Lea at Carnegie Hall- Page 2

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:07am

If that happened, I would die happy.

~Steven

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 2:48am

songs seem to be lowered for Lea quite a bit... but for some reason... it never bugs me... she just knows how to sing songs... and she knows how to sing them well... she seems to have a knack of picking the right songs for her...

and right now i'm EXTREMELY jealous for all of you that saw her at Carnegie hall... oh well... at least I saw her a few weeks ago at the Cerritos performing arts center

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 4:05pm

The concert? Brava to Lea, her guests, the orchestra, and the production team. Let me list her repertoire with my personal comments, if I may:

ACT 1
OVERTURE - Miss Saigon theme " This is the Hour" - I wasn't expecting this overture. Blew me away with the thunderous symphony. Quite dramatic.

Lea entered from stage right in a classic Filipino designer black tuxedo pant suit.

ANOTHER HUNDRED PEOPLE - Company - Got to admit, Sondheim songs are just too difficult to sing. She did it well.

WHEN OCTOBER GOES - Barry Manilow - THE BEST remake of a song...let me tell you...with this song, she immediately captured the audience. Sung with so much passion and emotion, it just brought the huge hall to a stand still.

NOTHING - A Chorus Line - This song was just funny, and sad at the end. She took the audience to that scene in Chorus Line. Good touch by using "Salonga" instead of "Morales" in the song, quite effective. She also added "Manila" to the song instead of having "bobsleds in San Juan." Funny and talented!

TOMORROW - Annie - Not the standard stage version but more of the symphonic melodic version. The 28-piece orchestra sounded so colorful in that vast hall and with this version made the song sound even better. This was the time when she introduced Andrea McArdle. They did a duet of this song towards the end. Great voice and harmonization. 10 fingers and 10 toes up!

EVERYBODY SAYS DON'T - Andrea McArdle's solo...voice was powerful!

DANCING QUEEN - by ABBA - Lea did a snippet of this song...fun!

CARPENTERS medley - I wasn't sure how this medley would blend in, but it did. The introduction was good. Great rendition.

TRUE COLORS - Ok, this song just brought me to tears...wow! The symphonic melodic version was just amazing. Sorry Cindi Lauper.

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME - Lea accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Wow...good break for upcoming powerful songs. I thought it was a little too intimate for the venue. Still done well.

IT HAD TO BE YOU - I guess the Gershwin song above was a good intro for this song.

MARRIED - from Cabaret - awesome rendition and she talked about her marriage...great job!

HAHANAPIN KO - an original Filipino song sung in her native language (Tagalog). Symphonic, harmonious, glorious, cathedral-like and emotion-filled music flowed through the Hall. All mouths were opened, drool and all. BTW - the acoustics at Carnegie was surprisingly bad!

THE STORY GOES ON - this Hamlisch song from "Baby" was probably the best rendition bec. it was sung with the original "Baby" lead...Liz Callaway. Duet started towards the end...let me tell you....wow! Perfect song since Lea is also pregnant. Liz couldn't help but shed a tear at the end. It was that good.

I STILL BELIEVE - from Miss Saigon - both Lea and Liz just went into character as soon as the symphony introduced the notes. Amazing...we all stood up afterwards and some people with tears!!! I couldn't hear them say thank you bec. of the screams and the "bravas."

MEADOWLARK - solo from LIZ CALLAWAY - great song. Can't believe how amazing her voice is, and sounds even better now.

I'LL GIVE MY LIFE FOR YOU - Miss Saigon - great song, brings me back to the tony-award winning performance in 91.

INTERMISSION - went to the bar and people were just raving.

ACT 2 - Lea walked-in in a Carmen Marc Valvo black cocktail dress....vavavoom!

I ENJOY BEING A GIRL - from Flower Drum Song - very cute.

LOVE LOOK AWAY - from Flower Drum Song - such an emotional song...still flawless.

REFLECTION - extended version of signature song from Disney's Mulan, wow, can the next song be much better than this?

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE HIM - from Jesus Christ Superstar - not a big fan of the play but, she did it quite amazingly well.

