MANILA, Philippines—If you mount a good show, they will come.

“Divas 4 Divas” was definitely a casting coup, as it brought together on a single stage four of the country’s top female performers: Kuh Ledesma, Zsazsa Padilla, Pops Fernandez and Regine Velasquez. More than a statement of stature, the recent single-night treat was a showcase of talent, the way it should be dispensed if the goal is to leave the audience in awe.

On Saturday, Dec. 6, the Araneta Coliseum was packed to the rafters, resulting in the stars deviating from the script intermittently to say, “Thank you all for coming tonight.” And then again, and again.

Some production kinks threatened to spoil things. There was no director (Rowell Santiago exited a few days prior) and this took a slight toll on continuity, cueing, dance routines, wardrobe change, even blocking.

The fans—Regine’s, especially, who outnumbered those of the other three—seemed happily oblivious of this, because their idols delivered everything that was expected. These would be hot solos, surprising duets and exciting four-way arrangements well-orchestrated by Louie Ocampo despite the (at times) less-than-perfect sound quality.

And then some: Regine was tasked to play the clown and charged with hitting the high notes. She was effortless in both assignments. In fact, note for note, only Regine got a perfect score in our tally sheet, with Kuh, Zsazsa and Pops providing the perfect grounding balance to her occasionally overpowering falsettos.

In any case, the rapport among the girls was clear and true, giving way to playful and witty, sometimes hilarious, gab. We should note here that it was difficult to decide who to look at when all four were performing although, to be sure, Pops was the best-toned, physically.

Yes, let’s not forget the visual factor. The quartet’s grand entrance in black outfits by Joey Samson complemented their harmony-and-power take on Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night,” En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind,” and Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.”

They celebrated Motown with a Diana Ross suite, in gowns by Oliver Tolentino. When it came time to honor the time-defying Madonna, the girls came out in stunning ensembles by Edwin Uy.

The duets were especially noteworthy. Pops and Regine’s rendition of Bryan Adams’ “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” was the least hurried and, it seemed to us, the most heart-felt and, therefore, the best. Kuh and Zsazsa’s Annie Lennox suite (“Sweet Dreams,” “Here Comes The Rain Again”) was smooth and spot-on as well.

Masterful with OPM

They were most masterful and eloquent in the OPM classics portion, and were one in citing the “amazing” arrangement by Bob Aves on “Ugoy ng Duyan.”

As expected, Kuh stood out as the most-seasoned, vocally. But Zsazsa deserves special mention for her Steve Perry slot, the high-energy “Separate Ways.” Pops sizzled with a string of Rihanna hits. Regine’s rendition of Don McLean’s “And I Love You So” would turn out to be the most talked-about, post-event, sobbing in parts as she did. Was that because Ogie was diligently photographing her from the floor?

While “Divas” will surely be remembered as a scintillating presentation, there was a little more to be desired in terms of innovation. Not a few members of the audience verbalized a wish for “more daring treatments and more songs [that the girls] haven’t done before.” This observation is hard to contest.

On the other hand, there is much to be learned from Kuh’s bull-headedness here. It was she who believed and insisted that it could be done, and the fact that such a feat was pulled off augurs very well, indeed, for the local concert scene.