Lea Salonga: 'Dakilang Ina'
February 2007
By Ricky Lo
“I’m not in a normal profession but I’m normal in it,” says Lea Salonga, who’s turning 36 on Feb. 22 (she’s a Boar and this is her year), in an exclusive Conversation last Friday in connection with the launch of her latest album, Inspired (produced by her brother Gerard and released by Sony BMG).
Yes, indeed, normal – if that means keeping a happy balance between being wife (to Robert “Rob” Chien) and mother to Nicole Beverly (fondly called Nic for short, turning a year older on May 16) and a demanding career that brings her around the world.
On her birthday, Lea will fly to New York to start rehearsals for Les Miz in which she’s playing Fantine whom she describes as “ang dakilang ina ni Cosette,” so dakila (noble) that she would do anything to keep body and soul for her and her daughter, never mind if she turns prostitute.
It’s Lea’s second outing with Les Miz. In 1993, she played Eponine in the same long-running musical. What’s different is that Lea has become a mother since then, so she can tackle the Fantine character straight from the heart. She did play a mother in Miss Saigon (as Kim, the role she originated in London’s West End in 1989) but, according to Lea, “I didn’t really know how being a mom was like back then.”
Motherhood has radically changed Lea’s outlook in life. You can sense it in the way she sings (“More feeling,” she admitted) the 12 selections on Inspired, all of which are her personal favorites (including a few originals exclusively written for her, such as To Hear You Say by Jim Brickman, Do You Hear It by Lani Macaraeg and Two Words, her official wedding song, by Louie Ocampo).
“She’s the sunshine of my life,” she said of Nic.
Lea will be in New York practically the whole year, coming back early next year to prepare for the Asian tour of Cinderella. Out there, she’ll have her hands full – and those of her mom, Ligaya Salonga, and a nanny – playing mother Cosette on stage and to Nic in real life.
How has motherhood changed your perspective as a singer?
“Hmmmm. I don’t know if motherhood has necessarily changed any perspective but emotions are deeper because there’s a certain kind of love that no one knows even exists until a child comes. It’s something you can only imagine, something you can think about, it’s something that you know isn’t there until your child arrives. And then you know love like you’ve never known love before. It’s amazing and incredible! Incredibly special. If ever, my perspective in life has changed in that my daughter is far more important than a lot of things in the world – more important than my career, more important than a show that I could ever do. Her comfort and her happiness, just her and everything about her, are more important than anything and anyone.”
Now you know why mothers are so protective of their children.
“My mom kept telling me before I became a mother, ‘Iha, you won’t understand until you have a child of your own. You won’t know how it feels like until you have one.’ Blah, blah, blah, blah! Yes, now I know. When I see Nicole in pain, when I see her in any discomfort, when she cries, when she’s happy, when she’s whatever, I feel just...different. It’s bigger than anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Different from how you felt when you played a mom in Miss Saigon?
“Different! I didn’t understand it because I wasn’t a mother yet at that time. I would probably have been more protective of that little boy than I ever was but then I could only imagine how it was to be a mother. Being a mother is something that no one is ever really prepared for. It’s difficult but it’s the kind of difficult that feels good. Mahirap na masarap. It’s unlike anything else.”
Are you bringing up Nic the way you (and Gerard) were brought up by your mom?
“No. She wins; she’ll always win! I’m probably more laid-back than she is. My mom is the type of mother na hindi puede madapuan ng langaw ang anak, hindi puede hipuin ang braso. You know, magpa-panic, ‘Ang balat, ang balat!’ Things like that. I’m different. If Nic falls and gets hurt, it’s okay! Nic has actually gotten hurt to a point that she was crying, crying, crying! It wasn’t a fun day. At that moment, there was nothing more important than comforting her.”
So Nic and Rob are going with you to New York.
“Yes, they are, along with my mom, We might bring along a yaya. We’re leaving on Feb. 22 which happens to be my (36th) birthday. I’m gonna have a long birthday because when we arrive in New York, it’s still Feb. 22. And then Rob will come back after two weeks and go back maybe after two months. It will be a tight fit as far as sleeping arrangement is concerned but it’s better to have several hands on deck for the baby. You see, I’ll be working every night.”
How soon will you start rehearsals for Les Miz? And how soon will it open?