PEOPLE - from FUNNY GIRL - can't believe I heard a live version of the original Broadway orchestration never performed before until the show. Babra, can you hear her?

OLIVER! MEDLEY - WHERE IS LOVE?/AS LONG AS HE NEEDS ME- I think this is the song she sung at Ovations IV. Yes, it deserved the ovation she got at Ovations. Too bad, people at the Hall were just too mesmerized with Oliver and Nancy and forgot to stand up :)

ON MY OWN - from Les Miserables - Sniff....I was speechless. Such betrayal, stupid Marius! :) We gave her a thunderous applause.

Paolo Montalban walked in.....

A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN - from Les Miserables - great song, Paolo's voice was fine...he just didn't have the "big" presence that the other 3 ladies had. Is it me because but I didn't him connect to Lea. He must be nervous. Dang...Lea just went into character. She actually, maybe unconsciouslly, did exact blocking from the Les Miz concert. Was Paolo uneasy with that, bec. he looked like he frozed.

MY ONE AND ONLY LOVE - solo from Paolo Montalban - good voice.

POPULAR - from WICKED - I thought I was listening to Kristin...why is this girl not doing Wicked!?? It was perfect, cute, and flawless.

DEFYING GRAVITY - from Wicked - we know this song is tough to sing. She even prayed before she sang it but, she did it quite well. Tough notes but smooth chest and head voice transition. Not a pure belt at the higher octaves but still worked. Hey, what do you expect...she is pregnant and you need the abs to reach the notes, right? Overall, it deserved the thunderous standing ovation it got at the end...correction, it was an "extended" applause. I thought we were never going to stop.


1st Encore: I HONESTLY LOVE YOU from BOY FROM OZ - not bad...not a big Newton John fan here, but still a good song. I don't think this selection was good at this part of the show. How can any song top Defying Gravity anyway. She's still awesome. Maybe, Defying Gravity should have been the Encore song.

2nd Encore - A WHOLE NEW WORLD from Aladdin - a duet with an audience member, not staged or planned, he volunteered since Lea ran out of songs to sing for the encore. Not expected at all. With all due respect to Mr. Danny, the courageous student, the song was not bad. Who cannot be nervous on stage, singing the song with Lea, at Carnegie, and being recorded too!!! Good job, Danny. The Lea fans adore you now.

Do I hear a part 2 of this concert?
Did I hear a cd recording too...watch out!
Diverse City producers did a very successful job in making this happen. Victor Lirio and Liz Casasola are the best and they should pursue another concert.

Party afterwards - wow, Carmen Marc Valvo, same design but in bright fire engine red....(see Broadwayworld.com article for pics)...I thought I was in Hollywood for a big film or award bash. Lea is one flawless singer and a beautiful Broadway diva (the good diva) who should be constantly getting great projects. I recommend to all posters here to not miss any of her projects.

Concert - best I've seen at Carnegie.

PS. Check out Ms. Beautiful at the Nov. 2nd Glamour Mag. Woman of the Year award.




Woman of the Year - Red Carpet Shot

Updated On: 11/10/05 at 04:05 PM

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 4:26pm

Wow, great review! Thanks!

~Steven

[chinaboy]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 6:12pm

Wow. Thanks for that interview.

As a half-Filipino (ignore my SN, that's a nickname from my american dad given because I'm Asian...>.<), I can actually ask moy mom about Hahanapin Ko (she said the version of it she's familiar with is called Hahanapin Kita). It means 'I Will Look (for Love)'.

Gah! This makes me so jealous! I pray that they're making a CD/DVD of it.

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 6:18pm

Chinaboy and all..."Hahanapin Ko" is one great song. That song is recorded in her "Songs from Home" cd, a live recording of her concert in Manila.
Songs From Home

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 10:36pm

Ah, Filipino music and songs in Tagalog are so beautiful.

~Steven

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 11/10/05 at 2:29am

I really liked that Lea sang DEFYING GRAVITY using her unique vocal technique. Her high F's were belted, but the repeating D and E-flats were sung in a mixed chest and head voice, not a pure belt, which I actually prefer. We're just so used to the American Idol wailing, the WICKED CD and from Idina/Shoshana/Nirvana/Whatevah singing GRAVITY that it's a nice change to hear someone who doesn't have to scream and shout (and go off-key in the process) her way through the song's finale.

