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MANILA – After 40 years on stage, having started playing in musicals for Repertory Philippines, one would think that we have already seen the best of what Lea Salonga could offer.
But at the opening night of "Lea Salonga: The 40th Anniversary Concert" – or # LS40 on social media – on her favorite site, the plenary room of the Philippine International Convention Center, Salonga continued to to surprise and even to surprise.
After the success of last year's "Songs from the Stage," proclaimed by this writer as "her best concert so far," Salonga returned to the PICC to mark a "key moment" with even clearer tones. , perhaps further refined by his last passage. at Broadway in the award-winning revival of "Once on This Island".
Listening to his first reminder number, Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time" effortlessly recorded some of Barbra Streisand's great feelings – after singing for over two hours.
As a concert, "LS40" is not as coherent as "Songs from the Stage" and more like "Playlist", its 35th anniversary show. He also presented a mix of show melodies and pop hits with special surprises at the height of the situation.
One of those surprises was Simon Bowman, who played the role of Chris in Salonga Kim during the original production of "Miss Saigon" in the West End in 1989. He was really excited when he joined her in the most popular songs. famous of the musical "Sun and Moon" and "Last Night of the world."
Like Salonga, Bowman looks better than ever, retaining much of his vocal power, which is then exhibited in his solo spots, "A Different Corner" by George Michael and "The Writing & # 39; s the Wall" by Sam Smith, from the James Bond movie "Spectrum. "
Mark Bautista, who also conquered the West End in Imelda Marcos's musical "Here Lies Love," plays delicately in the "Disney-fied" style of his singing style for "A Whole New World", which that Salonga has noticed as "the gift that continues to give".
Bautista, however, was in his element as a crooner in "Smile", before joining Salonga again for a mix of songs from the band Hotdog, in tribute to the late co-founder of the group, singer and songwriter, Rene Garcia.
Salonga's daughter, Nicole Chien, once again honored the scene, this time with much more confidence, in the optimistic "Shy" of "Once Upon a Mattress", while Esang de Torres, the division of Salonga in "The Voice Kids", resumed her lead role in "Matilda" in her solo "Quiet" then sang "Naughty" in duet with her coach.
But the real surprise was Salonga herself. She is this rare artist who does not just do the same things over and over again. In one of her speeches, she told the crowd that they should not expect to hear her discography because they could only Google.
She started with a step back. After a magnificent opening of songs that are closely associated with her, ranging from "Tomorrow" of "Annie" to the songs of "Miss Saigon" and "Les Miserables", performed by the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of her Gerard Salonga's brother, the star of the show emerged on stage with "Ako & Munling Tinig", the Tagalog version of his hit "I Am But A Small Voice".
However, this quickly appeared in the anthem "This Is Me" of "The Greatest Showman", which Salonga sang with pride and challenge.
Her song choices reflected similar themes, such as Andra Day's "Rise Up" and Sara Bareilles' "Brave", which were given a more intimate arrangement and accurately presented by Salonga's note without losing their pop flavor.
She also transformed Lady Gaga's "I'll never love again" from "A star is born" into an 11-hour figure, but she beautifully embraced her 80s child past with the final conclusion of "Wake Me Up Before to leave". Come on, "" Faith "and" Let's Go Crazy "before finally saying good night.
But at the same time, she also shared a less exposed facet of her voice when she confronted the "Why He Likes Me" and "Vanilla Ice Cream" challenges of the 1963 musical "She Loves Me", showing her soprano, He then continued with "The Music Man"'s "Til There Was You", in the classic Broadway style.
She has also pursued her penchant for selecting songs that go beyond the usual musical plays, such as the poignant "Anyone Can Whistle" by Stephen Sondheim, the moving "Unusual Way" of "Nine" and even " Gawin Mo Akong Sining "of Vince de Jesus," Himala. "
More than music, however, "LS40" is perhaps Salonga's most personal concert to date, as she approaches some aspects of her personal life in an articulate way and without becoming too sentimental.
Indeed, one of the most moving moments of the series was a duet with his brother for their mother Ligaya. By singing a light version of "Together (Wherever We Go)" from "Gypsy", a musical about a live-in mother, Gerard could not help but tear up, testifying to their deep and strong connection as a family. .
"LS40," which will have a second show on Saturday, may mark the "Middle Ages" of Salonga's decorated career, but as the cliché says, life begins at age 40. Always eager to question herself, Salonga's growth as an artist is definitely not over yet.
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