“My rehearsals will begin the day after I arrive and the show will open on March 6. It runs, at the very least, until summer. But if it’s extended, and I hope it would be, it might be until October. I’m staying for Thanksgiving with Rob’s family and I spend Christmas na there. But I’ll be back for the New Year.”
I heard that you’re going on an Asian tour with Cinderella.
“That will begin in the second half of 2008.”
Let’s talk about your new album. Why Inspired as the title?
“I’m responsible for the title. One day, the word ‘inspiration’ just entered my mind and I said, ‘Oh, that’s a nice title. Inspired.’ In one way or another, all of us who worked on the album was inspired. I was inspired by listening to different singers and vocal styles using different kinds of music...experiences...good days, bad days. My brother was inspired by listening to the orchestrations and music of different orchestrators, and letting it inform how he in turn would do his own interpretations.”
Are the songs on the album your personal choices?
“It’s a collaboration. If we felt that the song was right for the album, we included it. If It wasn’t, we didn’t include it. There’s one song, Sing, which I’m recording for the second time. The first time I recorded it, I was around 10 or 11. The arrangement and the vocals were very different. On this album, it’s a more adult arrangement, a more adult interpretation, very relaxed and very laid-back.”
So nobody and nothing, not even motherhood, can stop you from singing.
“I love to sing. It’s a gift from God, something to be shared and something that I must be generous with. God gave it to me and I have to give it back to Him. But while I still have it, I have to use it as best as I can, to reach as many people as I can, to hopefully inspire as many people as I can. I can’t be and I shouldn’t be stingy with it.”
You didn’t dream of becoming anything else but a singer?
“I was gonna be a doctor. I was a Biology student at Ateneo. I was doing fine until the offer for Miss Saigon came. Obviously, even though I had ideas of what I wanted to be, God had other ideas. And He was very pro-active that I stayed on the path that He wanted me to follow. No regrets.”
Do you sing Nic to sleep?
“Yes, I do. I hum her to sleep. I sing whatever feels right at the moment. I rock her and she falls asleep right away.”
Isn’t Nic a cry baby?
“Right now, she’s teething so she’s not having an easy time of it. Her gums are swollen. She’s turning a year old on May 16. I think she’ll grow up like me.”
Can you give us an idea what the real Lea Salonga is like?
“You mean the ‘me’ behind the makeup? If you ask people really close to me, they’ll probably tell you that, yeah, I’m crazy, I’m funny, I’m very simple and down-to-earth, very simple and very normal. Mahilig din ako manlait ng tao.”
Really? Sample, please!
“No, no, no! I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.” (Adding with a laugh) “I do it behind closed doors. Seriously now, I’m a perfectionist. I’m infinitely patient especially now that I have a child. I have throw-up on my clothes, just like every other mother. I can be quiet. I do get upset but very, very rarely, and only when it’s a pretty big deal. Otherwise, I’m very calm and very cool-headed. I scream and hurl profanity only when it’s worth it. It has to matter before I do.”
By the way, how do you and Rob plan to spend Valentine’s Day?
“Apart.” (Followed by laughter) “I will be in Cebu performing for a whole bunch of people. But it’s okay. We might celebrate before or after Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t matter. Maybe we’ll have dinner. It’s a good excuse to try a really nice restaurant.”
How did you celebrate your third wedding anniversary last Jan. 10?
“Very simply and very quietly. It wasn’t any big deal.”
Did your wedding mark the turning point in your life?
“No, it did not. The change really happened when the baby came, and not so much after Rob and I got married. I guess that the real adjustment started when the baby came. That’s when the world as we knew it was no longer the same. We have to sleep at a certain time, and so does Rob. Everything revolves around the baby, down to how loud the volume of the TV can be. Nicole rules the house; she influences every decision we make.”
Does Rob help in the baby chores?
“He changed diapers for a while, until the yaya took over.”
Are you still breastfeeding Nic?
“Yes, I am... for eight months now. I will do so for as long as I can. The baby is healthier that way.”
One hard question: Describe Lea Salonga in one word.
(Thinks long and hard) “I can’t do it; I couldn’t do it.” (Thinks longer and harder) “If you ask people really close to me, they’ll probably choose any of the following: Grounded, perfectionist, loving, level-headed...”
...and normal?
“You’re right. I’m not in a normal profession but I’m a normal person in it. Yes, just one word: Normal.”
