When Lea Salonga steps on to the Dubai Opera stage tonight, it will be with the grace of a seasoned talent.
The soprano, 49, performs a pair of shows on Thursday and Friday, March 5 and 6, which will showcase songs from her near-four-decade career.
There will be selections of show tunes, a few arias, Disney classics and, judging by a London show last year, maybe a cover of One Direction's Story of My Life, but it will all be done with the experience of a star who grew up treading the boards.
One aspect Dubai crowds will surely look forward to is Salonga's renditions of songs from Miss Saigon. After all, it was the role of Kim that catapulted her from a little-known singer from the Philippines to a West End and Broadway star.
With the production recently celebrating its 30th anniversary, Salonga recalls the experience as nothing short of life-changing.
Being a full-time performer, she states, was not part of her plan.
She recalled making an agreement with her parents as a teenager: to be allowed to sing and dance as long her school grades didn't slip.
Already recognised as a burgeoning talent in Manila – Salonga sang in local events and lead roles in locally staged productions of The King and I, Annie and Fiddler on the Roof – she maintained her end of the bargain by being a diligent high-school pupil with aspirations of becoming a doctor.
As it turned out, it was a failed prognosis.
Salonga’s career trajectory went off the charts in 1988, when English stage impresario Cameron Mackintosh rolled into town looking for a starlet.
Unable to find a talented South-East Asian singer in Europe for the role of the hostess Kim in his upcoming West End production of Miss Saigon, Mackintosh and his team travelled to the Philippines for auditions.
A university student at the time and still plugged in to Manila's stage scene, Salonga recalls attending the audition as a way to satisfy her curiosity. "I mean, here was this personality coming to Manila for these auditions and I just wanted to try and see what that experience was like. I had no expectations at the time," Salonga tells The National.
“But my parents always gave me this hard work ethic. So I gave it my best shot and they kept calling me back for more auditions.”
While confident of her ability, Salonga recalls being totally surprised when she landed the role. This meant an abrupt end to her studies and her first trip to London for intensive rehearsals and back-to-back performances.
A new deal with her parents was immediately forged: her mother went along with her. Looking back at those months, based in a small apartment in London, Salonga says family support was paramount.
“I was young and everything was moving fast,” she says. “There were a lot of rehearsals and basically a lot of stress. So having her there with me and providing me with support and guidance was so important.”
It also resulted in some uncomfortable discussions. With her character Kim falling in love – and eventually despair – with American soldier Chris (played by British stage actor Simon Bowman), Salonga needed to muster up emotions that were foreign to her then.
“I was only 18 at the time, so I never experienced anything like the love that Kim had or that kind of affection,” she says, followed by a quiet chuckle.
“So I had to speak to my mum about that and ask her some questions about it. It was also tough for her talk about it with me. All I can say she tried her best.”
Fortunately, director Nicholas Hytner filled in any gaps with clear and precise instructions.
"We didn't even need to talk about it," Salonga says. "He would say 'stand here and do this' and then 'go here and do that'. It was great, so it all worked out in the end." Salonga went on to win Olivier and Tony awards for the role in both the West End and Broadway productions.
It also introduced her to the Disney team, who went on to cast her as the singing voices for two landmark animated productions, 1992's Aladdin, as Princess Jasmine, and the title singing role for the 1996 film Mulan.
While Salonga has been rightfully hailed for her breathtaking performance of Aladdin's signature song A Whole New World. It remains the first and only Disney song to win a Grammy Award – for Song of the Year in 1994 – and she gives all the credit to the Disney crew.
"The reason they are so amazing is that they have, in a way, created their own world," she says. "It's a world that has its own language and songs. So when you are singing a Disney song, you are just following a long and proud tradition."
With Salonga's two dates at Dubai Opera coming on the back of a sold-out show at the venue in 2017, she hopes this weekend's shows will strengthen her enduring relationship with UAE audiences.
“It is a warm and lovely crowd,” she says. “It is always a place that I look forward to coming back to because I enjoy the experience so much.”
Lea Salonga performs tonight and tomorrow at Dubai Opera, Downtown Dubai. Concerts start at 8pm. Tickets begin at Dh250 and are available at www.dubaiopera.com
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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