Moon Water, other events

On Aug. 30 and 31, as previously announced, The Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, headed by founder-artistic director-choreographer Lin Hwai-min, will stage Moon Water at the CCP main auditorium.

With a tantalizing part of it shown on the screen at a press briefing, Moon Water presents man standing alone onstage, looking at a simplified pattern of water, drawn on the black marley floor with white brush strokes painted on it. As the dance proceeds, several mirrors take turns appearing in midair and upstage, reflecting the images of moving dancers and of the pattern on the floor. Towards the end of the piece, water flows onto the floor until the floor itself becomes a huge mirror reflecting dancing bodies. Later, a full-length mirror appears on upstage, reflecting dancers and reflections of their images on the water. Dancers exit. The stage is empty, except for the ripples on the water. Curtain.

On Sept. 6, Philamlife auditorium, 4 p.m., Friends In Art, Inc. will celebrate the 60th birthday of Vicky C. Cuisia with a gala musical featuring pianist Nena R. Villanueva, pianist Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz and the Clarion Chamber Ensemble, with the special participation of Jose Mari Chan and tenor George Yang, and a sculpture exhibit by Impy Pilapil.

On Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. the UST Conservatory will present its 24th “Concert of Ten Grand Pianos” (Sampung Mga Daliriti Atbp), featuring the piano faculty, alumni, students, symphony and wind orchestras, voice faculty, jazz band, the Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble, Coro Tomasino, guitar, rondalla and percussion ensembles.

International concertist and UST Conservatory Dean Raul Sunico will take part in the concert of grand pianos.

Earlier, on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. in F. Santiago Hall, the UST Conservatory will present its Bachelor of Music graduate soprano Rexceluz Evangelista in concert, with pianist Peter Porticos as assisting artist. A pupil of Irma Potenciano, Evangelista has been awarded a year’s scholarship by the Hochschule fur Musik Franz Liszt Welmar.

Evangelista will interpret Schumann, St. Saens, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Filipino composers.

On Sept. 9, the MCO Foundation will present violinist Justin Texon, with pianist-composer Jed Balsamo as assisting artist, in a tribute to violinists Carmencita Lozada and Basilio Manalo, and composer-National Artist Lucrecia Kasilag.

Texon, a student of Manalo, is pursuing his doctor’s degree in Berlin’s Hochschule. This September, he will be performing with a Munich orchestra. His program will include Beethoven’s Romance in F Major, Bach’s Chaconne in D Minor, Mozart’s Piano Sonata in B Flat Major, San Pedro’s Melodie in G, Kasilag’s Sonata.

On Oct. 3 and 4 (8 p.m.) and Oct. 5 (3 p.m.), the Philippine Opera Co. will present Puccini’s La Boheme which the NY Times calls “the world’s most popular opera”. It is currently undergoing a flurry of traditional and new interpretations on Broadway and other opera stages.

On Oct. 8 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza and on Oct. 9, 10 and 11 at the F. Santiago Hall, MusicArtes Inc. will stage Roger Peace’s Off-Broadway musical drama “Piaf: Love Conquers All”, the life of the remarkable Paris singer Edith Piaf who rose from abject poverty to international fame. Her unmatched passion for song, her survival and faith in love have universal appeal. Her song La Vie en Rose is known to all.

Naomi Emmerson as Piaf sings with a lovely voice and Gallic authenticity, sending listeners to emotional heights. Collaborative pianist is Carmela Buencamino Sinco.

The PPO season opens with a “Transymphonic Gala” on Sept. 12. Wagner’s powerful Tannhauser Overture, Strauss’ Don Juan and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite will be played by the PPO under conductor Oscar Yatco. Aima Labra-Makk will render Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F Minor.