By Pablo A. Tariman
Philippine television is awash with amateur talent search and the winners are often young and promising singers imitating an array of foreign pop idols.
When classically trained singers find themselves in such televised competition, some members of the jury appear like they are totally stranger to the classical sound. When the same singer joins a talent search overseas, the judges as well as the audience instantly adore him.
Indeed, that shows how poorly appreciated classical musicians are in this country.
Once upon a time, Manila was called “The Milan of the Orient” because of its close affinity with classical music and the quality of artists it has produced as early as the 1920s.
Three Filipino divas – Isang Tapales, Jovita Fuentes, and Mercedes Matias Santiago – made international debuts in Italy’s opera houses in the late ‘20s and made a modest career until the late ‘30s.
Filipino bass baritone Jose Mossesgeld Santiago became the first Filipino to sing at La Scala di Milan in 1928 (as Sparafucile in Rigoletto) followed by Filipino tenor Arthur Espiritu in 2007 (as Ferrando in Cossi fan tutte).
In the ‘70s, Evelyn Mandac was the first Filipino soprano to make her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera while tenors Otoniel Gonzaga and Noel Velasco made it to New York City Opera and other major houses.
In 1980, pianist Cecile Licad became the first Filipino and the first Asian to receive the Leventritt Gold Medal in New York, one of the last distinguished pianists to receive such coveted prize after Van Cliburn and Gary Graffman.
Meanwhile, another Filipino singer—tenor Rodell Rosel— made it to the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2009 in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier opposite to no less than the revered American diva Renée Fleming and Susan Graham and under the direction of the eminent conductor Edo de Waart.
Dwindling audience, lack of corporate sponsors
But even with this glorious past, truth is, in present-day setting, dwindling audiences hound classical musicians. Concert organizers are having a hard time luring corporate sponsors. It is a total contrast to the steady patronage given to pop music.
To illustrate, the country has four active orchestras – the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) under new music director Yoshikazu Fukumura, the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) under Arturo Molina and Jeffrey Solares, the ABS-CBN Philharmonic under Gerard Salonga and the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) under Rodel Colmenar.
MPO has long stopped doing season concerts because of the huge expenses involved and poor audience patronage. It kept itself busy by doing corporate events and assisting in Broadway musicals.
ABS-CBN Philharmonic has stopped doing regular season for classical music simply because the poor audience attendance doesn’t make the undertaking financially viable. Thus it makes up for lost revenues by doing a concert of popular film music and works of popular OPM composers.
The only self-financed orchestra with a sustained season is the MSO. The only state-subsidized orchestra, the PPO, has sustained its regular seasons. But more often than not, the audiences are hard to find except when a star soloist with the stature of Cecile Licad is around.
But even with state subsidy, opera productions in the leading temple of the arts are often weighed down by poor theater attendance.
On the other hand, brave souls without corporate support often mount opera production in its less expensive production – the concert versions—and the audiences love it because the singers deliver and the endeavor becomes worthy of a standing ovation – even with deficits hounding the producer. For even with a full house, a concert producer can lose his shirt without the sponsorship, which is hard to get unless the producer is a business partner of several corporate entities.
Strangers to classical music
Meanwhile in the provinces, classical musicians are still total strangers to the music public. Through private initiative, some provinces, like Catanduanes, get to hear classically trained soloists through the yearly summer music festival. But like most provinces in the country, it has yet to hear a live symphony orchestra.
The National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) yields yearly prizewinners but more often than not, they don’t get concert engagements enough to sustain them. As in the case of most musicians, they teach, they do tutorials, they conduct master classes, they accept what they call “gigs” in corporate events which pay high than the regular concert engagements. Thus the only viable move is to go abroad for better pay.
Such is the case of tenor Arthur Espiritu who will be heard at the Ayala Museum on Aug. 26 with pianist Najib Ismail.
Espiritu has sung Ernesto in a well-received production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Oper Leipzig, the third oldest opera house in Germany. Other roles are Edmondo in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut in Baden Baden under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle also in Germany, the Lamp Lighter in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) under Maestro Rattle.
The only Filipino tenor with regular engagements in Europe, Espiritu told Manila Standard he can actually live on his regular bookings. “Each year, it is imperative that I get as many singing contracts per year. Or else, I cannot earn enough. As always it is not enough. Every year it depends on how lucky you get with offers. So far I have been blessed.”
But making it abroad is not always about money. He cites the golden opportunities to work with world-class musicians like Maestro Simon Rattle who conducted him when he sang Edmundo in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut in Baden Baden in Germany.
Trying to survive
But more than making money, Espiritu’s concerns focus on the new generation of singers, which he helps by finding time for master classes. “Music is not just about earning money. It is also about investing in the young talents and helping them find a career in classical music.”
Classical guitarist Aemilio Cecilio Enginco who is prizewinner of the Jakarta and Hong Kong International Guitar Competitions said what sustains him as a musician is the inspiration he derives from people who believe in his talent. “They are the people who tell me that there is something deeper in arts and music than everyone can see on the surface. That they believe in me is so far enough to love my craft for what it is. But being a classical musician is really tough. We live in a generation wherein we have to strive hard to show them that this kind of music is deeply substantial although and we have to try doubly hard to make a living out of it. Often, we do free performances just to educate the public. Hence, I would say, more audience patronage will help us survive. At this stage of my career, I am more interested in honing my craft and connecting with my audience than making money.”
Indeed, the classical musicians will probably survive by the skin of their teeth, so to speak.
It is up to audiences and cultural entities to reciprocate that passion – at least with their presence in the concert hall.
As Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel always pointed out, “It is not that people don’t like classical music. It’s that they don’t have a chance to understand and experience it.”
(Classical guitarist Aemilio Cecilio Enginco promotes the Manila Guitar Quartet performing at the Ayala Museum on Aug. 11, 6:30 p.m. He performs in a separate guitar concert with Aaron Aguila on Aug. 23, at the PWU Recital Hall. Tenor Arthur Espiritu with pianist Najib Ismail interprets a Schubert song cycle on Aug. 26, 7 p.m. at the Ayala Museum. For tickets, contact TicketWorld at (02) 891-9999.)