'An enchanting evening'

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) presented “An Enchanting Evening of Music” which was imaginatively conceptualized by Eddie H. Yap, avid music lover, cognoscente and MAP’s Arts and Culture chair.

The program, held at Manila Polo Club’s new McKinley Room, featured tenors Lemuel de la Cruz, Sherwin Sozon, soprano Joy Abalon, and special participant Christopher Yu. Operatic arias and duets, Broadway and native songs were rendered on a raised dais with an attractive set design creating ambiance.

Under Eddie Yap’s direction, the singers dramatized and acted out the numbers, giving them deeper meaning and substance. For instances, in “Yours Is My Heart Alone” (from Lehar’s “Land of Smiles”), the two tenors earnestly vied for the soprano’s affection. De la Cruz and Abalon engaged in a bit of flirtation and danced in the Waltz Duet from Lehar’s “Merry Widow”. In O Soave Fanciulla (from Puccini’s La Boheme), the standard script has the lovers exiting, hand in hand, their voices trailing behind them. That evening, the scene ended with the lovers kissing. When Eddie first suggested the change, De la Cruz reportedly declared: “I will have to ask my wife’s permission.” When he did, she said, defying Filipino conservatism: “Go ahead. It’s only a show!”

De la Cruz reached his highest moment in Il Lamento di Federico (from Cilea’s L’Arlesiana), summoning all his vocal and emotional reserves to convey grief, travail, distress. How overwhelmingly his stirring voice, finely nuanced dynamics and sensitively changing facial expressions manifested heartbreak!

Sozon’s own most arresting moment came in Vesti la Giubba (from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci), his voice unerringly and forcefully sustaining the high notes as he movingly portrayed the wrenching tragedy of a clown who earlier disguised his misery with hollow laughter.

Joy Abalon was a revelation. The dimunitive soprano distinctively characterized each song — O Mio Babbino (Gianni Schicchi, Puccini), Quando m’en Vo (La Boheme, Puccini), and Sa Kabukiran (Velez). Here, oddly enough, her bejewelled appearance belied her role as a farmer’s wife or daughter. To project more atmosphere, Eddie flashed Amorsolo’s Dalagang Bukid on a screen.

Abalon was particularly impressive, vocally and interpretively, as Queen of the Night (Mozart’s Magic Flute). Her keen musicianship navigated the repeated, challenging high notes skillfully, accurately, and flawlessly. How she consistently maintained her arrogant air, even stomping offstage in royal anger!

A beautifully lyrical Chinese lieder “How Can I Not Think of You” was eloquently articulated by Sozon in the predominantly Western program. “Her” could have been a ravishing woman or nature in all her splendor, judging by the lyrics here supplied by Eddie: “Whips of white clouds float in the blue sky/A light breeze blows near the ground/Ah…/The cool breeze blows through my hair/How can I not think of her?/The moonlight bathes the ocean with rays of love/The ocean looks at the moon adoringly/Ah…/These sweet things are like the silvery night/How can I not think of her?/Flowers float lazily on the water/The fishes swim lazily beneath the surface/Ah…/ Swallows! What words are you saying?/ How can I not think of her?/The withered tree sways in the cold wind/The flames of the bonfire burn in the twilight/The western skies still have sunset colors/How can I not think of her?”

Another marvelous revelation was 17-year-old Christopher Yu. His big, controlled tones, his magnetic personality, his natural emotive talent infused “This Is the Moment” (from Jekyll and Hyde, Wilhorn and Bricusse) with persuasive intensity. Christopher is still a work in progress. His vocal power and emotional depth, surprising for his age, will take him very far if he perseveres.

In response to public clamor, the group sang “The Phantom of the Opera” medley and “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing”. Pianist Jude Areopagita as assisting pianist left nothing to be desired.

MAP president Joey A. Bermudez and Manila Polo Club president Ramon Y. Dimacali gave prefatory remarks. Eddie Yap’s illuminating explanation heightened audience enjoyment.