World class performance from a 3rd world country



Lea Salonga - 12th Asian Games
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9CyKDEkqYw

Miss Saigon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbAyVP08C4U

Les Miserables
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV11NuSrMSg

IMHO what lifts The Philippines into the First-Class World is the near-unique linguistics, combined with the artistic flair.

http://www.clickthecity.com/event/detail.asp?evid=20371

http://www.femalenetwork.com/culture/reper...tages-mulan-jr/

lets give this thread some class

Lisa Macuja
AKA Lisa Macuja Elizalde



1st Filipina Ballerina to win a Laureate Prize
1st Filipina Ballerina to win the 1st major international award in ballet for the Philippines
1st Filipina Ballerina to join the Kirov Ballet in Russia (1984)
1st Filipina Artist-in-residence at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (1986)
Founder of Ballet Manila


QUOTE

“It's cool to read because you can transform into anything and anyone you want or dream of becoming. You can go to any place you want to be. You can learn about any subject you can think about. You can change your very being. Just think about all that power!.”


Don Quixote: Pas de Deux Kharatian with Lisa Macuja, principal dancer of the Philipines National Ballet (1988)

Just as the pen is mightier than the sword, the page can take you further than the aeroplane, if you know how to fly it!

Cecile Licad



Piano Concerto no. 1 (Cecile Licad)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd6xBmDgKKM

As one of the youngest musicians to receive the prestigious Leventritt Gold Medal in 1981, Cecile won international recognition. Licad has appeared regularly with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, Children's Orchestra,and the orchestras of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Phoenix and Vancouver.

Her summer festival appearances have included Tanglewood, the International Music Festival of Seattle, Mostly Mozart Festival (in both New York and Tokyo), the Eastern Music Festival (Greensboro, NC) and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. In Europe she has played with the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Bayerisches Rundfunk Orchestra, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; in Asia, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo’s NHK Symphony and her native Philippine Philharmonic.

Licad is also recognized as an accomplished chamber musician. She has made television appearances with Mstislav Rostropovich and has performed regularly with ensembles such as the New York Chamber Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Guarneri Quartet, Takács Quartet, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Music from Marlboro. She also appeared as guest soloist on a European tour with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Cecile Licad has performed in recital with Murray Perahia, Peter Serkin and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, with whom she has appeared at Lincoln Center, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C.. She performs regularly with cellist Alban Gerhardt, performing throughout Europe and the United States, including at the Frick Collection in New York City.

She appeared as a soloist in the Steinway Piano Sesquicentennial Celebration at Carnegie Hall in June 2003 performing six Rachmaninoff Songs with operatic tenor Ben Heppner.

She played in 2006 three Chopin's pieces and Liszt's Mephisto Waltz no. 1 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston MA ("The Concert Podcast", live recording available under Creative Commons Music Sharing licence at .

In 2007, she had a special performance together with her son Otavio Licad Meneses (19 years old at that time) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Cecile Licad has made recordings for Sony and she recently released a new CD of works by Ravel (Le tombeau de Couperin, Gaspard de la Nuit, and Sonatine) on the MusicMasters label and a CD of works by Gottschalk on the Naxos label.

cool

Polo, Golf & Equestrian consider as a classy sports

art collection, watching musical play, opera, ballet for hobbies

for music broadway, classical and jazz and speaking of jazz



Marlene - Cosmos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYXsbjqibkQ

INTERVIEW:

How was it when you first came here to Japan?
At the beginning of my career I was marketed as an idol. There wasn’t any challenge for me personally. I just had to smile and do my thing. I wanted to sing well and most of all prove my vocal ability. That’s why I wanted to go back to the Philippines then.

But, of course, you didn’t.
Yes. I thought about this matter so hard whether to go back home or not. But I told myself that if ever I go back, I needed to have at least achieved something in order to show my family so that they would be proud of me. You know, I didn’t want to go home empty handed.

So what happened?
Something inside me was telling me to stay for something bigger and right after that, I was offered to do a movie. And then, CBS/Sony gave me a recording contract. Offers came one after the other. It was such a blessing!

How did the Japanese people accept you then?
I remember my managers then told me I was the symbol of the traditional Japanese woman they call YAMATO DESHIKO. For whatever reason, they saw in me an image of a woman with high moral values. Maybe, it is the same as the traditional Filipina.

And what made you so popular with the Japanese?
Maybe, because I was singing in English which they thought was cool and I speak to them in my broken Japanese and they thought I’m cute. I tried so hard to learn and speak their language. I came here with zero knowledge of their language. I studied every night before I go to bed and in a few months time, I was already “pera-pera” to the point of debating on different matters.

What about your image as a Filipina? Did that deter you?
When I first came to Japan, the image of the Filipino women was at its worst. I remember during that time, most Japanese tourists were male. That was really a bad time. When I do interviews even back then, I never hid the fact that I am a Filipino. Everyone knew I am one. And my success was never a question of my nationality. I just did my best and whatever image they had about Filipinos did not affect me at all. Once I remember talking with some Filipino women several years ago and they told me that my success in Japan brought high hopes for them as Filipino women. That really made me feel good.

Let’s now talk about your marital life. You married at a late age?
Yes. It was the day I turned 40 when I got married. I was really so busy with my career. But I really didn't close my doors to love and marriage. It just came.

So who is this lucky guy?
His name is James and he is an American computer engineer. We met 17 years before we got married. We started out as friends and after helping him mend his broken heart, we eventually fell in love with each other. It was so funny because before he proposed to me, he proposed to my parents first who in turn gave their blessings. Very Filipino, di ba?

