The PPO goes to Guimaras and Iloilo
THE PHILIPPINE Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) will be holding outreach concerts in Guimaras Island and Iloilo City this week. The PPO, along with conductor Herminigildo Ranera, will have a concert at the Guimaras Museum today, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m. It will then be opening the 2023 Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City on Jan. 13, 6:30 p.m., at the Iloilo Convention Center. The concerts will include classical pieces, selections from Broadway shows and Hollywood movies, kundimans, and OPM. The performances will be live-streamed on the CCP Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/culturalcenterofthephilippines.).Tickets to the concerts are free and are open to the public. For more information, visit the CCP website www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and follow the official CCP social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Early bird ticket sale for TP’s Ang Pag-uusig
TANGHALANG Pilipino (TP) will be presenting the play Ang Pag-uusig from Feb. 17 to March 12 at the Black Box Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. There is currently an early bird ticket promo at https://bit.ly/PAGUUSIG2023 until Jan. 26. Ang Pag-uusig is a Filipino translation of the Tony Award-winning play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/tanghalangpilipino.
Santo Niño exhibit in Ali Mall
IN HONOR of the feast of Santo Niño, Araneta City is holding an exhibit, “Ang Batang Hesus,” in Ali Mall, Cubao, Quezon City until Jan. 14. The exhibit features more than 60 images of the child Jesus from Santo Niño devotees around the country. Among the replicas on view are those of the three oldest Santo Niño images in the Philippines — Santo Niño de Cebu, Santo Niño de Tondo, and Santo Niño de Arevalo. Other notable images in the exhibit include a replica of Santo Nino de Tacloban which was flown directly from Leyte, Santo Niño de Aranzazu, and Santo Niño de Malitbog (patron prince of Southern Leyte). The exhibit is open for free public viewing during mall hours.
MSO marks 97th year with concert
THE MANILA Symphony Orchestra (MSO) marks its 97th anniversary of performing for audiences with a live concert entitled Opera Gala 2023: The MSO 97th Anniversary Concert at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati on Jan. 22, 8 p.m. As the MSO looks back at its past and pays homage to its very first live performance at the Manila Grand Opera House, it has gathered four of the most respected and talented opera singers in the Philippines today, to perform Italian arias from the different periods and techniques of opera — from Bel Canto to Verismo. The performers are the wife and husband team of soprano Rachelle Gerodias and baritone Byeong In Park, tenor Ivan Niccolo Neri, and soprano Bianca Lopez-Aguila. The opera classics will be performed together with the Philippine Vocal Ensemble. Pieces by Verdi, Puccini, Bellini, and Mozart will be performed by the MSO under the baton of conductor Marlon Chen. Tickets are available via Ticket world at https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/shows/show.aspx?sh=MSOPERAG23.
MO_Space opens year with 2 shows
MO_SPACE gallery opens 2023 with two shows:“Measures” by MM Yu at the Main Gallery and“a glass (or two) to (my old self showing me) all things new”by Bert Antonio at Gallery 2. MM Yu’s latest solo exhibition, “Measures,” directs the viewers’ attention once again to some of the essential traits found in painting. Her ‘drip’ paintings have established themselves as one of the more recognizable in contemporary Philippine art. Meanwhile, for his latest show, Bert Antonio pursues originality through the creation of a myriad of elements in his “Truth in Line” series. Each combination becomes unique in seemingly random movements and moments that eventually come together. They stand for the countless relationships that one builds, keeps, loses, and cherishes — each one a page, one day in a diary. The two exhibits are open for public viewing at MO_Space from Jan. 11 until Feb. 12. The gallery at Bonifacio High Street, BGC, Taguig, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For inquiries call 8403-6620 or mobile number 0917-572-7970.
