The voice of two Disney princesses opens up about her royal roles
She’s the voice of two of Disney’s most beloved princesses. So what does Lea Salonga make of the new generation like Moana and Frozen’s Anna and Elsa?
Confidential
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Lea Salonga, the voice of two Disney princesses, has opened up about her royal roles and thoughts on the next generation of rulers Moana, Anna and Elsa.
“You need to bring a smile in your voice,” Salonga, who voiced Mulan and Jasmine from Aladdin, in the classic Disney films, said in Melbourne today.
“There’s a very specific and particular sound in these characters because it caters mainly to young people, to children.
“They can tell if you’re playing one of the more optimistic princess characters. You need to bring hope and optimism, and it has to be captured in the vocal performance,” she added.
Salonga is in town to perform a repertoire of musical theatre, film and pop songs at the Palais Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday.
Asked about the new breed of Disney princess, like island warriorMoana, or icebound royals Anna and Elsa from Frozen, Salonga said: “If you listen to Auliʻi Cravalho, who did the voice of Moana, or the two actors (Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel) who played Anna and Elsa, you will still hear — there’s a ping in the voices — and it’s something we all connect to.
Salonga has extensive musical theatre experience in London and New York, and was the first actor of Asian descent to play the roles of Eponine and Fantine in Les Miserables on Broadway. She is also a coach The Voice Philippines.
“I advise a lot of pop artists to do musical theatre because the training is vigorous and the discipline involved in maintaining a performance eight times a week, it’s quite a thing,” she said.
“If you can do that, you can pretty much do anything. It’s very physically demanding and taxing, and it also makes you resilient and strong.
“If you can do it without losing your sanity, you can do anything.”
How does it compromise sanity?
“By the time you get to show number eight, you’re really loopy,” she said, laughing. “It takes a great amount of focus and concentration to mentally gear yourself up to do show number eight.”
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That said, while in town, Salonga has gone bonkers over the Melbourne Theatre Company’s revival of Kiss Of The Spider Woman, particularly actor Ainsley’s Melham’s performance.
“Oh my God, Ainsley Melham, you are such a superstar,” she tweeted on Monday night. “I can’t handle it. I still haven’t picked my jaw up off the floor!”
Salonga told Confidential: “I think it’s going to be a while before I get over it. “I was gobsmacked and I told him to his face. I know him from Hi-5 and Aladdin, but there’s no
trace of either of those things in this performance.”
Tickets for Lea Salonga In Concert, at the Palais Theatre, on November 20 and 21, are available from www.tickemaster.com.au.