Nothing was spared in mounting Eugene Onegin / US Battery Dance Co. due

Tchaikovsky’s three-act opera Eugene Onegin at the CCP main theater was a very special presentation, marking as it did the 60th anniversary of the UST Conservatory of Music headed by Dean Raul Sunico, and presaging the university’s quadricentennial in 2011. It was obvious throughout the presentation that no time, effort or expense had been spared to achieve the opera’s resounding success.

Mirroring the significance of the occasion, the printed program bore messages from Acting Rector Fr. Juan V. Ponce, Secretary General Fr. Isidro C. Abaño, Dean Sunico, Director of Public and Alumni Affairs Office Cristina M. Castro Cabral, CCP president Nes Jardin and VP-Artistic Director Fernando Josef.

The curtains opened each time to simple yet eye-catchingly elegant sets of Gino Gonzales who also designed the flowing period gowns enhanced by fabulous jewels (on loan from the Jul B. Dizon Jewelry Salon), and the men’s formal wear complete with boots.

The most outstanding performance at the gala night staging was by soprano Rachelle Gerodias as Tatiana, the female lead. Her superb singing and eloquent acting in the bedroom scene (Act 1) comprised the most vivid, exciting and enthralling sequence in the entire opera. Here, she struggled with her emotions as she was writing Eugene Onegin, tearing up letter after letter, and re-writing it again and again to best express her youthful passion and to convey how smitten she was by him. Her distraught feelings were reflected by her actions and, memorably still by her technical skill, her voice soaring to the heavens in remarkable fortissimos, then ebbing to whispery pianissimos – so incomparably masterful was her control of dynamics – through the 14-minute aria, the longest in operatic repertoire.

Ironically and paradoxically, in the title role of Eugene Onegin, baritone Andrew Fernando, for all his tremendous vocal prowess, was not given as much opportunity by the composer to shine. But he succeeded in conveying arrogance and aloofness toward Tatiana as he rejected her in the early scenes, and in expressing sadness and remorse at being rebuffed by her in the final scene.

I venture to say that opera does not seem Tchaikovsky’s metier. The melodious arias and other songs in Eugene Onegin lack the dramatic power, sweep and urgency of his orchestral music. Eugene Onegin per se seems rather slow-moving, and in many instances, almost static. Even the duel between Onegin and his friend Lenski was a long stretch of non-action, as was the initial opening introducing the women characters in dialogue. Tatiana, her sister Olga, their widowed mother, Larina, and governess-nurse Filippyevna. The crowd scenes likewise tended to be static.

Despite the opera’s charming melancholia, its drama was intermittent. Stage movement, or what in theater terms is known as stage business, appeared wanting; seasoned director Floy Quintos did what he could to enliven it. Lighting director Monino Duque demonstrated his usual expertise. Vella Damian took charge of the numbers by the UST Dance Troupe.

The final scene was a redeeming feature (as was the devastating bedroom scene), not only for the electrifying singing of Gerodias and Fernando but also for their vibrant interaction. This reflected the mental struggle of Tatiana as she wavered between rejecting Onegin who had so cruelly abandoned her before, and despite being married to Gremin, accepting Onegin as he was now stoking the embers of her initial attraction and deep love for him. Onegin, for his part, was the picture of abject disappointment and dejection.

In this regard, an imaginative concluding stroke was the flurry of letters falling from the sky, the flurry signifying the return of Tatiana’s original letter to Onegin, and thus symbolizing her sweet revenge.

The Coro Tomasino and the Opera Chorus under the direction of Choral Conductor Ricardo S. Mazo Jr. sang evenly, cohesively and expressively. More importantly, the UST Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Herminigildo Ranera marvelously maximized whatever dramatic elements there were in the music, and its exquisite underlying lyricism.

The opera gathered the best singing talents from the faculty, graduate and student bodies of the UST Conservatory: Andrew Fernando (Onegin), Rachelle Gerodias (Tatiana), Ronan Ferrer (Lenski, Onegin’s friend and rival), Clarissa Ocampo (Olga, Tatiana’s sister), Nenen Espina (Filippyevna, governess), Patrice Pacis (Larina, the widowed mother), Lemuel de la Cruz (Triquet) and Jun Francis Jaranilla who was brilliant as Gremin (Tatiana’s husband).

The alternate cast consisted of Noel Azcona, Thea Perez, Randy Gilongo, Rexceluz Evangelista, Espina who had no alternate, Naomi Sison and Eugene de los Santos. Jun Francis Jaranilla had no alternate.

Emmanuel Baang (Zaretsky) and Aris Molina (Captain) had no alternates.

The gala night performance (which I heard) was lustily applauded, with various members of the audience remarking they had a "grand", "splendid" or "marvelous" experience.

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The Battery Dance Company of New York is performing at the CCP Little Theater on Oct. 24. Herewith is the company’s official profile:

Battery Dance Company (BDC) has built a worldwide reputation for individualistic creations and superbly executed performances over the past 30 years. Whether on main stages and festivals in capital cities or community theaters, amphitheaters or schools, the Company’s uncompromising artistic investigations strike a responsive chord among audiences in locales as diverse as North Africa, South Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Pacific Rim. Under the artistic direction of Jonathan Hollander, BDC’s performances are inspired by worldwide sources, and reflect American society in its multiplicity of cultures. Hollander employs contemporary dance vocabulary and themes to create intensely physical, kinetic movement, executed by world-class performers, with music that is often commissioned. The Company has been featured at NY’s Lincoln Center, Norway’s Savanger Concert Hall, Russia’s Theatre for Young Audiences in St. Petersburg, India’s National Centre for Performing Arts in Bombay, Sweden’s Stockholm 750 Festival, Finland’s Alexander Theatre, Estonia’s Von Krahl Theatre, and Hungary’s National Dance Theatre. It performed at Poland’s Krakow 2000 Festival and Malta Festival; Bulgaria’s European Month Festival and Varna Festival; Morocco’s Moulay Rashid and Mohammed V Theaters; Tunisia’s Municipal Theaters of Tunis and Sfax; Jordan’s al-Hussein Cultural Center, Israel’s Ennis Auditorium in Jaffa; Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Opera Houses; Australia’s Playhouse Theater in Perth; and Malaysia’s SGM Auditorium in Kuala Lumpur.

Jonathan Hollander, Resident Choreographer and Artistic Director, founded the Company in 1976 and established its Downtown Dance Festival in 1982. He was a Fulbright Lecturer in India in 1992, and founded the Indo-American Arts Council in NY in 1998. He has choreographed over 70 works presented throughout the world. Hollander has played a leadership role in dance internationally, building coalitions to support bilateral dialogue between the US and many countries around the world.