Customer Reviews

Lea Salonga - The Broadway Concert

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lea Salonga in my opinion has one of the most commanding voices on Broadway. She can give life to different types of songs. And in this particular concert, she gets to show the versatility of her voice as she tackled a varied selection of some of her favorite show tunes. Not to mention I have never heard anyone sings so perfectly in a LIVE performance.

I especially love her subdued, simple, and heartfelt version of I've Never Been in Love Before. She captured the essence of the song beautifully. She gets to sing two songs from Flower Drum Song. Her I Enjoy Being a Girl is a total treat as she sang it with such grinding, girlish, playful sassiness. Her Love Look Away is less emotional compared to the FDS cast recording, but this version is more polished and more precise.

One of the highlights of the concert was her rendition of Nothing from A Chorus Line. She dedicated the song to all her detractors early on her career when she was just starting. I love how she gave life and energy to the song, I have never heard that song sung with such vocal precision and vivacious spirit.

As a treat for Miss Saigon fans, she sang a song from the show that did not make it to the final cut. The song is called Two Much For One Heart. I wonder why the composer decided not to include the song. "I'd give my life my for you" was the emotional core of Kim, "Too much for one heart" could've been the vocal showcase core for Kim.

I also like Lea's take on Where is Love and especially As Long as He Needs Me. Those were powerful renditions that show off her vocal range. She was intense and in command of the song especially the latter. Her Someone to watch over me was also another highlight. She was very effective in capturing the hopeful and romantic and melancholic mood of the song.

The show ended with two great songs, Something Wonderful and Being Alive. As she sung the final note of Being Alive, the light bubs in the stage all lit up to one glorious finale. You just have to see it, it was breathtaking!

Note: The DVD does not contain the entire concert some songs were cut (Another Hundred People, Wouldn't it be Loverly, Children Will listen, Fallin, On My Own, I Still Believe in Love, and People) probably due to licensing issues or the fact that some of the songs were already released in her other albums. But this is a must buy. I highly recommend this to all her fans and fans of musicals.

Grade: A +

If you love Lea and broadway, you need to own this DVD. From start to finish she is breathtaking. Her phrasing is impeccable with a voice to match. Her version of "Someone To Watch Over Me" in my opinion has never been done so beautifully, and with just a guitar backing her. The San Miguel Philharmonic lead by her brother Gerard is equally wonderful. Bravo Lea!

I absolutely loved this DVD but it's a pity they don't make it on CD (as far as I know?!).Many of the songs were new to me, i thought i had every recording of Lea Salonga ever made but evidently,i was wrong. I absolutely loved Someone Else's Story and a beautiful song from Jekkyl and Hyde- Someone Like You which almost made the DVD worth buying itself. Lea gives a hilarious and genuine performance of "Nothing" from A Chorus Line and sings another incredible song from Miss Saigon (Too Much For One Heart) which was cut from the show with a richness and ease only Lea possesses. Her incredible talent never fails to amaze me and it was great to actually see her peform as I had never seen her in concert before.

A beautiful voice. I was blown away with "Too Much For One Heart". Definitely Lea's best song ever recorded. How the producers of "Miss Saigon" could have left this song off the show is just unbelievable. They really blew it. Lea sings it with so much feeling. It would have been the highlight on the entire show. This song alone is worth the price of the DVD (or CD). This song could have been what "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" is to Sarah Brightman and "Phantom Of The Opera". I hope Lea somehow reads this and knows how much I love this song. I hope she will include it in her future concerts.

Until now, there were only 3 Broadway concert DVD's that a Broadway fan SHOULD have as part of their collection:

1) Les Miserables - the 10th Anniversary Concert

2) Hey Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh

3) Andrew Lloyd Webber - The Royal Albert Hall Celebration

This DVD belongs to such a group! I will not be surprised if the reviewers here would love different songs in the DVD because all the songs Lea sung were absolutely MARVELOUS! For example, one day I find myself repeatedly listening to the song "Someone Else's Story" from Chess and the next day, I would hear over and over again her rendition of "Nothing" from a Chorus Line.

You will be missing A LOT if you fail to watch this DVD. There are very few excellent Broadway DVDs available in the market and this one is definitely a STEAL!

Ever since seeing Lea on Geraldo Rivera in the early 1990 s, I ve always been impressed with her commanding voice. She sang On My Own from les Miz. I love her voice.

Lea creates her own world on stage. What a voice, what a talent. This is a must-have for your collection.

I bought this for one song, and it was outstanding. The rest of it was not my cup of tea.

There's nothing flashy about this concert. It's just Lea Salonga, on stage, doing what she does best. Her voice is gorgeous, and she is very endearing. No costumes, dancers, flashing lights, etc., so if that's what you're looking for, this may not be right for you. Otherwise, if you're a fan of Lea's, like I am, you'll enjoy this dvd.

Having been Lea Salonga fan for many years, I was very happy to get this concert, though I was hoping for more songs from Miss Saigon.

The enclosed poster looks like it was printed on a cheap color printer, but since I never cared for the poster in the first place, I didn't take points of for that.