The Philippines is known to have the longest Christmas ever, starting in late August or September, ending on Valentine’s Day in February, when the Christmas décor comes down and is replaced by Valentine hearts. Valentine’s day is an equally big celebration, this time celebrated in forms of music concerts and joyful dinners and parties with loved ones. Flower shops in Dangwa run out of flowers sometimes, and there is an abundance of heart-shaped chocolates in specialty stores.
Perhaps the most popular form of celebration of Valentine’s Day are the music concerts in theaters and clubs where tear-jerker love songs are sung mostly to an audience of lovebirds who have bought their tickets months before, or elderly couples who have stuck it out in sickness and in health. Concert producers have been known to book the performers and production teams practically a year ahead, giving them bigger chances of signing up the best crowd drawers.
Apparently this year’s sell-out was Ryan Cayabyab’s Valentine edition of Maestro Class Concert Series entitled Love Letters, which starred OPM’s biggest icons, Basil Valdez and Celeste Legaspi with Ogie Alcasid, who was a perfect fit for these two “ serious “ balladeers, peppering the evening with his witty, rollicking remarks delivered in a deadpan but hilarious manner, all that on top of his versatile mid-range tenor.
Two new golden voices were chosen by the National Artist to open the show: JM de la Cerna and Marielle Montellano, both champions of the singing-contest institution, Tawag ng Tanghalan. The music chosen for the evening were the works of George Canseco, Jose Mari Chan and Willy Cruz, famed for their compositions that defined the OPM era.
Three sold-out performances on three consecutive days: pre- Valentine’s day, Valentine’s day itself and post Valentine’s day, underscored not just the popularity of the holiday, but surely the enduring appreciation of the music and voices of the stars of the show. Maestro Cayabyab’s “master classes” lectures have been ongoing since 2021, but specifically, the Maestro Class Concert Series was launched in November 2025 in the newly opened Proscenium Theater.
Love Letters is the second of four performances that will run through August 2026.
No curtain rises on Enzo Pizarro’s set that greets the audience upon entry: a cozy music room/library with its centerpiece, a restored Steinway and Sons Model D grand piano, described by Cayabyab as a “top level, incomparable” instrument he was excited and honored to play. And understandably, when he did, the clarity and fullness of its sound resonated clearly: rich and warm but powerful in both its pianissimos and fortissimos.
Above and below were projection frames, including Rocaille-carved frames which provided the close-ups of the singers as well as digital projections of scenery to support atmospherically the specific songs.
On the floor, alongside the rhythm section and back-up singers—the ever harmonious trio of Babsie Molina, Maxie Goloy and Elise Goloy Cortez—was a mid-century arm chair, period balustrades and a gramophone, the precursor of the vinyl record player.
Unlike many shows that open with a rousing overture, Love Letters opens with Maestro Cayabyab casually walking in, playing a few chords on the piano, and going into a master class lesson on the difference between a verse refrain and a verse chorus, by singing portions of classics like Never Ever Say Goodbye and Tunay na Ligaya to define the differences, delivered in a clear, uncomplicated non-academic manner, typical of Ryan.
To introduce a medley of Joe Mari Chan songs, he moves into two of his popular jingles—Love at 30,000 feet and Big Beautiful Country that has the audience trying to name-that-tune or identify the commercial it was made for.
The big pleasant surprise of the evening, for me at least, are the voices of young newcomers, JM dela Cerna and Marielle Montellano, as they go through a medley of Joe Mari Chan songs, which were probably composed even before they were born: Can we Just Stop and Talk A While, Tell Me Your Name, Please Be Careful With My Heart and Here and Now are performed with effortless and clear enunciation even in the highest notes.
Ushering in the main event is Ogie Alcasid, prefacing his singing performance with a string of rib-tickling comments with audience participation before putting on his romantic tone for Beautiful Girl and with serious intent, George Canseco’s Kapantay ay Langit.
In a fire engine red gown, Celeste Legaspi follows with a high energy Mamang Sorbetero, backdropped by a colorful graphic of an ice cream man pushing his cart to the rhythm of the song. Then with her signature bravura, Celeste introduces her next song with the stage transforming into the interior of La Scala in Milan, as Ryan strikes classical chords for the operatic version of the lilting Ang Pipit, sung with operatic aplomb by Celeste.
OPM great artist Basil Valdez sings for Maestro Ryan Cayabyab. (Photo by Thelma San Juan)
The mood shifts to romantic nostalgia—the audience is composed mainly of 20 percent discount cardholders whose era may have been defined by Basil Valdez’s hits, specifically the song that launched his career, Ngayon at Kailanman. Softly discernible is the audience’s sing-a-long, not wanting to get in the way of Basil’s golden swoon-worthy voice.
From hereon, songs that set apart a major landmark in Philippine music, Original Pilipino Music (OPM), were sung by the very same voices that popularized them, making them memorable classics. Highlighting the works of George Canseco, Joe Mari Chan and Willy Cruz was indeed a master’s choice to celebrate a weekend dedicated to fine-tuned emotions, driven along by “sympathetic notes,” a term I learned from the Maestro himself, meaning notes that tug at the heart, as that evening was the right time for exactly that.
Backstage, after the concert, the author (far left) and film producer/talent manager Girlie Rodis (beside author) congratulates Ogie Alcasid, his son, Regine Velasquez, Basil Valdez, Celeste Legaspi, Emmy Cayabyab and Ryan Cayabyab. (Photo courtesy of Tats Manahan)
