The Russians are coming! Bolshoi Ballet due here / Spoliarium to be staged

The Meralco Theater owned by the Lopez family opened a few years before the Cultural Center of the Philippines theater did, and the Meralco Theater’s inaugural program featured dancers of the Russian Bolshoi Ballet. The CCP theater opened in 1968, and during the martial law regime that followed, I saw the legendary ballerina Maya Plesitskaya dance "The Dying Swan" at the CCP theater.

A Russian-Philippine Cultural Festival featuring the Bolshoi Ballet will be held in Manila from June 14 to 18 at the CCP to mark the 30th anniversary of Phil-Russian diplomatic relations, and to celebrate Russian National Day.

Bolshoi Ballet dancers will perform with the participation of Ballet Manila led by the Russian-trained Lisa Macuja Elizalde. The San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra, now being rehearsed by Ryan Cayabyab, will assist under the baton of Felix Korobov, principal conductor of the Moscow State Musical Theater.

Bolshoi is famed for its artistry and perfection of technique in the classic idiom, and its performers will be Anastasia Yatsenko, lead soloist and honored artist of Russia; lead soloists Andrei Bolotin, Nellie Kobakhidze, Yekaterina Shipulina, Alexander Volchko, Anastasia Goryacheva and Ruslann Skvortsov.

Denis Matsuev, acclaimed Russian virtuoso pianist, will play solo pieces and a concerto with the San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra assisting under Felix Korobov. Matsuev has triumphed in the world’s greatest halls, among them Moscow’s Conservatory Hall, NY’s Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Mozar-teum in Salzburg. He is a first prize winner in the International Tchaikovsky Competition and an Honored Artist of Russia.

Of him, the London Times wrote: "The soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Rhapsody was out to dazzle. Denis Masuev’s technique is phenomenal: blistering passage work, steely chords. Perhaps he is the new Horowitz."

The Festival will also display a collection of folk instruments played by talents of "New Names of Moscow", an organization created by the Russian Inter-regional Charitable Foundation under whose auspices Russia’s gifted young artists are trained.

The San Miguel Philharmonic will render the Overture to Glinka’s opera Ruslan and Ludmila before each ballet performance.

The tentative Bolshoi program as suggested by Lisa follows: June 16: Sayao sa Pamlang, Ballet Manila / Giselle Act 2 Pas de Deux, Bolshoi Ballet / Tarantella, Bolshoi Ballet / Arnis, Ballet Manila / La Bayadere Golden Solo Variation, Alexander Volchkov / The Dying Swan, Nelli Kobakhidze / Chopihiana, 7th Waltz, Spartacus Adagio, Nutcracker Pas De Deux, Bolshoi Ballet.

Gala Concert, June 17: Tarantella, New Names Folk Ensemble / Dancing to Verdi, Ballet Manila / Spartacus Adagio / Black Swan Pas De Deux (adagio and coda), Bolshoi Ballet / Denis Matsuev, Hungarian Rhapsody.

Presenting the Festival is the "Friendship Society Philippines-Russia" in cooperation with the Embassy in Manila. Members of the Society agree, however, that Valentina Nebogatova, wife of Russian Ambassador Anatoli Nebogatov, is the soul, impetus, anchor and moving spirit of the forthcoming cultural linkage between Russia and the Philippines.

To enable as many people as possible to see the Bolshoi Ballet, tickets will be at affordable prices. They will soon be available at the CCP.

Herewith is the official announcement.

Culminating the National Heritage Month’s festivities, the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, the National Museum, Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines, the Filipino Heritage Festival National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Department of Tourism will jointly present the opera Spoliarium: Juan Luna at the National Museum’s new FCCP-Ablaza Hall on Saturday, June 3. Cocktails, courtesy of Glenda Baretto of Via Mare, will be served at 6 p.m. The performance starts promptly at 7:30 p.m. Semi-formal or Filipiniana attire is requested.

Spoliarium: Juan Luna, the inaugural opera-in-concert to be performed at the National Museum’s Gallery of Art, is a tribute to the Philippine patriot and painter, Juan Luna, the first Filipino artist to receive the highest international acclaim for his painting, The Spoliarium – a depiction of defeated gladiators being dragged off the coliseum arena. It won the gold medal at the Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884. This painting, which measures 4.6 meters in height and 7.72 meters in length, is housed at the Hall of the Masters of the National Gallery of Art at the National Museum. Viewers will be treated to a vicarious experience of Luna’s tragic personal life through the wrenching opera around this moving masterpiece by the greatest of Filipino masters.

The Opera is composed by Ryan Cayabyab of the San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra with English libretto by Fides Cuyugan Asensio. Rising soprano Anna Feleo plays the tragic role of Luna’s wife, Paz Pardo de Tavera. Asensio plays Doña Juliana, Luna’s mother-in-law. Other cast members will be announced later.

The Museum Foundation of the Philippines, a membership and volunteer organization of concerned citizens of the National Museum, is sponsoring this event to benefit the restoration programs of the National Gallery of Art. It seeks to draw attention to the restoration work being done on the paintings of Luna and Felix Resureccion Hidalgo at the National Museum as well as the refurbishment of the FCCP-Ablaza Halls, which promises to serve as Manila’s newest venue for the display of the museum’s collection and for the hosting of activities such as fashion shows, fund-raisers, receptions, and corporate events. Hidalgo’s "Assassination of Governor Bustamante" will also be on view.

Only 200 tickets to Spoliarium: Juan Luna will be available for sale at P5,000 and P2,500 owing to the venue’s limited seating capacity. For more information or ticket purchases, please call the Museum Foundation Offices and look for Andrie Bañaga at 813-0771 or Elvie Magpayo/Dindin Araneta at 404-2685.

Concepcion "Tata" Poblador is chair of the opera-in-concert; Ma. Isabel Ongpin is president of the Museum Foundation.