Rachelle Gerodias-Park: From a Vocal Setback to Championing Philippine Opera

After decades on the international opera stage, Filipina soprano Rachelle Gerodias-Park is turning her experiences into opportunities for the next generation of Filipino classical singers.

In 1997, just as her international opera career was opening up, Rachelle Gerodias lost her voice. For a singer who had spent years training to be heard, the silence was terrifying.

A polyp on her vocal cords threatened everything she had worked for. She underwent treatment and weeks of complete vocal rest, uncertain whether she would ever sing professionally again.

“It was the darkest period of my singing career,” she recalled in an earlier interview.

Nearly three decades later, Maria Rachelle Gerodias-Park is doing more than performing. As founder, president, and artistic director of Bel Canto Opera Philippines (BCOP), she is helping create opportunities she knows Filipino opera singers cannot always find at home.

Her relationship with music began far from the grand stages of Europe. Growing up in Novaliches, she listened to her church choir and dreamed of becoming a better singer. At the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music, she worked through her stage fright and learned the discipline of performance. A role in Rolando Tinio's Filipino adaptation of La Bohème in 1991 became a turning point.

She went on to study at the Eastman School of Music in New York and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, eventually performing in opera productions abroad. But her vocal crisis changed how she saw her calling. After recovering, she continued pursuing the music she once feared losing.

Her personal life also unfolded through opera. In 2014, she met Korean baritone Byeong In Park while performing in Mozart's Così fan tutte in Singapore. The two portrayed lovers onstage, began a relationship offstage, and later married.

Together, they have two sons and have mentored aspiring singers through their music studio.

In a previous interview, Gerodias-Park admitted that she once thought marriage might mean giving up performing.

“But because of him I'm still singing, because he's very encouraging and is always pushing me not to stop.”

Their shared commitment to music has become part of the work she now does for the next generation.

That commitment took a new form with BCOP. In her message as its president and artistic director, she wrote about the limited opportunities to perform opera in the Philippines and her desire to build a stronger culture for Filipino classical singers.

“I know firsthand how challenging it can be to pursue a life in opera in our country, where opportunities to perform opera are still few and far between.”

Her vision is not simply to train artists to meet international standards, but to help them bring something distinctly Filipino to the global stage.

She has also championed the kundiman, recognizing its stories of love, hope, and Filipino identity as an important part of the country's musical heritage. For Gerodias-Park, pursuing international excellence does not mean leaving one's cultural identity behind.

Her vision was reflected in BCOP's Opera Masterclass Series, which culminated in a concert bringing together young singers, experienced performers, and mentors. It was an opportunity for developing artists to learn, perform, and be heard.

The concert may have ended, but its larger purpose extends beyond a single performance: mentorship, artistic development, and a stronger future for Philippine opera.

“We are only at the beginning, but we believe that great things can grow from a shared dream,” Gerodias-Park wrote in her message for the concert.

Once faced with the possibility of never singing again, she is now working to make sure more Filipino voices have the chance to be heard.