Ricky Lo is entertainment editor of the Philippine-based Philippine Star. He also contributes to several Filipino-American publications. (E-mail reactions to rickylo@philstar.net.ph)
By Ricky Lo
“I’m not in a normal profession but I’m normal in it,” says Lea Salonga, who’s turning 36 on Feb. 22 (she’s a Boar and this is her year), in an exclusive Conversation last Friday in connection with the launch of her latest album, Inspired (produced by her brother Gerard and released by Sony BMG).
Yes, indeed, normal – if that means keeping a happy balance between being wife (to Robert “Rob” Chien) and mother to Nicole Beverly (fondly called Nic for short, turning a year older on May 16) and a demanding career that brings her around the world.
On her birthday, Lea will fly to New York to start rehearsals for Les Miz in which she’s playing Fantine whom she describes as “ang dakilang ina ni Cosette,” so dakila (noble) that she would do anything to keep body and soul for her and her daughter, never mind if she turns prostitute.
It’s Lea’s second outing with Les Miz. In 1993, she played Eponine in the same long-running musical. What’s different is that Lea has become a mother since then, so she can tackle the Fantine character straight from the heart. She did play a mother in Miss Saigon (as Kim, the role she originated in London’s West End in 1989) but, according to Lea, “I didn’t really know how being a mom was like back then.”
Motherhood has radically changed Lea’s outlook in life. You can sense it in the way she sings (“More feeling,” she admitted) the 12 selections on Inspired, all of which are her personal favorites (including a few originals exclusively written for her, such as To Hear You Say by Jim Brickman, Do You Hear It by Lani Macaraeg and Two Words, her official wedding song, by Louie Ocampo).
“She’s the sunshine of my life,” she said of Nic.
Lea will be in New York practically the whole year, coming back early next year to prepare for the Asian tour of Cinderella. Out there, she’ll have her hands full – and those of her mom, Ligaya Salonga, and a nanny – playing mother Cosette on stage and to Nic in real life.
How has motherhood changed your perspective as a singer?
“Hmmmm. I don’t know if motherhood has necessarily changed any perspective but emotions are deeper because there’s a certain kind of love that no one knows even exists until a child comes. It’s something you can only imagine, something you can think about, it’s something that you know isn’t there until your child arrives. And then you know love like you’ve never known love before. It’s amazing and incredible! Incredibly special. If ever, my perspective in life has changed in that my daughter is far more important than a lot of things in the world – more important than my career, more important than a show that I could ever do. Her comfort and her happiness, just her and everything about her, are more important than anything and anyone.”
Now you know why mothers are so protective of their children.
“My mom kept telling me before I became a mother, ‘Iha, you won’t understand until you have a child of your own. You won’t know how it feels like until you have one.’ Blah, blah, blah, blah! Yes, now I know. When I see Nicole in pain, when I see her in any discomfort, when she cries, when she’s happy, when she’s whatever, I feel just...different. It’s bigger than anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Different from how you felt when you played a mom in Miss Saigon?
“Different! I didn’t understand it because I wasn’t a mother yet at that time. I would probably have been more protective of that little boy than I ever was but then I could only imagine how it was to be a mother. Being a mother is something that no one is ever really prepared for. It’s difficult but it’s the kind of difficult that feels good. Mahirap na masarap. It’s unlike anything else.”
Are you bringing up Nic the way you (and Gerard) were brought up by your mom?
“No. She wins; she’ll always win! I’m probably more laid-back than she is. My mom is the type of mother na hindi puede madapuan ng langaw ang anak, hindi puede hipuin ang braso. You know, magpa-panic, ‘Ang balat, ang balat!’ Things like that. I’m different. If Nic falls and gets hurt, it’s okay! Nic has actually gotten hurt to a point that she was crying, crying, crying! It wasn’t a fun day. At that moment, there was nothing more important than comforting her.”
So Nic and Rob are going with you to New York.
“Yes, they are, along with my mom, We might bring along a yaya. We’re leaving on Feb. 22 which happens to be my (36th) birthday. I’m gonna have a long birthday because when we arrive in New York, it’s still Feb. 22. And then Rob will come back after two weeks and go back maybe after two months. It will be a tight fit as far as sleeping arrangement is concerned but it’s better to have several hands on deck for the baby. You see, I’ll be working every night.”
How soon will you start rehearsals for Les Miz? And how soon will it open?
“My rehearsals will begin the day after I arrive and the show will open on March 6. It runs, at the very least, until summer. But if it’s extended, and I hope it would be, it might be until October. I’m staying for Thanksgiving with Rob’s family and I spend Christmas na there. But I’ll be back for the New Year.”
