While every Filipino was busy with life in the Philippines, the country's international star Lea Salonga held a successful concert in Seoul, Korea last June 16. It was attended by approximately 2,000 people. Below is an article written on the concert by Cathy Garcia, a Filipino writer for The Korea Times.
Seoul, South Korea - International Filipino star Lea Salonga received standing ovations from a wildly appreciative Korean audience during her first solo concert here, Monday evening.
Salonga performed 22 Disney and Broadway songs during the two-and-a-half hour concert at the packed Seoul Arts Center. She is the first Filipino to perform in Korea’s foremost complex center dedicated to arts and culture.
In an interview before the concert, Salonga said she wasn’t sure how many people would attend.
"I have no idea how many people would actually come to the concert. If we’re going to be able to fill up the concert or if there will be only 10 people,” she said.
"My attitude is, if there are 10 people there, these are the 10 people who really want to see you. So you do you best for them no matter what,” she added.
Salonga didn’t have to worry about the attendance because more than 2,000 people, mostly Koreans, attended her first solo concert here.
Wearing a deep brown pantsuit, Salonga started the show with a stirring performance of “Go The Distance” from the Disney animated film “Hercules.”
She sang songs like “Circle of Life” from “The Lion King,” “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid” and “Reflection” from “Mulan.”
Since the song “A Whole New World” from the animated film “Aladdin,” is a duet, Salonga picked a Korean man from the audience to sing with her.
For the second part of the show, Salonga appeared on stage wearing a long blue gown and performed Broadway hits like “On My Own” and “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Miserables”; “Nothing” from “A Chorus Line” and “Something’s Coming” from “The West Side Story.”
The Korean audience was very appreciative of Salonga’s performance, enthusiastically cheering and clapping after every song.
Salonga gave a heartfelt rendition of “I’d Give My Life For You” from “Miss Saigon.” She told the audience that since she gave birth to her daughter Nicole in 2006, she had a stronger feel for the song’s lyrics.
After her final song “Everybody Says Don’t” from “Anyone Can Whistle,” the audience gave thunderous applause and a standing ovation for Salonga.
Three encores
The exuberant response from the Korean crowd obviously surprised Salonga so much, that she returned not just for one encore, but three encores.
Salonga was also surprised to learn her wedding song “Two Words” is popular among her Korean fans. The song was not originally on her program, but was a last-minute addition due to her fans’ special request.
When she came out for the third time, Salonga laughingly said, “We ran out of songs.” She gave the audience a repeat performance of “Everybody Says Don’t.”
After the show, around a hundred Korean fans and handful of Filipinos lined up to get Salonga’s autograph.
Chung-ah Lee, a 22-year old student, said she was a big fan of Salonga’s after listening to her songs in Disney films “Aladdin” and “Mulan.”
(Lea's concert poster in Korean).
"I had goose bumps while listening to her sing ‘Reflection’ and ‘A Whole New World.’ Her voice was so clear and strong. She is very pretty. I hope she comes back soon,” Lee said, after the concert.
There were only a few Filipinos in the audience, including Philippine Ambassador to Korea Luis Cruz and embassy staff.
Alfonso Delgado, a Filipino accountant, said Salonga’s performance blew everyone away.
“The highlight for me was when she sang the song from ‘Miss Saigon.’ Her story about having a child made the song more personal. Her performance was a real showstopper,” Delgado said.
“The highlight for me was when she sang the song from ‘Miss Saigon.’ Her story about having a child made the song more personal. Her performance was a real showstopper,” Delgado said.
Concert organizers said ticket sales for Salonga’s concert were quite good for an artist who has not released an album in Korea. Tickets ranged from 30,000 won (P1,275) to 180,000 won (P7,650).
Her brother Gerard was also the concert’s musical director and conductor. The all-Korean Mostly Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied Salonga’s performance.
Also performing with the orchestra were Joey Quirino on piano, Robert Dennis De Guzman on guitar, Joji Magadia on bass and Jorge San Jose on drums.
Cathy Rose A. Garcia, GMANews.TV
2 comments:
I wouldn't be surprised.
I love her!
Let's watch her play!!!:)
Thanks for posting my dear girl friend's article on Lea Salonga.:)
Post a Comment