The Legends & the Classics: Sheer courage and bravado

Mixing art forms is a personal favorite blend of mine. But seeing that the artists who were to be together have performed and have been acclaimed around the world gave me little apprehension. Why? Because each deserves center stage without diverting the audience’s attention away from the main action.

The show is called The Legends & the Classics. The date: March 18, 2012. Venue: Nicanor Abelardo Hall, Cultural Center of the Philippines. The producers: Ballet Manila and Manila Broadcasting Company. The artists: singer Lea Salonga, ballerina Lisa Macuja and pianist Cecile Licad. It is a fitting celebration of the National Women’s Month, the Philippines’ extended observation of March 8 International Women’s Day.

The two-hour program sans intermission also features Gerard Salonga conducting the FILharmoniKa Orchestra, and guest cellist Wilfredo Pasamba. Musical director is Gerard; stage director is Roxanne Lapus; and scriptwriter, Angela Blardony Ureta.

The show begins with a resplendent Lea on the spotlight. On the far left side of the stage is Cecile in a less blinding light. She is a mere accompanist. Surreal! I’m initially dazed. But I get used to it after quite a while, listening to the accompanist and the singer. Cecile does a very good job, never for a moment stealing the limelight from Lea. Cecile, after all, has accompanied on the piano a silent film on Louise Armstrong, and has done several chamber music and ensemble numbers.

The show begins with Hahanapin Ko and Nais Ko. The lyrics seem to set the mood or theme of women power. Even the choice of songs of the medley of favorite Broadway hits, I Dreamed a Dream, On My Own, Memory, For Good and Defying Gravity exemplifies the answer to the often-asked question: What do women want? I’m hooked.

Describing herself as not only a serious stage actor but “also a Disney princess,” having sung the theme song of one or two Disney films, Lea does a Disney Themes Medley. The excerpts come from much-loved songs, Colors of the Wind, A Whole New World and Reflection. Again, the popular songs showcase what women want. Women want to fly, to soar, to find their own identity and their place in the sun, and to make their dreams come true. In Lea’s solo, I’d Give My Life for You, the persona expresses the unconditional love of a mother. In the Michel Legrand Medley, Lea once more defines woman as lover, as daughter, as artist and as independent, thinking and compassionate woman.

None of all the dancing in the background or the visuals on screen, much less the piano of Cecile, can steer the audience’s attention away from Lea’s moving renditions. Her soprano voice is full, her pitch perfect. Her high notes, unlike those of a biritera, do not crackle like the sound of a firecracker about to explode or of bad acoustics coming from a low-quality speaker component. Lea, 41, is a consummate artist.

Lisa, on the other hand, shows how much she has improved from the time I first saw her dance at 22 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1986. She had just returned to the Philippines after training, performing and reaping medals in several countries. Lisa’s look from head to toe hasn’t changed much. The then youngster is now a wisp of a woman, still congenial and carries herself like a ballet dancer.

Cecile and Lea take turns in accompanying Lisa in her solo and in her performance with her Ballet Manila dance company. Sometimes, the screen is a hodgepodge of lights and visuals so that the viewer may not be able to focus. One may get confused as to who the real star is in a particular number.

The colors of the costumes, however, are stunning, from Lisa’s Romeo and Juliet number to Paquita Grande Divertissement. The hundred-like pirouettes of Lisa draw applause in the middle of the dance. And her swan dance, to the tune of Le Carnival des Animus (Dying Swan), against a backdrop of a lake, is superb.

Lisa, 48, does command the stage, but much more is to be desired. Maybe it’s intentional? Because Lea has chosen songs the audience can easily relate to. Thus, it may be said that Lea represents contemporary music. Lisa, with conventional ballet steps, traditional tutu, and clean but rather safe choreography, represents classical dance. While Cecile, well…

Cecile is, no doubt, a pianist’s pianist. At the piano, she is a master as a storyteller, a singer, a poet, and now a dancer. Her repertoire ranges from Filipino kundiman to classical music to modern and contemporary pieces. Whereas before she enthralled her audience with her facial expressions while playing, she now also teases her listeners with her body and shoulder movements.

On this night of nights, Cecile starts with Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante by the ever-romantic Chopin. Then, she delights the listeners with light pieces, Pasquinade, Caprice Op. 59 and Souvenirs d’Andlousie, Caprice de Concert Sur la Caña, Op. 22 by Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Aside from her notes that are like crystal raindrops or like a clear brook running on smooth pebbles, Cecile displays yet another great leap of maturity. For she not only sings in her usual way, she also acts and sways and gives the orchestra and the audience a comely, coquettish smile you almost expect her to stand up any time and sashay. That’s what’s new. And she seems to be enjoying every second of her playing. No need for fancy lighting or onscreen images. There is only a faint, plain violet background. When Cecile, turning 52, is at the piano, there’s a complete hush in the auditorium until her playing ends and the audience goes loco with awe.

The program ends with the song Sana’y Walang Wakas by Willy Cruz. The title is apt for the show. The lyrics, unfortunately, are anti-climactic to the selections interpreted by Lea. All in all, however, putting together in one concert Lea, Lisa, and Cecile is sheer courage and bravado. The Legends & The Classics may indeed be touted as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.