Manitoba Live Music Event

About

Recognized around the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch, Lea Salonga is a singer and actress who is best known for her Tony Award winning role in Miss Saigon. In addition to the Tony, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards, in the field of musical theatre. She was  the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as Fantine in the 2006 revival.

Currently, Lea is a judge on the Philippine version of “The Voice,” which is a huge hit. Mitoy Yonting, a member of Team Lea, was named the first season winner. She also appears as a judge on the third season of The Voice Kids.

She started 2015 with a sold-out concert at New York’s Town Hall titled “Kaleidoscope” as well as performed on tour in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia before beginning her celebrated run as Kei Kimura in the Broadway production of Allegiance, and as part of the company, released the show’s cast album in early 2016.

For much of 2014, Lea performed with legendary popera quartet Il Divo, accompanying them in Asia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and all through Eastern and Western Europe on their A Musical Affair tour, celebrating the band’s 10th anniversary. She can be seen on their latest DVD and CD bearing the same name.

Lea has toured all over the world, performing sold out concerts in such locations as the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Singapore’s Esplanade (twice), Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (twice), Hong Kong Cultural Center (multiple times), Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok, Carnegie Hall in New York, and in various venues in Vancouver, Sacramento, San Diego, Phoenix, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, San Bernardino, Cerritos and San Francisco. She was also the first artist to sell out two shows at Brigham Young University’s deJong Concert Hall in Provo, Utah since The Kings Singers in 2009.

Many fans of all ages recognize Lea as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II. For her portrayal of the beloved princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend” in August of 2011 along with such luminaries as Regis Philbin, Jim Henson (posthumously) and Anika Noni Rose.

In her 37-year career, Lea has performed for six Philippine presidents (from Ferdinand Marcos to Benigno S. Aquino III), three American Presidents (George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush), and for Diana, Princess of Wales and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She began her career as a child star in the Philippines, making her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven in the musical The King and I. She went on to star in productions of Annie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose Tattoo, The Sound of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon, and The Fantasticks.

Lea began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, “Small Voice,” which received a gold certification. In addition to performing in musical theater and recordings, she hosted her own musical television show, “Love, Lea,” and also appeared with international acts such as Menudo and Stevie Wonder.

Lea's big break came when she was selected to play Kim in the megahit musical Miss Saigon in 1989. Given her popularity in the role, she was asked to return in 1999 to close the musical in London and again in 2001 to close the Broadway production.