How is James as a husband?
Oh, he is so loving and sweet. His love is unconditional. He gives his all. He is very understanding and supportive of my career. He knows what I can deliver that is why he always tells me to go for it.

You have two adopted kids.
Yes, Marlon is now 3 years old and his blood sister Aila is 1. We weren’t blessed to have our own biological children but I feel these two wonderful kids are my very own. I used to joke that I would love to have children as long as I didn’t have to get pregnant. It seemed that my wishful thinking came true. I need to be careful of what I should wish for next time.

How is motherhood?
Actually, so many of my friends were so worried about me being a mother. But I really didn’t experience the difficulties they were warning me of. I would say it’s a joy and a privileged to be taking care of two beautiful children. They are such a blessing to me. I never thought I would enjoy being a mother as much as I do!

You won a golf tournament last year.
It was the Jojoen’s Women’s Celebrity Golf Cup. Before I had my kids, my husband and I played a lot of golf. Golf was my passion second only to my singing. Although I wanted to play more golf, I would rather be with my children now.

Tell us about your new album released recently.
It’s called JAZZ 'n OUT. It’s a collaboration with Honda Masato and his big band B. B. Station. There are 10 songs where 3 are originals. Two of my best hits in the past, "It’s Magic" and "Left Alone," were included with different arrangements.

What’s in store in the future for Marlene?
Oh, I am scheduled to do my own nationwide radio show soon. Watch for it! Also, we are now planning for my next album.

Last question, why do you think you have lasted this long in a country that’s not even the land of your birth?
Maybe because of the discipline and hard work. Whatever blessings God has given me, I take good care of them. I always had a focus and direction in life.

I have watched lots of plays in the philippines.

Opera Singer



Sal Malaki (voice sample)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRib8otDIj8

L.A.Opera Profile
http://losangelesopera.com/artist/malaki.sal.htm

Rudolf Caesar Peláez Golez, prizewinner at the 1st ASEAN International Chopin Piano Competition in 2004.

The great Filipino virtuoso pianist Rudolf Peláez Golez belongs to the prominent Visayan Golez and Peláez clans. His mother Dr. Rafaelita "Oche" Peláez Golez, is President and Chairman of Liceo de Cagayan University in Cagayan de Oro City, which was founded in 1955 by her parents the late Atty. Don Rodolfo Peláez y Neri of Cagayan de Oro City and his wife, the late Doña Elsa Peláez y Peláez of Cebu City. Rudolf Peláez Golez is Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the school, and his brother Alain Marc is Vice President of Administration.

Rudolf Pelaez Golez Pianist Par Excellence

It was part of his piano concert tour series, that memorable Wednesday night, August 3rd, two weeks ago. This was his first major performance in the city, after making the country proud at the First ASEAN International Chopin Piano Competition in Kuala Lumpur last year. There, he was adjudged as the sole prize winner by a select international jury.

That recent victory alone was enough to jampack the 500-seater Marcelo B. Fernan Press Center in Lahug. More seats had to be pulled in as the crowd overflowed to the aisles just before show time. People waited, patiently, for the clock to strike 8 p.m. When the lights dimmed, a peculiar hush swept across the hall. It was time.

Rudolf Caesar Pelaez Golez. The name itself rings heavy. That, too, fuelled the growing anticipation. As soon as a relatively small figure stood at centerstage, vigorous applause burst. The young man was charming but unassuming, absolutely devoid of any pomposity which is the mark of most virtuosos. He instantly became everyone’s darling. That was only the beginning.

His fingers then tiptoed and jumped and danced and glided on the piano keys in masterful ease and precision. The only uneasiness there was, if any, was perhaps in the angst of his playing. The piano roared, wailed, sobbed, hummed and whispered—always beautifully, always in enthralling fluidity and grace.

He played Franz Liszt for the next two hours, with incredible ability that would have made Liszt himself proud. Golez played Liszt so well, that effectively you got to feel the legendary Hungarian composer’s various personal qualities: as nationalist, poet, dramatist, lover, virtuoso, philosopher, and as a deeply spiritual person. All throughout the concert, Golez played from memory, like Liszt did, no note sheets whatsoever.

It is a curious thing to note that Liszt and Golez, whose lifetimes are separated by almost 200 years, share some distinct similarities. Liszt was recognized as a child prodigy at the age of six; Golez began piano studies at age four. And both of them have an instinct for engaging showmanship. Liszt performed to a broad mix of audiences, not just for royalties. Golez’s audience that night consisted of the city’s elite, music scholars, office workers and students.

...

The whole night Golez “possessed” the grand piano. There were distinct sounds of nature, and haunting echoes of life in the timelessness of the pieces which he played with sheer virtuosity. It was not necessary to understand the music, although Prof. Russell Brandon, noted musicologist and pianist, was on hand to give short introductions to the pieces in order to guide the audience.

The experience was spontaneous. It was so universal, something so sophisticated yet so fundamental. The melodies just gripped your heart and soothed your soul. You didn’t need a mind in the experience. It was an emotional rollercoaster ride, leaving you either completely at peace or exuberantly fired up at the end of every piece.

It was noticeable that, at times, Golez would lose himself into his playing. Focus, some would call it. Or, maybe, the young maestro was going through an entrancing journey back in time in order to bring Liszt back to life—and virtually performed that miracle.

“Rudolf Pelaez Golez Plays Liszt” was an Arts Council of Cebu presentation. The Arts Council regularly brings in world-class performances by outstanding home-grown and visiting artists, often for free. Personally, I still have to see an Arts Council show that bores me. They are ever so discriminating in their selection of art events to bring to town. Rudolf Golez’s piano concert was one shining proof.