Maybe if Lea does end up doing WICKED (and if she does, I hope she does Glinda instead because I would love to hear that legit soprano of hers finally unleashed on Broadway) and plays Elphaba, maybe she'll finish her run with her voice intact.

I'm still really on cloud nine from Monday's concert. The one thing I wish she included in her repertoire was a legit soprano song, maybe a number by Maria from WEST SIDE STORY and I would have been in heaven. Nevertheless, I was extremely pleased with her song selections. It was a masterful improvement from her song choices at the concert I saw her in in Lenape, NJ. (Thanks, Mr. Jay-Alexander!)

[enteng2]

Posted: 11/10/05 at 2:37am

A filipina is a Broadway DIVA!

in no time, she'll get a BIG BIG very BIG project she deserves on broadway now that this concert has proven her amazing talent, but of course that will only be possible after she gave birth to her first child. hehe.

cant wait to see Lea again on a Broadway stage....we'll have to wait for a year or two more....

CONGRATS LEA! Da best ka talaga!

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 11/11/05 at 10:21am

"There are few singers in the musical theatre who boast a voice as beautiful as Lea Salonga's. The former Miss Saigon star possesses a pure, rich, creamy tone and exquisite control of her instrument throughout its entire, impressive range. And, on Monday night, in an evening benefiting Diverse City Theater Company, Salonga proved her mettle in a three-hour evening — directed sublimely and with theatrical flare by Richard Jay-Alexander — that featured songs mostly drawn from the musical theatre's past few decades." - Andrew Gans

Playbill Article

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/11/05 at 10:24am

Why wont they just friggin cast her in Wicked already? LOL

[augustine73]

Posted: 11/11/05 at 10:27am

coz she's pregnant... :)
Updated On: 11/11/05 at 10:27 AM

[nostrngattachd]

Posted: 11/11/05 at 6:46pm

does any one know any good websites dedicated to lea that has good video or sound clips on it? also are there any snipits of her concert at carnegie hall i.e. news feature

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 11/11/05 at 7:02pm

Official website: https://www.leasalonga.com/
Official fan site: https://www.rsjdfg.com/Lea/lea.html
The fan site has videos and music clips.
Reviews/Concert News:
Broadway.com: https://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Photo_op.aspx?ci=520952
Broadway World: https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=5771
Phil. Daily Inquirer: https://www.inq7.net/index_network.htm#
Playbill: https://www.playbill.com/news/article/96193.html

Updated On: 11/11/05 at 07:02 PM

[Mister Roberts]

Posted: 11/11/05 at 11:11pm

You can check out my site. It has some video and audio clips

https://www.angelfire.com/musicals/lsalonga/index.html

------------

Also I don't know if this is confirmed, but I read in her newsgroup that there won't be an audio and video recording of her carnegie concert tht would be made available to the public. The video recording was for archival purposes only. WHO do we need to contact to get this concert be released on DVD or even on CD?
Updated On: 11/11/05 at 11:11 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 12:11am

Countdown to someone starting an internet petition ('cuz, ya know, those are always effective) starting in 3...2...1...

[augustine73]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 1:51pm

sorry lizzie i didnt get it.. petition for? :)

[bigrab1018]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 2:02pm

Can someone please post some video clips of this concert???
PReferably the Wicked songs
Thanks even though there probably aren't any yet.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 2:22pm

sorry lizzie i didnt get it.. petition for? :)

For getting the concert on DVD. Theatre fans are big fans of petitions.

[augustine73]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 10:23pm

oh yah. not only on dvd and cd... maybe PBS too... i'll be one of those fans whos going to petition and campaign!

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 11/25/05 at 10:58pm

For those interested, there are clips from Lea Salonga's Carnegie Hall debut currently available from the Broadway Beat site, specifically from its November 21st show.

The clips show Lea singing, among other things, snippets of I'D GIVE MY LIFE FOR YOU, THE STORY GOES ON and DEFYING GRAVITY.

http://www.broadwaybeat.com/