MANILA, Philippines - Soprano Rachelle Gerodias made her triumphant European debut as Liu in Puccini?s ?Turandot? at the Volksoper Wien in Austria and got a round of bravos and a well-deserved ovation Wednesday last week.

The Filipina soprano got an inkling she was accepted when the audiences clapped during her first aria, which didn?t happen with the other Liu.

?I couldn?t believe it was actually happening in Vienna at the Volksoper!? the soprano told the Inquirer.

The opening at the Volksoper Wien, with 1,400 seating capacity, had a full house, and after the performance Gerodias was greeted by her new fans asking for her autograph.

?I felt like Ana Netrebko,? said the soprano, who was pleasantly surprised when one of the autograph-seekers told her she was his favorite in the production.

?It was an amazing experience,? she continued. ?I?m so proud I was able to represent our country well here in Vienna.?

The ?Turandot? venue is Vienna?s largest theater for opera, musical and dance. In this latest season, Volksoper Wien has 294 performances, 31 new productions with over 150 singers, 95 orchestra musicians, 64 choir singers and over 100 dancers.

How did Rachelle find the theater?

?It was a bit overwhelming and intimidating at first,? she said. ?I mean many great voices have performed in that theater, among them our own Otoniel Gonzaga. But I felt more at ease after running through the whole opera a couple of times. My colleagues said the acoustics there is so dry so the voice really needs to project well. I didn?t have that problem during the rehearsals. Everyone who heard me said my voice had no problem projecting at all.?

Weeks before the ?Turandot? run, Rachelle took lessons with Carol Byers.

Vocally, the part of Liu isn?t really that demanding.

She explained: ?My part sits mostly on the middle range and the passagio or the transitional part. But this requires a fuller and more lyrical quality in the voice. Puccini?s legato lines are not easy to sing if you are not technically equipped for the part. The treatment for Liu?s vocal part is so delicate to fit her character. This requires the most precious pianissimos in the most difficult high notes that have to be sustained. Heart-felt sighs in specific words and phrases must be done in a way that will make the audience cry.?

The ?Turandot? production in Vienna has a unique and very contemporary concept. All the characters are insects and the costumes are real colorful. Still, the Puccini opus was staged as a grand opera.

She added: ?But the story was still the same and each character is interpreted no less than any other Puccini character.?

Rachelle did one more performance on April 6 and will also cover for the other Liu (Melba Ramos) in succeeding performances.

After ?Turandot? in Vienna, Rachelle will do ?Suor Angelica? at the CCP in June and another Liu in the ?Turandot? production of the Singapore Lyric Opera at the Esplanade Theatre and Menotti?s ?The Telephone,? among others.

Rachelle?s European debut was made possible by the recommendation of tenor Otoniel Gonzaga who arranged her Vienna auditions. By sheer talent and real good luck, Rachelle made it.

Licad and Rach

As I write this, Cecile Licad is part of what looks like a Rachmaninoff fever in Germany where she plays five performances of Rach 2 (the slang for Rachmaninoff?s Piano Concerto No. 2) at the Apollo Theater in Siegen with the Philharmonie Sudwestfalen under Russel Harris and at the Stadhalle in Gottingen, Germany with the Gottinger Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Mueller.

In Germany and other parts of the world starting this month, there is a generous offering of Rach 2 with Yoo-Kyoung Suck in Dusseldorf; Denis Matsuev in Irkutsk, Russia; with Andre Watts in Costa Mesa in California; Lang Lang in Dresden; and Helen Grimaud in Wien, Austria.

Before her Siegen engagement, Licad was in Manila with the Philippine Philharmonic under Oscar Yatco who conducted two concertos?Beethoven No. 2 and Rach 2 and with Beethoven?s ?Egmont? Overture as fitting opener.

As it turned out, Beethoven No. 2 was a fitting contrast to Rach 2 and it was made more obvious by a slower tempo compared to the brisk, dynamic reading given by the Philippine Youth Symphonic Band and the Pundaquit Virtuosi under Renato Lucas.

The true chamber musician that she is, Licad made the most out of what the PPO had to offer and gave the concerto an inner illumination as she plumbed through this otherwise youthful concerto.

As for the Rachmaninoff opus, Licad gave it another life so different from her 2001 Rach 2 with the PPO under Ruggero Barbieri. This latest Manila Rach 2 had an intense, if ominous, first movement (moderato) that peaked in the unusual fire and intensity of the second movement (adagio sustenuto) and a run-away climax in the last movement (allegro scherzando) that brought the house down and yielded four encores.

For the most part, PPO was a competent accompanist and it showcased a sterling conductor in Oscar Yatco.

In one of the rarest moments at the CCP box office, the concert was totally sold out with hundreds of last-minute buyers turned away and a few left gawking at the lobby and making do with the TV monitor of Licad playing with the PPO.

Thus far, this is a highly fruitful partnership between the CCP and the Buencamino Foundation.

Licad discovery

PHSA music scholar Remely Bianca Montanez, the young pianist discovered by Cecile Licad during her 2002 outreach concert in Tuguegarao City, graduated last week with the highest weighted average. He also got the Maria scholarship award for music and a topnotcher qualifier at UP Diliman. She was heard in a recital onApril 11 at Francisco Santiago Hall.