“MADAME BUTTERFLY” IN A 3-MINUTE BRAVISSIMO STANDING OVATION

By GEORGE VAIL KABRISTANTE
PMPC (Phil. Movie Press Club)
From his blog “Manila Showbiz and Lifestyle” farmed out in different versions to Pilipino Mirror, Pssst, Saksi, CMT (Columnists Monitoring Team) Update, http://www.pmpcstarnews.com.ph/, etc.

You think movie writers don’t hack opera, think again. Just tonight coming from the set of “Ben Tumbling” in Marikina of the most shy and youngish maverick Director Joven Tan we almost ran late catching up our breaths yet (headed by the self-imposed PR of CCP Dennis Adobas with Saksi Editor Art Tapalla and award-winning documentarist Boy Villasanta)  to watch first off, the latest and much anticipated foray of the enfant terrible of Phil. theater Anton Juan’s staging of “Madame Butterfly” at CCP’s main theater.
 Adding to our excitement was that the lead rolers were imports, soprano Mako Nishimoto as Madame Butterfly is Japanese and tenor Dante Alcala as B.F. Pinkerton is Mexican. Why are we running out of local talents to reprise Puccini’s opera?
 Let’s not jump  the gun yet on MusicArtes, Inc. who is behind the collosal production.
 I’ve lived in Italy (elsewhere in Milan, Rome and the Vatican) for almost five years (sorry to write in) and know what opera is. As in knowing one when you see and hear one.  La Scala of Milan is a stone’s throw from Duomo where OFW’s gravitate during their off hours usually on Sundays and Thursdays.
If you work your ass off in that Christian City that  pays a lot and with no one back home waiting for remittances buying a ticket or two for an opera at La Scala or for that matter in Rome is not hard on the conscience, da vero (true).
 With that let me just do some bytes for my impressions on the opera at hand.  “Madame Butterfly” is an exalting triumph of direction vis-à-vis ensemble performance of world class quality  from everyone in the cast (including the movers) and music of The Phil. Philharmonic Orchestra through the combined genius of the eminent conductor from Singapore  Lim Yau and musical direction from  our very own Dr. Francisco F. Feliciano. Bravo!
 I repeat Director Anton Juan’s re-working of the opera’s concept and staging is fresh, lyrical, unsullied as it is unprecedented and its post-colonial underpinnings hit hard to one who is not blasé yet to the horrors  of American imperialism in the Far East.
Dante Alcala’s voice as the ambiguous  Pinkerton  is heartrending and haunting, while  Mako Nishimoto’s all- too exhilarating voice as Cio-Cho San is hard to shake off even after I took my shower  upon reaching home, see?
Nishimoto is so luminous in and out and moves like a gazelle in an uncharted terrain unmindful of an invader. Her singing is rousing and spotless if there is such thing that she unconsciously and slightly eclipses perhaps Alcala not a few times with the  incandescence of her voice and movements. Brava Mako!
 Camille Lopez Molina’s  Suzuki  and Andrew Fernando’ Sharpless are unbeatable in my book. The country’s ultimate pride they are. From my timepiece, “Madame Butterfly” in its gala night got a three-minute standing ovation from an aroused audience.
 You have up to tonight June 23, 2012 to catch up to believe what am I raving about. 8pm at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.