghari, former Repertory Philippines actor-turned-journalist and TV host Tim Yap, sports multi-medalist Akiko Thomson-Guevara, seasoned performer Liza Chan-Parpan and Maanne.
Since “Peter and the Wolf” is a little under 30 minutes, Ballet Philippines decided to do a classical ballet, “Little Red Riding Hood,” which features the work of French conductor Camille Saint-Saens and Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.
The playful reimagination of the classic fairy tale by Charles Perrault follows the adventures of a little girl who discovers the power of kindness.
“It is theater, because it is Rep,” insisted Mindy. “It is staging and acting. It is so totally different from Ballet Philippines, which is pure, magical, beautiful and classical ballet. They are very distinct.”
“That’s how the creative process works around here,” added Maanne.
The Friday night performance was dedicated to Scholastican nun and Dean of St. Scholastica’s College of Music, Sr. Mary Placid, said to be ill.
Mindy announced that Rep will also mount “Alice in Wonderland” this year at the Eastwood Theater, where Rep will present another RTYA (Repertory Theater for Young Audiences) children’s offering, after the award-winning “Jepoy and the Magic Circle” last year.
“Since 2005, the MSO, Rep and Ballet Philippines have been working together, but this is the only time that all three of us share one stage for a single performance,” said Maane, who represents the oldest institution, MSO.
“That’s why we call this ‘historic.’ Tonight is a celebration of creative synergy and all of us will watch as magic happens. This happens when the arts come in perfect harmony.”
The MSO prides itself in having performed 12 ballet productions in recent years — “Coppelia,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Nutcracker,” “Rama Hari,” “Don Quixote,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “La Bayadere” and “Giselle.”
With Repertory Philippines, MSO did some of the most popular Broadway musicals like “Man of La Mancha,” “The Sound of Music,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Christmas Carol” and the first staging of “Peter and the Wolf” in 2013, narrated by Bituin Escalante.
Maanne is happy that orchestral music has become essentially part of classical ballet and theater. “It augments the presentation totally,” said Maanne. “With beautiful orchestral music, you see the depth of the movements and it gives more feeling to the spoken word.”
Rep artistic director Jeremy Domingo worked at the helm of the “groundbreaking event,” the first time to see the three companies in one show. Music director and principal conductor was Marlon Chen, who wielded the baton onstage for the MSO.
The rest of the performances took place last Saturday, Aug. 2, and yesterday, Aug. 3.
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