THE year 2008 was a fairly good year for opera. Two professional productions were mounted at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP): ?Die Fledermaus,? courtesy of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Conservatory of Music and CCP, and ?La Boheme,? spearheaded by the Philippine Opera Company under Karla Gutierrez.

Other schools who couldn?t afford the CCP venue mounted school productions, such as the ?La Traviata? of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Music with Aliw awardee Alegria Ferrer as Violetta and her student Eric Ferrer as Alfredo, and other UP productions such as ?Hansel and Gretel? and ?Don Pasquale.?

The busiest singer of the year was undoubtedly Rachelle Gerodias, who did Strauss?s ?Die Fledermaus? as Adele, Menotti?s ?The Telephone? and Mozart?s ?The Impresario? in Manila. She also sang the role of Liu in Puccini?s ?Turandot? in Vienna and Singapore to modest acclaim, aside from orchestral concerts in Spain and Czech Republic.

La Gerodias was also the favorite soloist of the year, appearing in numerous concerts in Manila and abroad. The latest was her guesting in the New Year concert in Sarajevo with the Sarajevo Philharmonic. Earlier, she nearly upstaged visiting pop tenor Paul Potts, who had a sold-out concert at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) courtesy of a new concert production company, Concertus.

Standouts

The Mimi of ?La Boheme,? Jennifer Uy, was quite a debut. Another standout in Manila?s music scene is soprano Camille Lopez, who sang a Carmen aria with the Philippine Madrigal Singers in Munoz, Nueva Ecija and with the UP Concert Chorus and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) at the Manila Pen yearend Christmas concert. Her ?O Mio Babbino Caro??her tribute to soprano Evelyn Mandac who got a well-deserved tribute from UP?was sheer vocal magic, and we wish she?s tapped for more dramatic roles next year.

La Mandac looked radiant while receiving the UP tribute, and so was Fides Cuyugan Asensio who became an adopted UP alumni (she?s from Philippine Women?s University) after teaching at the UP College of Music for more than 40 years.

Tenor Lemuel de la Cruz was Gaston in the Singapore Lyric Opera production of ?La Traviata? and Pong in the recent staging of Puccini?s ?Turandot.?

At the 100th year celebration of UP, one tenor of consequence?Noel Velasco?arrived and sang ?Nessun Dorma? at the UP Theater in a magnificent production directed by Behn Cervantes. The voice that won the 1981 Pavarotti Competition was no longer there, but the line, phrasing and good enunciation were still something to marvel at.

As a tribute to Velasco, tenor Dondi Ong sang a stirring version of ?Una Furtiva Lagrima (from Donizetti?s ?L?Elisir d?Amore?) while Jonathan Badon sang an aria from Rey Paguio and Cuyugan?s opera, ?Mayo, Bisperas ng Liwanag,? inspired by Nick Joaquin?s ?May Day Eve.?

Tenor Gary del Rosario arrived to play Rodolfo in ?La Boheme,? and his ?Che Gelida Manina? was as unforgettable as it was well-nuanced. There is no doubt these outstanding youthful voices are the future of opera.

Top orchestra soloist

On the other hand, Noel Azcona remained the year?s busiest baritone. He was Dr. Falke in ?Die Fledermaus? and Belcore in the UP production of ?L?Elisir d?Amore.? He was soloist in a Bach cantata, likewise in Handel?s ?Messiah? in the Baguio Cathedral concert under American conductor Jerome Hoberman. The rest of the year he was kept busy as soloist and assistant conductor of the UST Singers which toured Spain, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy in August this year.

Cecile Licad remains the orchestra soloist of the year with her appearance with the Pundaquit Virtuosi of Coke Bolipata and the Philippine Symphonic Band of Irene Araneta in the rendition of Beethoven No. 2 in Miriam College, Insular Life Theater in Alabang and in the Pundaquit festival venue in San Antonio, Zambales.

Her subsequent engagement with the PPO under the auspices of the Buencamino Foundation at the CCP was a sold-out affair, with hundreds at the CCP lobby left content with the video monitor.

Equally busy was Raul Sunico, who could still squeeze in orchestral engagements and solo recitals on top of his tasks as head of the UST Conservatory of Music. An engagement with PPO included one where he had to pitch in for an American pianist and learn Bernstein?s ?Age of Anxiety? on a few days? notice.

Other equally memorable performance was pianist Cristine Coyiuto, who was soloist of the PPO in Schumann?s A-Minor Concerto under the baton of Helen Quach. Meanwhile, unbeatable were the record-breaking outreach concerts of pianists Reynaldo Reyes and Ingrid Sala Santamaria, who have logged a total of 320 concerts by this year, performing from Aparri to Davao. They got a well-deserved Life Achievement Award in music from the Aliw Awards.

Conductors, recitals

The recital of the year by a young artist should be the one given by pianist Lorenzo Medel, who was also voted one of the year?s best by music cognoscenti.

My conductors of the year are Helen Quach (with PPO and Coyiuto), Renato Lucas (with Philippine Youth Symphonic Band and Pundaquit Virtuosi with Licad) and Oscar Yatco (PPO with Licad). Of the three, Quach remained a standout in a field where conductors are often ignored whenever soloists shone.

In my book, the recital of the year was the evening of French music called ?Le French Soiree? at the BDO Francisco Santiago Hall, featuring violinist Gina Medina and pianist Mary Anne Espina.

The Faure was a brilliant opener, Ravel unleashed a lot of sensuality and Saint-Saens was a superb conclusion. The rapport was excellent. But on their own, Medina and Espina gave their audiences a rare glimpse of their artistry honed to sensitive maturity through the years.

Chamber music

From audience reaction to critics? reviews, there was no doubt that the 2008 recital of Victor Michael Coo with Taiwanese pianist Ya-Hsin Wu at the BDO Francisco Santiago Hall eclipsed other chamber music events outside the BDO music hall. Coo was the same prize-winning cellist who figured in a historic, unaccompanied cello recital last year in the same venue and got a standing ovation (he had played without the benefit of an assisting artist).

Three years ago, the young cellist debuted with the Manila Philharmonic under Rodel Colmenar through the Dvorak concerto, and got the kind of ovation a cellist hardly got in this country.

The year saw the passing away of conductor-composer and National Artist for Music Lucrecia Kasilag in August, just a few days before her 90th birthday. The author of more than 200 compositions?folk songs, opera and orchestral works, among others?Kasilag was the former head of the Asian Composers League and continued to create music until early this year. Her last work was the Filipino opera ?Why Flowers Bloom in May,? staged at the CCP in March with Asensio as librettist.

Earlier, violinist-conductor Basilio Manalo also passed away in March and Licad played a piece dedicated to the noted violin pedagogue. It was also this year that pianist Stella Brimo passed away, as well as music educator Mercedes Isleta, head of the Kodaly Society of the Philippines.