GROWN darker and slimmer due to commitments abroad, lyric tenor Rogelio ?Jun? Peñaverde staged a comeback concert at BDO Tower?s Molina Hall, and wowed a highly partisan audience. He displayed superb technique and was now more confident and poised.

His seductive ?Madaling Araw? (Francisco Santiago) elicited sighs from the matrons. And his ?Iyo Kailan Pa Man? (Angel Peña) sent shivers down one?s spine. Collaborating artists were the always excellent pianists Julie Mendoza and Najib Ismail, and Elisanta Cortes, who also impressed the opera buffs with her powerful soprano.

Peñaverde recently sang the lead role of Prince Tamino in Mozart?s ?The Magic Flute? during the Tuscia Opera Festival in Italy. The tenor is a scholar of the Manhattan School of Music. He returned to New York after his Metro Manila concert, and was again tapped to lead the cast of an opera, ?Later the Same Evening? (by John Musta and Mark Campbell), which will premiere in New York in December.

A dance concert of the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, given their advocacy, is always as entertaining as it is informative. Their latest show ?Tuklas...Tanghal? was a case in point, enlivened by music from Muslim Mindanao as well as the Christian era.

Showcased were the dances of ethno-linguistic groups from Northern Luzon to Southern Mindanao, ending with the 1930s Manila Carnival and the Terno Era. But why was the closing number a fashion show and not a rousing dance medley?

It was a delectable evening of Puccini arias and Filipino classics at the BDO Tower?s Santiago Hall, with reigning soprano Rachelle Gerodias displaying her wares both as singer and actress. Rounding up the quartet of performers were Mexican-Austrian guitarist Rafael Neira, pianist Najib Ismail and trumpeter Roger Llado, who almost stole the show.

Neira is a one-time special friend (or maybe he still is, as some friends claim) of Gerodias, and their chemistry showed in ?Minamahal Kita? (M.Velarde), the final number.

Impressive

That was an impressive production of Rogers & Hammerstein?s ?Cinderella? at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), directed by Bobby Garcia with flair. As expected, Lea Salonga was a hit (with a standing ovation to boot), for she gave the role all she got. Too bad she was a head shorter than the young Australian actor who played her Prince Charming.

Illegal logging in the Sierra Madre and its attendant evils emerged as the new social cancer in the reworking of the Rizal novels by playwright Nicanor G. Tiongson (?Noli at Fili: Dekada 2000?), and directed by Soxie Topacio. The rattling good ensemble work (especially by Robert Seña as Col. Salvi and Lex Marcos as Ibarra/Simoun) galvanized the young audience.

It was a gripping, emotional, in-your-face play, which marked Philippine Educational Theater Association?s (Peta) successful return to social realism.

One of the theater events of the year was David Henry Wang?s ?Golden Child,? a Tanghalang Pilipino production directed by Loy Arcenes, and presented at the CCP?s Tanghalang Aurelio V. Tolentino in both the original English and in Filipino (as translated by Dennis Marasigan).

Hwang brought a new impetus to the somewhat trite theme of tradition versus modernity with his wit, humor, crackling dialogue, and dissection of a Chinese family in crisis.

All the players did well, but it was Irma Adlawan, as the opium-dependent First Wife, who bagged the most challenging role and consequently received the loudest applause.

The surprise in the Philippine Opera Company?s ?Harana? at the RCBC Plaza?s Romulo Theater was that eight classically-trained singers could also dance (and chant) almost like Bayanihan or Ramon Obusan performers. The eight were sopranos Karla Gutierrez, Ana Feleo, Florence Aguilar and Deeda Barreto; tenors Juan Aberto Gaerlan and Sherwin Sozon; and baritones Jack Salud and Lawrence Jatayna.

The ?suites? were Igorot, Maria Clara, Folk, Rural, and Contemporary. The eight were, depending on the part, serious and intense, or campy and outrageous, as in ?kwela.? At the end, the artists became patriotic and proclaimed themselves ?warriors? for Philippine cultural heritage.

Quite a feat. A bravo for the men, and a brava for the women.

Simpatico

Pop stars Christian Bautista and Karylle were simpatico, star-crossed lovers in Stages? ?West Side Story? at the Meralco Theater, doing justice to the semi-operatic music of Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. They received strong support from an ensemble of actors who sang and danced with verve.

Except for a dragging opening scene, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo directed with Repertory-like competence and pace. After five decades, ?West Side Story? still packs a wallop.