MEDIUM RARE
Not a full moon, only a half-moon. It was a romantic enough touch to make Symphony at the Terrace memorable and, truly, one of a kind.
But then Ed Yap, who deals in currency rather than music, is used to producing out-of-the-box events. A Christmas choral concert inside a church. Music from the soundtrack of unforgettable movies. A night dedicated to the melodies of Puccini. And more, in variety, concept, production values.
This time, days before the retreat into the Holy Week, and in the tradition of open-air, arena-style concerts in Europe, “we bring Europe to you,” he told the audience, by converting a corner of The Manila Polo Club into a concert hall with neither roof nor walls. Nor did the roofless venue have a shell of a dome, or a dome of a shell, to keep the music from being dissipated by wind and the sounds people make. It was quite a feat, ask any sound engineer, but Ed’s team of acoustics experts and technicians gave him the miracle he wanted.
Symphony at the Terrace was a collage of music from arias and choruses, operas and operettas, ballets and waltzes. With the support of dependable patrons — special mention, Tony Pastor and Speaker Martin Romualdez — producer Ed gathered the PPO, Quorista, sopranos and tenors Rachelle Gerodias and Byeong In Park, Bianca Lopez Aguila, Arman Ferrer, Nomher Nival; violinist Christine Ybanez; ballerina Abigail Lynn Oliveiro; then he thanked them and the music-loving audience by exploding fireworks over their heads at the end of the show. The half-moon was still smiling its half-smile.
The venue was not the only new experience for me. It was a delight to watch Christine remove her skirt, revealing a satiny pair of pants as she moved from classic-violinist stance to fusion artist (she’s also singer/songwriter of an all-girl rock band). It was also my first time to watch Abigail, principal dancer of Ballet Manila — she has form, figure, line, height. Another discovery was Bianca, whose voice sailed into the night with silky dark notes outlined in silver.
When Nomher thrilled the crowd with Nessun Dorma, it was like expecting no one in the audience would be able to sleep later.
Cheers to one and all, Ed!