Tickets to The Sound of Music now on sale
TICKETS to the international tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, produced by Broadway International Group, are now on sale and available online at ticketworld.com.ph and TicketWorld outlets. The touring production will have shows in Manila from March 7 to 26 2023. The brand-new international production is set to be staged at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati. This original production tells the uplifting true story of Maria, the fun-loving governess who changed the lives of the widowed Captain Von Trapp and his seven children by re-introducing them to music, and culminating the family’s flight across the Austrian mountains as tensions rise prior to the outbreak of World War II. One of the most popular Broadway musicals in the international marketplace, The Sound of Music is celebrating its 65th birthday in 2024. For more information visit www.broadwayasia.com.
PETA opens 2023 with Walang Aray
THE PHILIPPINE Educational Theater Association, better known as PETA, opens 2023 with its production of Walang Aray from Feb. 17 to May 14. Presented by PETA with Indie.Go Media, in partnership with Star Magic, Walang Aray is an adaptation of a screenplay of the same name, based on Severino Reyes’ classic zarzuela, Walang Sugat. Walang Aray follows lovers Julia and Tenyong who struggle to hide their relationship from Julia’s mother who wants her daughter to wed an affluent suitor. However, Julia and Tenyong’s relationship struggles when she joins the revolution. Tickets can be booked through official Showbuyers (https://bit.ly/3W6Rakz), or at TicketWorld (premier.ticketworld.com.ph). For inquiries, visit https://bit.ly/3vdpcrW.
National Museum opens 14th branch in Dumaguete
THE NATIONAL Museum of the Philippines (NMP) recently inaugurated its 14th branch in Dumaguete City which showcases the geology, zoology, botany, archaeology, and marine biodiversity of the two Negros provinces. Housed at the Dumaguete Presidencia or old municipal hall — which underwent extensive renovations which were temporarily halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic — it also has exhibits on architectural arts and built heritage of Negros Oriental and Siquijor, and a few loaned items from the Silliman University Museum. The museum is also envisioned to showcase seasonal and thematic displays, as well as art exhibits in the future. Also unveiled at the inauguration is the marker declaring the edifice as an Important Cultural Property (ICP) of the NMP, a citation in earlier received in 2019 because of its exceptional cultural, artistic and historical significance manifested in its blend of Spanish, American and Filipino architecture. An ICP entitles historical structures to be granted government funding for its restoration, protection and conservation by the National Museum. Built in 1937, the Dumaguete Presidencia was designed by Filipino architect Juan Arellano who also designed the Legislative Building, which is now the National Museum of Fine Arts.
Filipino Mandala artworks showcased in Berlin
VISUAL artist Carlito Camahalan Amalla, a member of the Agusanon Manobo tribe, pays homage to the Filipino indigenous communities in his latest solo exhibition in Berlin, Germany. Entitled “Mandala: Concert of Cultures,” it featured a collection of 12 contemporary Mandala art — wood carvings with acrylic paint and repousse brass sheet — inspired from unearthed Surigao and Butuan gold from ancient civilizations. Mr. Amalla, founder and head of the Agusan Artists Association in Butuan City and the Balangay Artists Association in Manila, utilized the Mandala as a spiritual and ritual symbol in Asian cultures to encapsulate, narrate and embrace the diverse and dynamic nature, culture and literature of the Filipino lives. Each piece showcased a radial design that represents a kaleidoscope of signs and meanings, a collective community and the artist’s role in safeguarding the Philippine ecosystem from exploitation and destruction. Mr. Amalla is a performer, puppeteer, dancer, chanter, musician, ceramicist and researcher, who has participated in exhibitions in Wales, Belgium, England, and USA. He holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts with Major in Sculpture and a Master’s degree in Art History, both from the University of the Philippines. He is a recipient of the 2021 Asia Pacific Luminare Award and 2020 Outstanding Leadership in Culture and the Arts Award in New York City. He currently teaches under the Design Foundation of the School of Arts, Culture and Performance of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. “Mandala: Concert of Cultures” was held at the Philippine Embassy in Germany in Berlin, through the support of the consulate and Amalla’s major sponsor Pacita Hienrich. It was curated by ML Ganzon.