I heard that you’re going on an Asian tour with Cinderella.
“That will begin in the second half of 2008.”
Let’s talk about your new album. Why Inspired as the title?
“I’m responsible for the title. One day, the word ‘inspiration’ just entered my mind and I said, ‘Oh, that’s a nice title. Inspired.’ In one way or another, all of us who worked on the album was inspired. I was inspired by listening to different singers and vocal styles using different kinds of music...experiences...good days, bad days. My brother was inspired by listening to the orchestrations and music of different orchestrators, and letting it inform how he in turn would do his own interpretations.”
Are the songs on the album your personal choices?
“It’s a collaboration. If we felt that the song was right for the album, we included it. If It wasn’t, we didn’t include it. There’s one song, Sing, which I’m recording for the second time. The first time I recorded it, I was around 10 or 11. The arrangement and the vocals were very different. On this album, it’s a more adult arrangement, a more adult interpretation, very relaxed and very laid-back.”
So nobody and nothing, not even motherhood, can stop you from singing.
“I love to sing. It’s a gift from God, something to be shared and something that I must be generous with. God gave it to me and I have to give it back to Him. But while I still have it, I have to use it as best as I can, to reach as many people as I can, to hopefully inspire as many people as I can. I can’t be and I shouldn’t be stingy with it.”
You didn’t dream of becoming anything else but a singer?
“I was gonna be a doctor. I was a Biology student at Ateneo. I was doing fine until the offer for Miss Saigon came. Obviously, even though I had ideas of what I wanted to be, God had other ideas. And He was very pro-active that I stayed on the path that He wanted me to follow. No regrets.”
Do you sing Nic to sleep?
“Yes, I do. I hum her to sleep. I sing whatever feels right at the moment. I rock her and she falls asleep right away.”
Isn’t Nic a cry baby?
“Right now, she’s teething so she’s not having an easy time of it. Her gums are swollen. She’s turning a year old on May 16. I think she’ll grow up like me.”
Can you give us an idea what the real Lea Salonga is like?
“You mean the ‘me’ behind the makeup? If you ask people really close to me, they’ll probably tell you that, yeah, I’m crazy, I’m funny, I’m very simple and down-to-earth, very simple and very normal. Mahilig din ako manlait ng tao.”
Really? Sample, please!
“No, no, no! I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.” (Adding with a laugh) “I do it behind closed doors. Seriously now, I’m a perfectionist. I’m infinitely patient especially now that I have a child. I have throw-up on my clothes, just like every other mother. I can be quiet. I do get upset but very, very rarely, and only when it’s a pretty big deal. Otherwise, I’m very calm and very cool-headed. I scream and hurl profanity only when it’s worth it. It has to matter before I do.”
By the way, how do you and Rob plan to spend Valentine’s Day?
“Apart.” (Followed by laughter) “I will be in Cebu performing for a whole bunch of people. But it’s okay. We might celebrate before or after Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t matter. Maybe we’ll have dinner. It’s a good excuse to try a really nice restaurant.”
How did you celebrate your third wedding anniversary last Jan. 10?
“Very simply and very quietly. It wasn’t any big deal.”
Did your wedding mark the turning point in your life?
“No, it did not. The change really happened when the baby came, and not so much after Rob and I got married. I guess that the real adjustment started when the baby came. That’s when the world as we knew it was no longer the same. We have to sleep at a certain time, and so does Rob. Everything revolves around the baby, down to how loud the volume of the TV can be. Nicole rules the house; she influences every decision we make.”
Does Rob help in the baby chores?
“He changed diapers for a while, until the yaya took over.”
Are you still breastfeeding Nic?
“Yes, I am... for eight months now. I will do so for as long as I can. The baby is healthier that way.”
One hard question: Describe Lea Salonga in one word.
(Thinks long and hard) “I can’t do it; I couldn’t do it.” (Thinks longer and harder) “If you ask people really close to me, they’ll probably choose any of the following: Grounded, perfectionist, loving, level-headed...”
...and normal?
“You’re right. I’m not in a normal profession but I’m a normal person in it. Yes, just one word: Normal.”
Ricky Lo is entertainment editor of the Philippine-based Philippine Star. He also contributes to several Filipino-American publications. (E-mail reactions to rickylo@philstar.net.ph)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home