‘Viva La Irma’: A moving tribute to Irma Ponce-Enrile Potenciano

Maestra Irma Ponce-Enrile Potenciano, a grand dame of vocal music, was recently honored with a tribute by the University of Sto. Tomas Conservatory of Music at the Proscenium Theatre in Rockwell, Makati. 

Aptly titled “Viva La Irma,” the concert was participated in by many of her former students and by guest artists, who performed operatic arias and ensemble numbers, Broadway, pop, and Philippine songs. 

The concert, as Professor Maria Alexandra I. Chua explained, was not only a homage to the honoree but a “celebration” of her life “whose artistry, discipline and generosity have touched generations of Filipino musicians.” Maestra Potenciano taught at the UST Conservatory of Music for five decades, and produced singers many of whom became professional performers and vocal teachers. 

In fact, according to Dr. Chua, about two thirds of the conservatory’s vocal teachers now were her previous students. 

In her honor, Chua added the UST conservatory of Music is establishing the Irma Ponce-Enrile Potenciano Production and Scholarship Fund that will provide the dual aims of providing financial support to needy vocal students, and support musical theater endeavors such as opera, zarzuela and musicals. 

The concert followed with the glorious playing of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro Overture by the UST Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of its conductor, Dr. Herminigildo Ranera, who collaborated with the singers for the entire program. 

This was followed by a marvelous singing of operatic arias and ensembles that made up entirely the first part of the program. Sopranos Mary Patrice Pacis and Elisanta Cortes effectively essayed the Letter Duet from The Marriage of Figaro that segued to the singing of the lovely aria, Dove Sono, by the former.  Thea Perez came next, singing with a tender touch the moving aria Donde Lieta Usci, from Puccini’s La Boheme which was followed by the quartet from the same opera, Addio dolce svegliare alla, with the same soprano, tenor Ronan Ferrer, Mary Patrice Pacis, and baritone Jun Anglito Ayran. 

The next set of songs came from Tosca, with tenor Randy Gilongo, who gave a heroic rendition of E lucevan le stele. Sopranos Nenen Espina, Cortes, Pacis and Perez took turns in essaying the aria, Vissi d’arte. 

Another soprano, Amelia Fortuna-Widmer, mesmerized the audience with her enchanting rendition of the song Vilja from the operetta The Merry Widow by Franz Lehar. Tenor Ferrer and soprano Nenen Espina followed, essaying the duet Love Unspoken from the same operetta. Both numbers were backed by an ensemble composed of students form the UST Conservatory of Music. 

Part two opened with more operatic singing this time from Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Soprano Fortuna-Widmer, who appeared as a disguised Hungarian Countess, brilliantly sang the aria Czardas, a challenging aria with difficult vocal demands. The audience burst into hearty applause at the end of her song.  Soprano Cortes and tenor Gilongo, brought to a close this operatic gem with their rendition of The Watch Duet.

The Broadway and popular songs section provided a striking counterpoint to the previous operatic songs. Here, Bo Cerrudo brought down the house, so to speak, with his powerful singing of the ABBA ballad, The Winner Takes It All, what with its dramatic and emotive lure that versatile Bo Cerrudo dished out. 

On the other hand, Rafa Siguion-Reyna’s singing of Edelweiss was well applauded thanks to the accompanying visual presentation regarding the recent controversies on flood control; collapse of bridges, and other scenes depicting the  massive corruption the country has witnessed recently. They vividly contemporized the song, making it relevant to the country, especially when the phrase “Bless my homeland forever” was intoned at the end of the song.

On the poignant side, Vivienne V.D. Garcia, Irma’s great-granddaughter, rendered the moving Sa Ugoy ng Duyan work by Lucio D. San Pedro that glorifies motherly love. As she sang the song, photos were projected on the screen showing her great grandmother lovingly taking care of her. 

For the next section, operatic singing resumed once more, this time featuring arias and ensembles from Bizet’s Carmen. Versatile cross-over tenor Eladio Pamaran sang the Flower Song, translated into Tagalog by J.B. Capino. This was followed by the Quintet from the same opera, also translated to Tagalog by Manuel Car Santiago and Vicente Liwag. The singers were sopranos Espina, Cortes, Perez, and tenors Ferrer and Gilongo. The three sopranos Espina, Cortes and Perez wrapped up operatic singing with their rendition of The Gypsy Song.