Don Q’s influence on music, dance

With his erudition and fertile imagination, pianist-composer-conductor Delfin Colomé (former Spanish ambassador to the Philippines and currently to Singapore) conceptualized a unique program demonstrating the tremendous influence and inspiration Cervantes’ immortal novel has wielded over artists through the centuries. The event, under the auspices of the Instituto Cervantes, had director Dr. Javier Galvan giving prefatory remarks.

After Colomé spoke on how great composers like Ravel, Strauss (Richard) and Massenet wrote music inspired by the novel, the audience heard recordings of De Falla’s El Retablo de Maese Pedro and The Proclamation rendered by Barcelona’s Teatro Lliure Chamber Orchestra under Conductor Josep Pons while drawings and sketches showing Don Quixote and his Squire were being flashed on the screen.

The duet Oui, je souffre from Massenet’s opera Don Quichotte, then followed, with Spanish mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza and Dutch baritone Jose Van Dam interpreting it to the accompaniment of the Capitol de Toulouse Orchestra under Michel Plasson. Earlier, the audience heard Strauss’ Adventure of the Windmills as interpreted by the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Herbert von Karajan, with Mstislav Rostropovich (who performed here years ago) as cello soloist.

For balletomanes, the highlight was the screening of the American Ballet Theater’s Don Quixote (first act) with the phenomenal dancing of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Cynthia Harvey. The ballet, choreographed by Baryshnikov after Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus, was staged in 1978, after Baryshnikov had defected to the US from Russia – 27 years ago. This meant Baryshnikov was then at his peak. Or nearly so. Harvey’s performance, likewise brilliant and singularly controlled, can serve to inspire local ballerinas who should strive to match it.

With pianist Colomé as assisting artist, marvelous soprano Rachelle Gerodias sang Romance de Durandarte by Luis Milan (end of the XV century – 1561), Dulce Esperanza Mia (anonymous, XVIII century), two songs from the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha: "I’m Only Thinking of Him" and "What Does He Want of Me?", concluding with Colomé’s own avant-garde composition El Canto de la Poesia (Poetry’s Song).

As always, Gerodias was superb, singing with elegance, finesse, restraint and profound feeling. She manipulated her voice skillfully as she prepared for each high note which, ringing with increasing force, achieved full, admirably sustained power through the end.

The encore, The Impossible Dream, Don Quixote’s own song, was arranged for the soprano with magnificent results to lusty, resounding applause.

The evening of delightful surprises, while involving creativity and innovativeness, also meant considerable work (research) as well as wide conversance with classic music.

Round-the-clock reading of Don Q

The call is still on for readers of Cervantes’ novel. The first-ever, 50-hour, non-stop reading will be from April 22 (11 a.m.) to April 24 in the Salon de Actos of the Instituto Cervantes, named, incidentally, after the great novelist.

Readers will each get a copy of the novel and a certificate of participation. Paella will be served them at midnight of Friday and Saturday, and churros con chocolate the following Sunday morning.

Nick Joaquin Journalism Contest

Another significant event will be the first Quijano de Manila Journalism Contest under the sponsorship of IC. National Artist Nick Joaquin used "Quijano de Manila" as his pseudonym for his journalistic writing. Any piece may be submitted which deals with the importance of Spanish as a language for international communication, or with its importance to Filipinos, or with its significance to the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. The entry must have been published in local magazines or newspapers or broadcast over radio and television from January 1 to December 31, 2005. For inquiries, call 526-1482 to 85.

Pundaquit Festival features dance

The Casa San Miguel Foundation will present on April 15 and 16 the premiere of "Ludus", an experimental collaboration of multi-talented dance artist Myra Beltran and her Dance Forum with the Pundaquit Virtuosi and Airdance.

Rarely played 20th century chamber music by Arvo Paert, Ernest Bloch and J.S. Bach will be performed for the contemporary dance choreography by Beltran, Airdance artistic director Paul Morales and Ernest Mandap.

As part of the 12th Pundaquit Festival, the show at Barangay San Miguel in San Antonio, Zambales, will have a sprawling mango orchard as rustic setting.

Initiation in dance under ballet tutor Vella Damian has led Beltran to a body of works in collaboration with movie director Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, theater director Anton Juan, painter Ben Cabrera, composer Ramon Santos, cellist Ramon Bolipata, installation artist Robert Feleo and social realist Karen Flores.

Dance Forum, a Pundaquit Festival mainstay since 1995, has worked with Festival founder-artistic director Alfonso "Coke" Bolipata and the Pundaquit Virtuosi in original compositions for dance and chamber music.

The Airdance company is composed of choreographers, professional dancers and dance teachers trained in jazz, hip-hop, modern dance, martial arts, classic ballet and other dance forms.

Eva Peron at Puerta Real

Eva Peron, the hilarious political satire by the late Argentine playwright-cartoonist Raul Damonte (Copi), has been played around the world since 1969 (usually with an all-male-cast). From the RCBC theater, it was recently restaged at Puerta Real Gardens by Dramatis Personae under the auspices of the Alliance Francaise, with DP director Lito Casaje translating the play into Filipino (from the original French). The avant garde theater piece, written by Copi in Paris to escape Latin America’s various dictatorships, dispels "Santa" Evita’s charisma which wove a spell over the masses who regarded her a beacon of hope.

In the Filipino version, the spontaneous antics of Dingdong Rosales (Eva Peron) sent viewers into stitches while they enjoyed French food and wine on picnic blankets. The remarkable costumes were designed by Frederick Peralta; jewelry was by French designer Muriel Beiraghi.