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An Evening with Mozart

by Andrea Melisa R. Camba

As clich as it sounds, I am truly one of Mozarts admirers. This is probably


the reason why I was very excited with this semesters opera class. I just think that
more than the genius of his instrumental works, Mozart effortlessly graced the
music industry of classical music through opera. He modified the norms of Baroque
opera and made his own mark through his simple yet complicated music, themes
and character development.
Our second semester in opera class consisted of an all-Mozart repertoire. We
performed ensemble arias from Bastien und Bastienne, Le Nozze de Figaro, Cosi fan
Tutte, Don Gioanni and Magic Flute. It was more fun for me this time because we
flew away from solos and focused on collaborations.
Jane Wee, Kina Jorge and Neil Arvin Chua opened the concert with a trio from Cosi
fan Tutte. I think this was a very strong opening because of the superb performance
of the three singers. I love how the two sopranos work on their chemistry which led
to a fantastic execution of their duet parts. Their voices blended really well together
which produced good harmony. Though Chua is not a baritone, I think that he still
delivered and did justice to his part in the trio.
Next was Lascia chio pianga from Don Giovanni performed by me and Chua. I think
that we did a decent job in this duet despite our mistake in the A part wherein we
switched vocal lines. Im just happy that we survived the whole song without
breaking character.
The third song was Prender quel brunettino from Cosi fan tutte, performed by
Jasmin Salvo and Faye Yupano. This duet is part of my favorite list because of its
very light character which truly showed both their personalities. Yupano and Salvo
did a very good interpretation, both channeling their comic yet witty personas in
this piece.
Papageno, Papagena! From The Magic Flute came next. Im very familiar with this
particular duet so I really set high expectations for this performance. Vocally, I think
both were technically equipped but generally, I think it lacked the fun and lightness
that the piece requires. I dont know if its the slow tempo (slower than usual) or the
interpretation which made the number so-so.
The fifth song of the concert was Sull aria from Le Nozze de Figaro, performed by
Mheco Manlangit and Elle Tuason. I also like this number probably because of my

bias on this duet. This is one of my favorite pieces by Mozart and I think that both
singers interpreted it very well. I love their harmonies as well as the beautiful
contrast of both their voices. I think their vocal timbre fit the song very well.
My duet with Manlangit came after. We performed Ah guarda sorella from Cosi fan
Tutte. To be honest this was my biggest tiger of the night and I was really nervous
singing this piece. I thought that we made the best out of what we can do with the
song although I hope there could be another chance next time to redeem ourselves.
After this came the Magic Flute trio. I just adore this number! Gereberne Lozada,
Jane Wee and Teresa Melcio had great chemistry performing together. Their
wonderful voices are already a given but what made the performance really
memorable was their choreography and stage presence which I think the audience
enjoyed.
The second to the last piece was a duet from Bastien und Bastienne. Honestly, I am
really not a big fan of this piece. Its really included in my list of favorites from the
Mozart repertoire so I dont really know what to comment. Ill just say that Leonard
Lim and Leana Gantioqui did a pretty decent job singing the duet. They couldve
worked more on their characterization but who knows, maybe theyre not big fans of
the piece as well.
Lozada, Wee, Chua, Lim and I closed the concert with the quintet from The Magic
Flute. Since this was the last number I think the five us were warmed up enough to
sing through the piece with energy and zest. Although we have had better
performances during rehearsals, Im sure all five us enjoyed singing the quintet.
This concert was really a lot of fun and I really look forward to more performances
with my fellow singers at the conservatory.

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