"¡ esto es espectaculo !"

Imagine, if you will, a plaza full of people in colorful costumes, dancing and singing around arches filled with fresh flowers in all the colors of the rainbow! Lovers strolling around, unmindful of all the activity, blissful in each other’s arms.

This is a scene from "Bravo Zarzuela! A Celebration of Spanish Music and Dance" which will have its gala perfromance at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo on Thursday, February 21 at 8 pm. The extravaganza repeats on February 22 (8 pm) and 23 (3 pm).

The musicale, originally staged for European television using traditional Spanish zarzuela music, quickly became the talk of the town as it is a unique collaboration of talents from Spain and the Philippines. At the center of it all is the Spanish Ambassador, Señor Tomas Rodriguez-Pantoja, who is directing the zarzuela in his debut on the Philippine theatrical stage.

Won over by the depth of talent in the performing arts scene in the country, the ambassador put together the production as a true collaboration. Filipino singers Rachelle Gerodias (coloratura soprano) and Ronaldo Abarquez (bass-baritone) join Spanish singers Luisa Torres Benito (soprano), Jose Antonio Moreno de Torres (tenor) and Jorge Florenza (baritone), with the Philippine Normal University Chorale. The dance ensemble is totally Filipino, working under Spanish choreographer Alberto Portillo (who speaks neither English nor Filipino!). The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra will play under the baton of Maestro Jose Antonio Torres.

But the medium of the collaboration is one that knows no linguistic or cultural boundaries. The extravanganza of music and dance –"pure entertainment" is how the ambassador-director decribes it – seeks to emphasize the common ground shared by the two countries. "I had wanted to show two different communities and two different peoples coinciding in one culture," Ambassador Pantoja explains. "The zarzuela, which has elements common to both countries, is very familiar to the Filipino audience."

One other area of the production that pushes this concept yet further is the costumes, which were brought over from Spain by Ambassador Pantoja. STARweek asked lead soprano Rachelle Gerodias to model some of these spectacular costumes for us.

In one scene, she is garbed in a modern version of a bata de cola (robe), a mixture of black and deep yellow depicting the Spanish prairie where wheat fields grow in abundance. According to Paco de Blas, Cultural Director of Instituto Cervantes, during the old days the women in Sevilla attended the Feria de Sevilla wearing the bata de cola. Since the Sevilla Fair (the Feria started out as a cattle fair selling horses, bulls, etc.) was attended by men from the city and from other regions, and the women wanted to catch the attention of the men, the ladies began to add layers upon layers of lace and different fabric to create a fully ornamented costume from a simple outfit. The skirt would be several meters long so that it would sway sensually as they walked or danced. On the hair, the women would use a peyneta, an intricate hairpiece that combed the hair neatly into a bun and gave women the illusion of being tall and stylish.

Nowadays, the Feria de Sevilla is the most spectacular fair in Spain, with prominent families setting up tents with food and wine flowing for their special guests throughout the week. The cattle fair still goes on but it is now located in another venue.

Another scene shows Rachelle wearing a traditional Spanish costume, La Garterana. The skirt and blouse are in black, the neck and cuff are made of lace with gold trimmings. The upper garment is made of violet material with gold, red and green design. It is called the toquilla or shawl. In the rural areas, the women used the toquilla as a wrap on their way to and from work. While working they remove the toquilla. But the most important piece in this outfit is the delantales or apron. According to Ambassador Pantoja, he bought this particular delantales at an auction–for quite a hefty sum, he admits, although he wouldn’t say how much exactly–and it dates back to the 1920’s-1930’s. These items of clothing were worn by women in the rural regions of Spain. For example, the delantales was used to protect the garments of the women while they worked. Some of their delantales were plain looking, while others had more elaborate designs using expensive material worn during fiestas and other celebrations.

Rachelle Gerodias’ quiet, unassuming character is not quite what one expects a coloratura soprano to be–at least, not until she sings. Then there is no doubt about her caliber as an artist, for whom singing arias comes so naturally. Praised for a voice that is "naturally beautiful", Rachelle won her first international award while still a college student: she bagged the top prize in the Mozart Aria Competition in 1992. Three years later she again did our country proud by winning the Civic Morning Musicals Vocal Competition in Syracuse, New York. Her international career has seen her guesting with the World Youth Symphony orchestra and Chorus, the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra and the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra. She has done full operatic roles in La Boheme, Carmen, The Student Prince, Il Campenello and others, performing in the US, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

But all those accolades and her unassuming ways can be misleading. Would you believe that this conservative-looking classical artist can burn up a disco dance floor with the best of them! Once she was at an event where a band was playing and asked for audience participation. Rachelle gamely went up on stage and danced her heart out! What Rachelle didn’t realize was that the members of the band were students at a school where she was teaching! The very next day, the whole campus was a-buzz about Ms. Gerodias, the coloratura soprano disco-dancing queen!

According to Rachelle, that’s her only way of releasing stress and getting out of her serious classical image. Rachelle is also learning to survive on her own: she now owns her flat and is busy furnishing it, budgeting her expenses and cooking! She loves to eat and experiments with all kinds of food. If she cooks as well as she sings and dances, she might soon be known as the coloratura soprano disco-dancing chef!

Rachelle is very excited about her participation in Bravo Zarzuela! because this is her first zarzuela role. She’s learning to dance and sing the authentic Spanish way under the patient tutelage of zarzuela director Ambassador Pantoja and choreographer Alberto Portillo. They teach her not only the steps and the words to the songs, but the stories behind each movement and each stanza. A common love for music overcomes any language barriers there may be, and Rachelle is confident that the final product of this collaboration will be a unique "blending of two rich cultures", a confidence shared by Ambassador Pantoja and the rest of the cast.