The PPO Elevates Verdi's Requiem!

The backdrop of the Japan tsunami last week and the impending nuclear meltdown there served to be the perfect offering of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) to the people of Japan, who are suffering so greatly now. 

I actually did say a short prayer during the performance, since Verdi's Requiem is actually a funeral mass which the great composer dedicated to one of Italy's best writers - Manzoni.  The performance was sublime and beautiful - flawless even, in my own amateur standards. The choir was fantastic - their voices booming across the CCP theater!  The soloists, two foreign sopranos and two Filipino tenors injected drama to this masterpiece.  Since I was just two rows from the stage, I could really hear the sound of their bass and their soprano notes and it was such a joy to hear.

Raul Sunico, who is now the president of the CCP, made a moving speech, offering it to the people of Japan.  Actually, the event also celebrated the 150th year of the unification of the Republic of Italy but I think it was also proper, considering the material performed, that it be offered to Japan.  Anyhow, Giuseppi Verdi is Italian so it was three countries celebrating sublime music tonight!