PHILIPPINES: Luciano Pavarotti holds a concert for the rish, while poorer Filipinos listen to the music from outside the hall

Manila's elite paid hundreds of dollars to sit in air- conditioned comfort and watch Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti perform a controversial concert on Monday (March 21) while many less wealthy Filipinos sat outside to listen to the music. Vice-President Joseph Estrada and former first lady Imelda Marcos were joined by hundreds of socialites wearing ballgowns and elaborate pieces of jewellery at the Philippine International Convention Centre for the event. Behind the hall, 1,500 people who couldn't afford the 25,000 peso (909 United States (U.S.) dollar) price for top tickets watched the show free of charge in front of a 10 foot by 10 foot (3.33 metre by 3.33 metre) video screen put up by the concert's organisers. Apparently unaffected by a cold that forced his scheduled concert last Friday to be postponed to Monday, Pavarotti was in fine form in singing Verdi's "Quando le sere al Placido". The concert has been criticised by some politicians as an extravagance for a poor country like the Philippines but that did not deter the wealthy from showing up in their finery. Socialite Mrs Irma Poteciano described the concert as "Fabulous, fantastic, I have no words for it." After performing in Manila, Pavarotti will fly to Kuala Lumpur to perform before Malaysia's royal family.

ITN Source | March 21, 1994

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