SINCE July last year, this small venue (seating capacity: 50) has become a modest mecca of first-rate music in an unpretentious part of Quezon City.

The intimate concert series at Kiss the Cook Gourmet opened with two-time Namcya winner Oliver Salonga and his Chopin, elicited a standing ovation and a poem from Mila Aguilar who was touched by the recital.

Soprano Camille Lopez Molina followed suit and her ?La Wally? aria and flutist Christopher Oracion?s rendition of ?Traviata? Concertwaltzer brought the house down.

Baritone Noel Azcona stunned with his ?Faust? aria. Baritone Andrew Fernando with pianist Mary Anne Espina filled every seat in the house and moved many in the audiences to tears, among them actress Vangie Labalan and writer Gilda Cordero Fernando.

Visibly delighted were writer Pete Lacaba, Mariel Francisco, Epifanio San Juan, Luisa Torres of Ateneo, feminist writer Delia Aguilar.

The menu concocted by owner-manager Waya Araos matched the delicacy of the music.

As Babeth Lolarga chronicled the initial concerts in the place, it wasn?t hard to get Araos?s cooperation into opening her space for the performing arts.

She said: ?My father [sculptor Jerry Araos] raised us on classical music. He would get inspiration for his work from Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mozart and would delight us, actually embarrass us when we were young, by dancing to Ravel?s ?Bolero? in front of our friends. He?d sing along, not well, mind you, but with intense feeling to Pavarotti, Carreras and Mario Lanza. The daily exposure to the classics shaped what I am today. When I was presented with the opportunity to present classical music at Kiss the Cook Gourmet, I jumped at it.?

Lolarga?s account of initial audience feedback was, indeed, encouraging: ?Childbirth instructor and art-music buff Mercy Fabros, a regular at the concert series, said after listening to Lopez-Molina, Oracion and Espina, especially when the soprano transformed into the flirty gypsy in the ?Carmen Fantasy,? ?I never felt this way. It?s like the orgasm of old women!? Sinag de Leon, who has an exhibit of paper cuts at the venue, spoke of the ?limitless possibilities of the universe,? of finding a place that not only satisfies food cravings but also yearnings of heart and mind.?

Tenor De la Cruz with pianist Espina grace the fifth series of the Kiss The Cook Gourmet intimate concert on Sunday, March 27.

The tenor, who has just sung a role in ?Magic Flute? in Singapore and was guest in the recent anniversary concert of the Singapore Lyric Opera, has sung the role of Gaston in the Singapore production of ?La Traviata,? Pong in Turandot, and the mad scientist in ?Tales of Hoffman? staged in Nice, France.

Playing Spalanzani and Nathanael, the tenor recalls the productions: ?Yes, it was my first time on those roles. Nathanael was easy, the director wanted me to do a gay character which I already did in ?Le Nozze di Figaro? and another opera. Spalanzani was a bit tricky. I was supposed to be a mad scientist. Our director?a very good motivator?allowed me develop my own character and it worked our very well. The audience loved it. The conductor and director are both resident artists of Opera Nice. So I can say that they know the work very well. The whole production actually [direction, costumes, lighting, set] were all from Opera Nice.?

Comparing the opera scenes between Manila and Singapore, De la Cruz says: ?Singapore has the hardware and we in Manila have the software.?

As it is, the tenor cannot ask for more. ?I?ve already done my dream role as Count Almaviva [?Barber of Seville?] in Hong Kong. Professionally I am already grateful to the Lord for all these opportunities. I am not dreaming of anything higher with my singing. I can retire anytime. I have done a total of 16 operas outside the country and that?s not bad at all.?

De la Cruz, who was named one of the Outstanding Manilans in the Arts last year, debuts at Kiss the Cook Gourmet on Sunday, March 27, 6 p.m., with Espina.

Call 7484152 or 0906-5104270.