Boring, stiff, and elitist – this is opera music in the eyes of the majority of Filipinos; the stigma that made this fine art distant and unappealing to the masses.
Opera singer Karla Gutierrez does not deny that such characters have long been associated to opera not only in the Philippines but in other countries, as well. Blame it on the history if you must: as a favorite pastime of the high society in the 18th century, opera had been identified to the elite circle – and to the fat ladies who perform on stage, which is perhaps behind the saying “the opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”
Karla, through the Philippine Opera Company (POC) where she is managing director, has been aspiring to correct the impression and break the boundaries, because the painful truth according to her is that opera is a dying art. Much so in this country where pop, including novelty dominates the music scene.
“I’m not belittling pop singers but we (opera singers) didn’t study ten years in the conservatory (of music) to become back-up of an upcoming singer,” cries Karla whose eyes show her burning passion for her craft.
Many others, reveals she, either leave the country to make a career outside the Philippines or end up being voice teachers. “My point is they graduated (with a degree in) music major in voice; they did not study music education. So being a voice major, they should be in the performing arts, but because no shows are happening, they end up teaching.”
The Glory Days
 The Philippine Opera Company is a mission Karla has sworn to fulfill when she came back to the Philippines after pursuing further studies in opera interpretations with the Accademia Internationale delle Arti (AIDA) in Rome , Italy, and performing for the Rome Opera Festival as part of the Hansel and Gretel show. As the only Filipina in the cast, she observed, everyone was part of an opera company except her. In Italy, that was uncommon. That incident hit her. She could have had a great career in performing arts in Italy should she agreed to her maestra, but Karla chose to go home and put up POC to bring back, in her own noble ways, the glory days of opera.
Since 1999, the POC has been doing its own outreach efforts. They produced Hansel and Gretel in Baguio and Cabanatuan, and did a lot of mall shows to bring opera to the masa and break the elitist image. Yet, the bang happened only in 2006 when they started the opera season – the very first opera season in the Philippines. Karla then realized there’s a market for opera in the country – that Filipinos can want it, too. “It’s just a matter of telling the people that there is such a thing as Philippine Opera Company.”
A New Image
A world-wide repackaging is happening now, tells her. Classical singers look like models – a far cry from the “fat lady” opera figure. And a lot of directors from Broadway are enticed to take charge of opera productions. The POC are doing the same: their pool of 85 talents undergoes acting workshops, as well as grooming and styling. (Traditional opera singers got the impression of being stiff because in spite of them having vocal prowess, they don’t know how to act). They have been doing a lot of crossovers, especially when performing in malls. The organization has also formed a group called Opera Belles - pretty young faces who sing classical while dancing to hip-hop music – to capture public attention and penetrate the television. Karla herself is stunning enough to captivate the audience. She possesses a beauty that can stand out from the crowd, even more when she starts to sing.
Nonetheless, even when they’re doing crossovers, Karla doesn’t believe in downgrading the production just to reach out to the masa. “The problem here is we’re underestimating our audience. When you give them trash, they will eat trash… that’s why we spend so much in our set, costumes to make it exciting. Pinoys are very visual. If they watch a bad production, they will never ever watch another one again.”
With all the re-imaging efforts, Karla admits they are still far from their goal. But somehow, their hard work has been paying off. Thanks to the likes of Il Divo, Sarah Brightman and Charlotte Church who’ve roused the public’s interest in classical music.
“Medyo may ingay na. Marami na ring nakakaalam tungkol sa POC. Like when we did Hansel and Gretel in Festival Mall before, people stayed and watched the entire show. Ang sabi nila, ‘ay ang ganda pala nito. Mas maganda pa sa Eat Bulaga.’” Karla proudly shares.
Know more about the Philippine Opera Company and upcoming opera shows here.
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