Carmina Burana

 Alice Reyes Dance Company celebrates Filipino artistry and talent in retelling Carl Orff's opera

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

The acclaimed masterwork by National Artist for Dance, Alice Reyes, is set to the majestic music of Carl Orff. The cantata, written in Medieval/Greco-Roman, is a compilation of 240 poems about everyday life and how everything falls into place. This classic opera will be interpreted into a dance piece, this time around.

"This is a company that has a repertoire. We have the ability to stage Filipino dance masterpieces. Carmina Burana premiered in 1975 and it was a splendid production in music and motion. Any generation can dance the pieces, like Carmina Burana, so it becomes timeless," intimated NA Reyes, a pioneer of the Bayanihan Dance Company.

Inspired by the goliardic verses set to Carl Orff's majestic score, Carmina Burana tells the story of a community experiencing the joys of life, drunken revelry, and love through exuberant, erotic, and pagan movements. This new restaging will feature live music by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), under the baton of Maestro Herminigildo Ranera, and the Philippine Madrigal Singers (Madz), with guest soloist Lara Maigue. The mesmerizing sets and costumes were created by the late National Artist for Theater Design, Salvador Bernal.

"Fifty to sixty Madrigal Singer members will sing the choral music, while 70/80 musicians will play with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. 'Dugso' is a remounting, a piece that we haven't done in a while, while Bam Damian's 'After Whom' is ballet of the 21st century, where his dancers will be on pointe," Reyes added.

Opening on June 14 for a very limited engagement, Carmina Burana will be presented alongside "Dugso," a groundbreaking collaboration with National Artist for Music, Dr. Ramon Santos. Inspired from rituals performed by the Manobo tribes of Bukidnon, it is set to the choral piece "Ding Ding nga Diyawan." First performed in 1972, this was a collaboration by two National Artists - Reyes and Santos - which was last staged in 1990, and is brought back with a contemporary form.

Norman Walker's pas de deux "Summer's End," a whimsical piece about a couple who fell in love one summertime, and Augustus 'Bam' Damian III's energetic number "After Whom," is a dynamic showcase of the  company's prowess.

"Next year, there will be 80 Carmina Burana performances around the world, and the Philippines is one of them," shared Tats Manahan, president of Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP), during an intimate afternoon confab at the historic MiraNila Heritage House.

"This is sort of a homecoming and MiraNila is sort of magical. Carmina Burana is a live performance so it's kinda difficult to stage. We encourage choirs to watch the show so they get an idea how to perform the choral pieces of the opera," NA Reyes said in closing.

Carmina Burana opens on June 14 (7 pm) and will have two more shows on June 15 (2 pm and 7 pm), at the Samsung Performance Arts Theater in Makati City.