Lea Salonga: Pride of the Philippines and the Filipino People

Posted by Madam H Monday, 14 September 2009 15:14

No other Filipino artist has given us Filipinos so much pride and inspiration in the field of music as Miss Saigon herself, Miss Lea Salonga.

Thrust into the highly competitive world of musical plays in London’s West End at a young age of 17, Lea Salonga’s career just kept on rising as she wowed the public, critiques and award-giving bodies with her portrayal of Kim in Miss Saigon.

What makes her winning one highly-coveted award after another, is perhaps the fact that at the time she was playing Kim, she had not been in love yet. This, she poignantly recounts during her September 12, 2009 concert held at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand. And to convincingly play the role of a woman deeply in love and later on in the story, singing of willingly giving up her own life for the sake of her son’s future, is a feat not many young actors would be able to accomplish.

But Lea Salonga did it. Bagging the Laurence Olivier Award in London’s West End for Best Actress in a Musical, and the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical performed on Broadway, are testaments to Lea’s talent as an artist.

Last Saturday, September 12, 2009, Lea Salonga has come back to the Bangkok music scene after playing Cinderella a few months back. The singer gave another wonderful performance, despite her being sick with tonsilitis and laryngitis the night prior to her performance. The night was full of Disney favorites, along with some famous Broadway numbers, including “On My Own”, her audition piece from “Ariel”, which won her the role of Kim in Miss Saigon.

Gracious in her gratitude to the nurses and doctor who assisted her during her overnight stay at the Bangkok Hospital, Lea went on to tell of her transition from a young 17-year old conservative girl who played Kim in London for Miss Saigon, to a woman of more liberal views, and a mother. Nowadays, when she sings “I’ll Give my Life For You”, a song about self sacrifice for her son in her role as Kim in Miss Saigon, it takes a lot of resolve for her not to break down, for what was then just a song in her line of work, is now a personal experience.

For those who have not been to any of Lea’s performanes to date, do make sure you go when she comes back for another performance in Bangkok. No literal description of her talent and persona can ever replace her live performance. Only by being in the same hall as her would you understand why she gets several standing ovations during her performances, and why she is celebrated as a world-class singer.

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