There’s no stopping Arsenio “Nick” J. Lizaso’s artvocacy, even as a private citizen. On Sept. 23, the famed stage and TV director of yesteryears will be mounting a gala musical concert entitled “An Evening To Remember in September at the Kalayaan Hall of Club Filipino on Annapolis Street in San Juan City.

For the very first time, two ascendant stars in the Philippine musical firmament will be performing in one rare event, namely, the world-renowned Filipino tenor Arthur Espiritu and award-winning coloratura soprano and crossover artist Lara M. Maigue will be performing in one rare event, with musical accompaniment by no less than Asia’s iconic Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) under the baton of Maestro Herminigildo Rañera.

Arthur Espiritu, our own young Filipino “Pavarotti,” has just planed in direct from his many acclaimed stints in the opera capitals of Europe just for this performance. Known for his powerful voice and dynamic stage presence, Arthur is a winner of the La Scala Award at the Belvedere Competition in 2007 as well as the distinguished 2009 George London Award. 

After his triumphal debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, he played the role of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Opera Leipzig and sang Roberto of Leicester in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda with the Irish National Opera in Ireland. 

Most recently he was in Austria performing the title role of Verdi’s opera Don Carlos in a new production at Die Oper Klosterneuburg, an Austrian opera festival held annually in the baroque imperial courtyard of Klosterneuburg Abbey in Lower Austria.

The said tenor will be joined on stage by the classically-trained soprano Lara M. Maigue, now one of the most sought after musical artists on both stage and TV due to her singular versatility. 

Lara is the winner of the 2017 Aliw Awards for Best Classical Performer and the 2018 Aliw Awards for Best Female Crossover Performer. She is known to light up any performance venue with her natural talent and unassuming charm. The range of her musical gifts as an artist allows her to stride the two worlds of musical vocal performance, classical and pop. Opera arias, kundiman, jazz standards, Broadway, OPM, Lara can perform them all with extraordinary panache.

As you can always expect from a Nick Lizaso Production, it’s going to be a multi-splendored evening to remember. Reservations are accepted at 0917-815-2649 and 0999-884-3821. 

The featured performers of “An Evening To Remember in September” recently met to finalize details of the upcoming gala musical show at Club Filipino, San Juan City.