MANILA, Philippines - Lea Salonga was scintillating on the first of her two-night 30th anniversary concert, ?My Life ? On Stage,? last Friday at the PICC.

Backed by a full orchestra?the newly renamed FILharmoniKa under the baton of younger brother Gerard?Lea revisited the landmark chapters of her storied career in a voice that seemed to glow with little effort.

It revealed a singing technique that made her breeze through the high notes, which she often reached for. This was apparent even as she was heard on a perfectly mixed volume level, singing with a very sensitive wireless mic.

Directed by one of her earliest mentors, Freddie Santos, Lea held court on a multifunctional stage dominated by large video screens that enhanced the drama of her ascent to international stardom.

While some of the numbers might have already been familiar to her avid fans, the show still came off as a refreshing reminder of what nurtured talent could lead to?in Lea?s case, earning worldwide acclaim as a theatrical singer-actress in the West End and Broadway runs of the hit musical ?Miss Saigon,? not to mention all the prestigious awards she won afterwards: the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, among others.

Good-natured fun

Lea would move on and appear in more Broadway productions, the long-running ?Les Miserables? among them. She also conquered the world of animation films, recording the singing voices of lead characters in Disney?s ?Alladin? and ?Mulan.?

Another most interesting thing about the concert was its candor. It poked good-natured fun, for instance, at Lea?s stint as lead star in the 2002 production of ?Flower Drum Song??a flop in its New York run. Still, Lea delighted in giving a rendition of one of the musical?s biggest numbers, ?I Enjoy Being a Girl.?

Enjoyment could be the biggest factor that contributed to Lea?s success. She had the guts to pay her local show biz dues early on by joining ?That?s Entertainment? on TV and acting in bland movies?although she was already a Broadway celebrity by the time she starred with heartthrob Aga Muhlach in two films.

Since it was her anniversary gig, Lea got what she wanted: Aga in a cameo role, flitting on and off the stage, providing comic relief (?Wow Lea, your voice has improved a lot...?), relishing the crowd?s attention as he flirted with the star of the show.

Later Aga made good on his dare to sing, in a duet with Lea on ?Sana Maulit Muli,? though naturally his vocals were remarkable for either being too low or flat at some point.

But with Lea, everything sounded good. Even her version of The Boyfriends? ?Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal? lifted the song off its Bee Gees-overdosed-middle-of-the-road mushiness.

Yes, even other MOR staples like Olivia Newton-John?s ?I Honestly Love You? and Beverly Craven?s fairly recent ?Promise Me??pop ballads which are normally heard on wee-hour radio programs and piped in motel music?were given an elegant, personal stamp of truth and immediacy when Lea sang them. Or maybe they sounded great because we were now hearing them live, for the first time, and we couldn?t remember Lea recording these tunes in past albums.

Because she?s a dyed-in-the-wool theater person, Lea?s spiels at the concert bordered on verbosity, like her overemphasized recollections of falling in love and getting married, although the song that summarized everything (?Two Words,? written by Louie Ocampo and Freddie Santos) saved the segment.

Impeccable encore

And since it was conceived as a show a la theater musical, the encore that was preceded by several standing ovations was a thoroughly rehearsed production number. It featured excerpts from ?Les Miz? with Lea leading some of her distinguished colleagues from Repertory Philippines?Menchu Lauchengco, Michael Williams, Chari Arrespacochaga et al.

Everything that happened to her, Lea said, was a result of a long series of knocking on every opportunity that came her way. The big lesson, she concluded, was ?to keep on knocking.?

At 37, Lea doesn?t seem to have peaked yet. We can just imagine the surprises behind the doors that she?s got her eye on.