I've always loved Salonga, but I've always considered her a singer primarily, but wow recently her acting has been really impressing me. This is beautiful.
"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES---
"THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS
I never liked this song, until now. Jason Robert Brown should be grateful that she sang his material.
Edit: I just watched the clip again. It is unbelievable how every little breath, word, note, placement of each note, the right intonation on the right part of a word, which evokes the right emotion every time, and her diction, clear sound and exquisid singing quality are just perfect.
This is what real singing is to me, this is the kind of singing that brings out emotion.
It reminds me of the discussion where people said, "not everything has to be "on key and perfect", "people have to sound raw/sloppy/crying/damaged/uncontrolled" in order to make it emotional. But the perfection and emotion lies in the mastering of the craft, the ability to make me laugh and cry in 1 sentence BECAUSE of the perfect placement. This is what directors need to keep in mind. Unfortunately a talent like this is so rare, that I can only think of 3 people in the world that actually possessed this kind of quality. Whitney Houston in her younger days, Karen Carpenter and Lea Salonga. Where every little syllable is a masterpiece.
Alice Ripley's voice is pretty damaged, IMO. Lea Salonga did a great job of taking care of her voice even when singing strenuous parts. For instance, when she found out that her singing in Miss Saigon was hurting her voice, she got a vocal coach to help her fix the issue.
I also think that Lea uses a mix for her belt more than Alice Ripley does.
This video made me wonder: could Cathy be played by a non-white woman as long as she isn't Jewish, such as an Asian woman? The character clearly has some Irish background but it's not super obvious.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
I had never really given Lea Salonga the credit she probably deserved until I saw her in the "Do You Hear the People Sing" Concert in Dallas last year - She was amazing! This video really showcases her incredible talent!