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Lea Salonga-Chien was born Maria Ligaya Carmen Imutan Salonga on February 22, 1971 in the Philippines. Lea is a multi-awarded Filipino singer and actress who is best known for originating the role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon. In the field of musical theater, she is recognized for having won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, and Theatre World Awards, the first to win various international awards for a single role. She was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway. Salonga is the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin in 1992 and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II in 1998 and in 2004, respectively). |
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Lea Salonga started as a child star in the Philippines, making her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven through the musical The King and I by Repertory Philippines. She became the lead star of Annie and joined other productions such as 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. She began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, Small Voice, which received a gold certification. A song on the album, the duet “Happiness,” marked her first recording collaboration with her younger brother Gerard Salonga who would, years later, work with her either as musical director or creative director in her concerts and recordings. Her second album, "Lea," was released in 1988.
Salonga's big breakthrough came when she was selected to play Kim in the megahit musical Miss Saigon in 1989. Unable to find a strong enough Asian actress/singer in the United Kingdom, the producers scoured many countries looking for the lead role of this major British production. For her audition, the 17-year-old Salonga chose to sing Boublil and Schönberg's "On My Own" from Les Misérables and was later asked to sing "Sun and Moon" to test her voice quality's compatibility with the songs in the musical. The members of the panel were impressed with Salonga's rendition of the songs, noting that from Salonga’s very first note, they already knew they had a potential Kim. Salonga competed with childhood friend and fellow Repertory Philippines performer Monique Wilson as they were tested with songs from the musical, which included "Too Much for One Heart," a number replaced by the duet "Please" right before the musical opened. Salonga was offered the lead role, with Wilson as the alternate (who was also assigned the role of bar girl Mimi).
For her performance as Kim, Salonga won the Olivier for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for the 1989/1990 season. From its original London home, Miss Saigon moved to Broadway in April 1991. Salonga subsequently garnered the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Theatre World Awards for the same role. Between 1993 and 1996, she was asked periodically to play Kim on Broadway to boost ticket sales. In 1999, she was invited back to London to close the musical, and in 2001, at the age of 29 and after doing the Manila run of the musical, Salonga returned to Broadway to close the Broadway production. Between opening Miss Saigon in 1989 and closing it on Broadway 12 years later in 2001, Salonga became involved in several other musical productions and projects. |
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