The libretto by Ricky Lee is based on his own screenplay for the acclaimed movie directed by the late Ishmael Bernal, National Artist for Cinema, and starring Nora Aunor as the barrio lass who claims to have been given the gift to heal the sick by the Virgin Mary. The film might have been inspired by a Mexican production about a young woman in a remote village who acquires the power to heal after a heavenly visitation.
During an eclipse, Elsa (May Bayot) sees a vision of the Virgin Mary. The sleepy barrio of Cupang is instantly thrown into an uproar. Elsa’s mother, Aling Saling (Dulce), has her misgivings but dutifully stands by her daughter. Her bosom friend, Chayong (Cynthia Culig-Guico), becomes her most ardent follower and ties herself to the service of her friend. In devotion to her mission, she turns down the proposal of her fiancé, Pilo (Ariel Reonal), to marry her. Seven women of the village become her disciples and sell holy images and rosaries to raise funds. A wealthy Chinese, Chua (Roman Perez), donates a million pesos to the mission.
Elsa is not without detractors. Among these are the parish priest (Lionel Guico) who questions her "miracles"; Nimia (Isay Alvarez), her childhood friend, now a prostitute, and procurer Igmeng Bugaw (Bong Embile); and Orly (Eladio Pamaran), the skeptic who is recording on camera the uncanny events in Barrio Cupang.
When pilgrims, curiosity seekers and ungodly elements troop to the village, the Mayor (Ariel Dayanghirang) and the Chief of Police (Jun Villanueva) find their hands full keeping order. One night, Elsa and Chayong are attacked by a gang of rapists. A boy, Nestoy (Elijah Castillo), dies of food poisoning and Elsa is devastated because she is unable to save him. Chayong hangs herself. When Elsa gets pregnant, the ignorant folk hail her immaculate conception.
In the final moments of the play, the miracle worker disclaims her own miracles. Her last song is a moralistic plea to save the natural environment, to save Mother Nature from the careless exploitation of greedy men. The musical score of Himala by Vincent de Jesus is quite appealing in its simplicity and fuses perfectly with Ricky Lee’s lyrics. The magisterial direction of Soxie Topacio and the assistance of a capable artistic and production staff ensure the high quality of the presentation.
One leaves the theater hounded by nagging questions. Some of these have been answered ages ago by the Voice out of the Whirlwind in the Book of Job. Others seem to be a rejection of the Marian apparitions upheld by the Roman Catholic Church and project the view of the born-again Christians. One can only quote what has been said of the manifestations of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes more than a hundred years ago: "For those who don’t believe in miracles, no explanation is possible; for those who do, none is necessary."
Amen.
As Christmas approaches, the days seem to fly swiftly as a winged seraph. This writer will not commit the sin of omission and needs to give credit to a number of musical artists who have contributed to the joy of the pre-yuletide season.
Three gifted Korean sisters, pianist Seung-Yeun Huh, violinist Hee-Jung Huh and cellist Yun-Jung Huh presented works by Shostakovich, Haydn and J. Strauss at the CCP Little Theater. Concert for Peace and Friendship by the Huh Trio, hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Kumho Cultural Foundation, the NCCA and the CCP, was in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.
The transcriptions for piano trio of the Strauss waltzes were played by the ensemble most delightfully and served to complement the pieces by Haydn and Shostakovich. The highlight of the concert was the Soviet composer’s Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 67, which the trio delivered with an air of authority. If one may be allowed to quibble about balances: The keyboard, which naturally led the trio, was projected too loudly, the violin sounded meek, but the cello was simply perfect. At any rate, it was a joy to listen to these gifted sisters from Korea.
Muk ji da! Who has not heard of violinist Junior Saraza and seen him on the television ad? The boy prodigy was presented in a concert at the CCP Main Theater by the St. Scholastica College of Music and Columbia’s in cooperation with ProGifted Formula 2, NCCA and Isabel Cojuangco, with pianist J. Greg Zuniega and the Manila Symphony Orchestra II, conducted by Maestro Arturo Molina. The presentation was appropriately titled The Gift: A Musical Offering.
The concert opened with a long piece, Ciaconne, attributed to Antonio Tomaso Vitali (1663-1745). The work is much more than merely a limbering up exercise for the musician; it is a tour-de-force that tests and displays the violinist’s control and mastery of his instrument. He negotiated with ease the intricate Baroque curlicues of the piece, leaving his astonished listeners breathless with awe.
The rest of the evening could have been anticlimactic where it not for the boy-wonder’s ability to mesmerize his audience with the concentration with which he applied himself to the task at hand in which he tested the expressive possibilities of his instrument.
The main piece of the concert was Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E-minor, which demonstrated Saraza’s coordination with the Manila Symphony Orchestra II and Maestro Molina. He concluded the concert with another pyrotechnical display – Sarasate’s Gypsy Air.
This gifted boy’s music may well be an offering to God Who has blessed him with his gift.
An older artist of the keyboard, Aries Caces, was featured pianist in the concert of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the CCP Main Theater. Caces and the PPO under the baton of Maestro Ruggero Barbieri delivered a creditable sensitive reading of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83.
The Brahms concerto was programmed between Jeffrey Ching’s witty piece of grotesquerie, Symphony No. 2, "The Imp of the Perverse" and Richard Strauss’ tone poem, Don Juan, and Stravinsky’s second suite from Firebird. Although it was not cast in the shade by the spectacular orchestral fireworks of the pieces that enclosed it, the concerto’s luster was somewhat dimmed by the contrasting comparison.
One week later, the focus was entirely on Caces when he gave a solo recital as part of the MCO Arts Festival at the Francisco Santiago Hall, Equitable PCI Bank.
This time, alone on center stage, the Vienna-based artist phrased the works of Beethoven with classical clarity and the pieces by Schubert and Mendelssohn with restrained feeling. When, after intermission, he presented Liszt’s Apres une lecture du Dante ("Fantasia quasi Sonata") and Totentanz, Caces threw all caution to the winds, pulled out all the stops, conjuring fearful visions of the Inferno and the Day of the Last Judgment, and served the composer’s fiendish brew with a pitchfork held by steely fingers.
In his recital, Caces proves his eminence among the country’s young keyboard artists.
Bravo!