A magnificent Rigoletto / Top Phl, Korean ensembles perform jointly on May 4

Again, opera lovers must commend CCP president Raul Sunico for saving them the expense of a trip to New York; right here at the CCP Little Theater they can enjoy on film the major productions of the Metropolitan Opera House.

The latest of these is Verdi’s Rigoletto. Typical with Met operas, the singers are superb, magnificent, world-class. And their likes have hallowed the halls of the Met since its opening more than a century ago — such peers as Caruso and GalliCursi whose records, incidentally I have listened to since childhood!

Producer Michael Mayer has audaciously transferred the venue of Rigoletto from an Italian ducal palace of the 1800’s to a 1960 gambling casino in Las Vegas, without detracting from the complicated plot involving lust, greed, treachery, jealousy, intrigue and revenge — all of which human frailties lead to the tragic death of the young, beautiful, trusting, innocent Gilda, daughter of the lead character Rigoletto, the Duke’s deformed sidekick and comedian.

On the Met’s awesomely huge stage are props recreating the casino with all its enticements. In the opening of Act II, the Duke sings in his penthouse apartment which is momentarily filled with friends who are all asleep. Oddly enough, no one awakens to the sound of his powerful, thunderous voice!

In the finale, Act III, to the left off-stage are two cars. In one of them, the dying Gilda, having been shot, is dumped inside its trunk.

Earlier, off-stage, Gilda sees the Duke flirt with the courtesan Maddalena in his apartment. Gilda recalls having been wooed by the Duke in similar fashion, as she and her father, at left off-stage, witness the Duke’s shameless, lustful advances onstage.

Here is where the Duke and Maddelena, Gilda and Rigoletto sing the exciting, exquisite quartet, their voices luminous, resonant, the high notes admirably sustained.

The quartet is only one of the opera’s many high points. The arias of Rigoletto (Zeljiko Lucic), Gilda (Diana Damran), the Duke (Piotr Beczala) and even Sparafucile (Stefan Kocan) in a lesser role are sparkling gems. Whenever Rigoletto sings, he commands intense attention not only for his fantastic power but also for his moving persuasiveness. In this regard, all the other soloists are utterly convincing actors, Gilda particularly, in her death scene.

Conductor Michele Mariotti looks too young for the mighty task of conducting a large orchestra for a similarly large cast in a grueling opera. Yet he matches its demands impeccably, flawlessly, the singers’ accents, phrases, varying volumes meticulously respected.

The next Met Opera film production at the CCP Little Theater is Donezetti’s L’ Elisir D’Amore on May 28, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Another film not to be missed!

Ballet Manila and South Korea’s Choi So Bin Ballet, two top dance ensembles in Asia, will perform jointly on Saturday, May 4, at Star Theater, the former in Fairy Doll, Black Swan Variation, Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene, as well as in the contemporary Sotto Voce and Reconfigured; the latter in Le Corsaire Pas de Deux and Don Quixote Basilio Variation.

Ballet Manila’s artistic director and prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde will interpret The Last Poem partnered by principal dancer Rudy de Dios. The lyrical piece depicts a dying woman listening to her husband read her favorite poem. Dr. Choi So Bin, artistic director of the Korean ensemble, will portray the unpredictable flirt Carmen who forsakes the corporal Don Jose, turning her fevered attention to a bullfighter.

Both have Russian balletic backgrounds. Lisa gained top honors at the Leningrad Choreographic Institute, becoming the first foreigner and the first Filipino to join, upon invitation, the Kirov Ballet; Choi So Bin, recipient of a diploma from Moscow’s National Ballet School, was the first Korean to perform at the Bolshoi Theater.

How exciting it would be to watch both the Kirov and Bolshoi ballerinas dance on the same stage!

Ballet Manila continues to promote closer international relations through dance with the joint performance on May 4.