Lea Salonga: Disney & Broadway Magic (30 September & 1 October)

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[12 July 2016, Hong Kong] Disney princess Lea Salonga has thrilled audiences worldwide as Jasmine and Mulan in the Disney animated classics, and has toured in the title role of the enchanting rags-to-riches fairy tale Cinderella. On stage, she has starred on Broadway in Les Misérables and created the role of Kim in Miss Saigon. Back by popular demand after her sold-out performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) two seasons ago, Lea joins the orchestra, together with her conductor brother Gerard Salonga, in a magical concert of hits you know and love.

Lea Salonga is one of the most influential Filipino women in the world. She began her career as a child star in the Philippines, making her professional debut at the age of seven in the musical The King and I. She received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Miss Saigon in 1991, Walt Disney Company also bestowed her with the honour of “Disney Legend” in 2011 for her portrayal of the beloved princesses.

Gerard Salonga first collaborated with his sister when he was seven years old, when the backing tape for her performance malfunctioned and he stepped in as her impromptu piano accompanist. The siblings’ collaboration has continued, from singing and recording the song Happiness on Lea’s first album, to performing together at state dinners. The two will join forces again and, along with the HK Phil, bring the voice of Disney princesses and all-time Broadway favourites to Hong Kong audiences.

Holiday: Lea Salonga: Disney & Broadway Magic will be held on 30 September(Fri) & 1 October (Sat), 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Ticket prices: HK$780, $580, $380, $280 will be available at URBTIX from 1 August. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit www.hkphil.org.

Artists
Gerard Salonga, conductor [full biography]
Gerard Salonga is a multi-award-winning musical director, conductor and arranger. He has worked with some of Asia’s brightest musical artists, including Lea Salonga, Wang Leehom, Hins Cheung, Elisa Chan and Wu Tong. He has won the Aliw Award (the Philippines’ top live performance award) for Best Musical Director in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2008, and was inducted into the Aliw Hall of Fame in 2010. Gerard was honoured by the President of the Philippines in 2012 as one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM), the Philippines’ highest civilian award to achievers under the age of 40.

Lea Salonga, vocalist [full biography]
Praised 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 also 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.

LEA SALONGA: DISNEY & BROADWAY MAGIC
30 | 9 & 1 | 10 | 2016
FRI & SAT 8PM
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
HK$780 $580 $380 $280
Tickets are available at URBTIX from 1 August
For ages 6 and above

Artists

Click the thumbnail to download photos
Gerard Salonga	Lea Salonga
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai/HK Phil

Pogramme

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director: Jaap van Zweden
Principal Guest Conductor: Yu Long

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is recognised as Asia’s foremost classical orchestra. The Orchestra presents more than 150 concerts over a 44-week season and attracts more than 200,000 music lovers annually.

Jaap van Zweden, one of today’s most sought-after conductors, is the Orchestra’s Music Director, a position he has held since the 2012/13 concert season. Maestro van Zweden was recently announced as the next Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. This appointment will not affect his tenure with the HK Phil; his commitment to the HK Phil extends to 2022.

Yu Long was appointed for an initial three-year term in the 2015/16 season as Principal Guest Conductor.

Under Maestro van Zweden, the HK Phil is undertaking a variety of initiatives including a four-year project to perform and record the complete Ring of the Nibelung (Richard Wagner). The Orchestra is in the second of this four-year journey, performing one opera annually in concert. The performances are being recorded live for the Naxos label and mark the first performances by a Hong Kong or mainland Chinese orchestra of the entire Ring cycle.

Also under van Zweden, the orchestra undertook a highly successful five-country, seven-city tour of Europe in the 2014/15 season, with concerts in London, Vienna, Zurich, Eindhoven, Birmingham, Berlin and Amsterdam. Performances were met with enthusiasm and universally positive reviews. The concert in Vienna’s Musikverein was filmed for broadcast on TV.

Conductors and soloists who have recently performed with the orchestra include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Ning Feng, Matthias Goerne, Lang Lang, Yu Long, Yundi Li, the late Lorin Maazel, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yuja Wang.

The HK Phil promotes the work of Hong Kong and Chinese composers through an active commissioning programme, and has released recordings featuring Tan Dun and Bright Sheng, each conducting their own compositions, on the Naxos label. Its acclaimed community engagement programme brings music to tens of thousands of children annually. A recording was issued free to schoolchildren throughout Hong Kong of Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Leopold Mozart’s Toy Symphony.

The Swire Group has been the Principal Patron of the HK Phil since 2006. Through this sponsorship, which is the largest in the orchestra’s history, Swire also endeavours to promote artistic excellence, foster access to classical music and stimulate cultural participation in Hong Kong, and to enhance Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the great cities of the world.

Thanks to a significant subsidy from the Hong Kong Government and long-term funding from Principal Patron Swire, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and other supporters, the HK Phil now boasts a full-time annual schedule of classical music concerts, pops concerts, an extensive education programme, and collaborations for staged opera with Opera Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

The Orchestra’s history stretches back to 1895, when it was formed as the Sino-British Orchestra. It was re-named in 1957 and became fully professional in 1974.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
SWIRE is the Principal Patron of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is a Venue Partner of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.