Pop : A Confident, Strong Set From Salonga

At 21, Lea Salonga has already become the Philippines’ most visible musical export. She won a Tony Award for her performance in “Miss Saigon,” and at the Universal Amphitheatre on Friday the actress-singer confidently worked her way through a program that blended Broadway standards with Filipino songs.

Salonga sang superbly, buoyed by solid musical technique and a graceful stage presence. Her voice ranged easily from the youthful pining of “Annie’s” “Tomorrow” to the intense passions of “Miss Saigon’s” “The Last Night of the World.” She was especially effective on effervescent numbers such as “I Enjoy Being a Girl” and on a set of Filipino pop songs.

Salonga’s only problem--understandable for a young artist--was a tendency to use her musicality to skim over the deeper textural levels of such songs as “Memory” (from “Cats”) and “Wishing You Were Here” (from “Phantom of the Opera”).

But this was a minor carp in a demanding program of material that was otherwise performed without a single musical misstep.

Salonga was aided on duet numbers by singer Christopher Anthony Pecaro, from the Broadway cast of “Miss Saigon.” His solo readings of “Younger Than Springtime” and “Music of the Night” revealed a performer who, like Salonga, has a promising future.