MANILA, Philippines?The last time we saw these many gray heads was at Taylor Hicks? concert in Greenbelt Makati.

On Friday and Saturday, fans of the ?Golden Divas??Pilita Corrales, Carmen Pateña and Carmen Soriano? trooped to Music Museum.

?They didn?t mind climbing up the stairs,? said Corrales. In a phone interview on Tuesday, she recounted: ?Before my turn, I watched from the wings and overheard someone ask: ?I wonder how old they are???

Pateña readily owned up: ?I?m 67.? Friday was her birthday. The following night, Soriano declared that Pateña was the youngest among them. Corrales snapped: ?Speak for yourself!?

Such easy rapport rubbed off on the audience, who lapped up every number, especially Patena?s ?The Greatest Performance of My Life,? Soriano?s ?Eres Tu? and Corrales? ?Kapantay ay Langit.?

And oh, those slits on the tantalizing trio?s gowns? which, by the way, they wore with some measure of mischief.

A ?great? crowd

?It was a great crowd,? Pateña said, also on Tuesday. ?It?s a performer?s best reward. You could hear a pin drop while we sang, but after each number, the applause would be deafening. It made me cry.?

Soriano agreed, saying that it was, for her, ?unforgettable.? She had asked two silver-haired ladies in the gallery, ?Where do you used to watch me??

They responded, ?Bulakeña!?

Both nights, the audience couldn?t get enough of the divas. The encore number segued into a request portion.

To think this show almost didn?t happen. ?I owe [Viva Concerts producer] Vic del Rosario P1,000,? Pateña said. ?I had bet that he couldn?t pull this off.? Corrales jested that this was because Soriano wanted to first ?get back in shape.?

Viva is planning an encore on May 2 at the SMX Convention Center in the SM Mall of Asia. Also in the works is a Cebu stop in May and a US tour in June, said Pateña.

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