Above, under & beyond the rainbow: Lenten Reflection: BP's Opera: A Rebirth in Arabesque

Lent is the time to reflect and medidate. It is the time for us to fully remember the Acts of the past and how it came to the present and to the future. Why am I connecting this with that of Ballet Philippines’ Opera: A Rebirth in Arabesque?

Opera is a collaborative work among Ballet Philippines, known visual artist Gabriel Barredo and that of French choreographer Redha. This collaboration led them to a path of understanding, a path similar to what Lent is all about – a path of understanding our lives as Catholics. The visual treat given by Gabriel Barredo showed us the things we do to our body, our flesh. He presented it in myriad of ways depicting how people look into their flesh and that of others. The movements supplied by Redha showed us the things we cannot and do not speak of, the fragality of the flesh and the strength of the spirit within. The dancers gave us the visual to see what we do not speak out loud. Same in the Catholic faith, there are things that we do not speak out loud to the public but knows that it is there. There are things that are present but we turn a blind eye on things because of a number of reasons, but we are aware – we are so aware of them.

Like any other religion, mythology for some, the Catholic faith also follows the principle of duality (twins) and that of triad (trio). The principle of duality in the Catholic faith is demonstrated in the following things: heaven and hell, good and evil, angels and demons, birth of an angel, mortality and divine (most of them are discussed in the general sense of it but some would twist the concept to another point to satisfy a personal belief). In mythology, the concept of twins are shown in a good number of ways: Castor and Pollux (Gemini)- Greeks, Apollo and Artemis/Diana – Greek/Roman, Geb and Nut – Egyptian, Kuat and Iae – Xingu of Brazil, Feng Huang (Phoenix) – Chinese, etc.; all this showing the duality of things in life. In Opera, the twins were used to depict the nature of man, how man was satisfied initially in life and how he went astray as he discover things that are either beautiful in his eyes or satisfying in his life. They are one but at the same time separate. From one womb, they were born and slowly enjoyed the wonders of those around them – portrayed on stage by Victor Maguad and Erl Sorilla. They also learned about creation, thus the birth of what they considered the perfect man – the homunculus. The principle of twins in creation is no new factor in world myth for it is shown in various storyline.

The Watchers in the ballet are those who depict all that is exciting and somehow desirable in life. They are not perfect but they are definitely satisfying and intoxicating. They are the myriad of things around us. They are, when taken to abuse, what we may call sins. The fall of man.

When man becomes intoxicated with what satisfy him, he becomes blind to those around him. He can either be with others (a twin enjoying the company of the Watchers) or with just one in a single space (a twin enjoying the homunculus). This visual depiction made by BP through Redha’s choreography is technically a very good presentation of how we as humans (regardless of faith) are. We tend to over indulge in something (greed), whether we openly agree to or not. The depiction of physical indulgence (lust) and cravings (envy) were clearly shown on stage with man (the twins, the watchers, the homunculus) in the center of it. With pride being clearly shown by the head Watcher as portrayed by Jean Marc Cordero – his strength and his downfall.

In the Catholic faith, the death of Christ is a form of sacrifice that gave hope and fuels the faith of man. This is a sacrifice that saves us from damnation of sin and renews our ties with the Father. This form of sacrifice is shown to us through the death of the mother-given to life by former principle dancer Carissa Adea, in the ballet Opera. Her death was her means to bring her children back to each others arms and protect them at the same time. This is a form of sacrifice that we are all familiar with, a mother giving her all for her children. Same with Christ, who gave his life to us, he wanted to protect us from sins and bring us back to the arms of the Father.

The Father is this staging is not in the masculine sense but in a feminine but at the same time genderless. A character that is depicted and interpreted in various ways – Death. Death is omnipotent and ever present. You know not when it will come in your life and whether it would be a friend or a foe. It is neither male nor female but it is also either male or female, depending on what you believe in. In some religion it is depicted as female thus the calling of Lady Death, in some it is treated as a male persona because of the strength and force that it bears (see world myth entries regarding Death). On stage, Denise Parungao gave the character persona by being female and genderless at the same time. She was present all through out, from the birth of the twins (remember the saying that giving birth is somehow depicted as putting your feet at the grave) till the sacrifice of the mother which she accepted. She is a force that no one can escape and at the same time everybody embraces in the end.

Opera: A Rebirth in Arabesque in line with Lent is a perfect piece to help us see how man is truly is in this life. How we became lost and yet guided in the end by love and sacrifice. How we adore things that are superficial but remember that which is immaterial such as love. How we believe in satisfaction but hungers for what was initially served to us and that is the perfect world created around. This was a strong and sounding end delivered by Ballet Philippines for their 46^th Season, a piece worthy to be discussed and shared regardless of time and space, a piece that tells us about life and man at the exact center of it.

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(All images used in this article were personally taken by me during the Press Preview event of Ballet Philippines)