Filipino tenor sails the High C’s in New york

Young Filipino tenor Rogelio Peñaverde Jr. has been singing professionally in New York’s opera presentations for only three years, having obtained an MA in Music degree, major in vocal performance, as a Manhattan School of Music scholar under Prof. Stephen Smith, formerly of Julliard. Yet, Peñaverde’s most recent role was as the lead Tonio in Donezetti’s La Fille du Regiment (Daughter of the Regiment), the very same opera that served as the supreme test for the late legendary Luciano Pavarotti.

In the daunting role, its aria “Ah, mes amis” made Pavarotti famous, earning him the title “King of the High C’s.”

Peñaverde must have sung and portrayed the role so impressively that music critic Laura Durbin wrote: “Lead Tonio, Rogelio Peñaverde, made an adorable and believable lover. His voice was well-produced and strong as he sang this famous tenor role that sports nine high C’s. The character relationship between Miranda and Peñaverde was adorable and endearing.”

For its part, Taconic Opera, which presented Donizetti’s work at Peekskill and at White Plains, both in New York, was so gratified with Peñaverde’s performing that, barely a week later, it asked him to take the lead tenor role of Lindoro in Rossini’s opera L’Italiana in Algeri in March of its 2014 season without his having to go through a challenging audition.

Peñaverde has had his share of auditions. Prior to holding them, Taconic Opera intimidates aspirants with this warning: “Singers must have at least 15 professional leading roles in their resumés. Some of our lead singers who later sing at the Met try out their roles here first. Tenors must have legitimate high C’s, no falsetto mixes. We prefer that they look like the role for which they are auditioning. Tenors must sing the ‘Ah, mes amis.’ Preference must be given to singers who can act; so do not park and bark during audition.”

Having hurdled the obstacles and received the Encouragement Award from the 2009 Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, Peñaverde has essayed the lead roles, among others, of Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Tanino in Die Zauberflote – all three operas by Mozart – Ernesto in Donezetti’s Don Pasquale, Lorenzo in Auber’s Fra Diavolo, portraying these roles for the Bronz Opera Company, the Liederkranz Opera Theater, the Martina Arroyo Foundation and the Taconic Opera.

The engagements have won Jun praise as a singer “with engaging presence” who displays “strong, dependable vocal equipment which flawlessly soars and sustains the high notes long and firmly.”

Invariably, Peñaverde is the lone Asian in the operas wherein he appears, the latest having been La Fille du Regiment. Its director Dan Montez drastically veered away from the traditional version of the opera, his vision leading him to transfer the setting to a spaceship. On this, Laura Durbin comments: “The production had some wacky sets and costumes which were fun to watch. The ball in the second act was like a futuristic fashion show as guests entered, each dressed more fantastically than the one before them.”

More significantly, Durbin observed: “The singers were all of great quality” – including, of course, Peñaverde, the lead tenor as Tonio.

From the start, it seemed inevitable that Peñaverde would pursue an operatic career. At an early age, he already revealed his stunning vocal gifts, and his parents Rogelio Sr. and Solita, having discovered these, encouraged him to study at the UST Conservatory. Forthwith, he became a scholar under mentor Salvacion Opus Yñiguez, a leading diva of the time.

Peñaverde was so widely recognized as one of her favorite students that after she passed away, he had to fly from Bacolod, upon request, to sing on the 40th day of her demise.

Still on home grounds, Peñaverde obtained from the University of Asia and the Pacific a Master of Arts and Communication degree as a three-time grant awardee of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Peñaverde is deeply grateful to his parents not only for his initial training but also for their unrelenting concern for his future. In fact, whenever time permits, they fly to New York to see and listen to their exceedingly talented son onstage.

At the launching of his CD entitled “Sacred” last May at the Philippine Consulate in New York, the avid music-loving couple and their son sang an un-rehearsed “Minamahal Kita,” the impromptu number garnering – how lustily – a standing ovation! Presumably, then as now, the Junior and the Senior Peñaverdes are justifiably proud of each other, while the former’s brilliant star continues to illumine the latter’s hearth.