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Emotional Lea Salonga opens up about mental toll of quarantine due to pandemic

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/tvpatrol/04/03/lea.jpg"/><figcaption>Broadway star Lea Salonga turns emotional during an April 2 Facebook Live concert, as she opens up about her mental health in relation to the coronavirus crisis. <em>Facebook: Lea Salonga</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — In a rare moment, Lea Salonga turned emotional during an hour-long stream that marked her first live performance during the coronavirus quarantine, as she opened up about how the crisis has taken a toll on her mental health.</p><p>Salonga was among the artists lined up on Thursday as part of the &quot;Bayanihan, Musikahan&quot; online concert series, which aims to raise funds for healthcare workers and vulnerable sectors.</p><p>In between numbers — which ranged from <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/04/03/20/p1m-in-1-hour-lea-salonga-wows-with-facebook-live-concert-for-benefit-of-covid-19-frontliners">OPM classics to her Broadway repertoire</a> — Salonga spoke with her audience about her participation in the program spearheaded by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab.</p><p>Aside from bringing aid to frontliners and those worst hit by the pandemic, &quot;Bayanihan, Musikahan&quot; is also helping artists on a personal level, Salonga said.</p><p>&quot;The one thing that kind of happened once the quarantine was called — and that&#x27;s a lot of us performers, most especially those freelancers who live from talent fee to talent fee — all of a sudden, means of livelihood are gone. For me, personally, I find that being able to sing for an audience of one, or a hundred, or a thousand, it&#x27;s somehow integral to my mental health,&quot; she explained.</p><p>The first quarter of the year has seen successive cancellations of shows for Salonga. Before the pandemic, they were due to the Taal eruption in January.</p><p>&quot;It just felt out of tune or off-key to have a celebration while a lot of people were suffering, and I tended to agree,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;However, if I go through an extended period of time without me doing what this is that I love the most — doing theater or a live gig — it messes with my head. When I don&#x27;t have an outlet — a creative, artistic outlet — it kind of drives me nuts,&quot; Salonga said.</p><div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/153394836994/videos/682940615808347" data-width="auto"> </div><p>The stage veteran, whose career spans over four decades, then tried to hold back tears as she shared the relief that &quot;Bayanihan, Musikahan&quot; has afforded her.</p><p>&quot;Yes, we are helping and we&#x27;re sounding the alarm for people to donate and give, but Mr. C, you have no idea how many of us are getting helped also,&quot; she said, referring to Cayabyab.</p><p>Addressing her audience, Salonga added: &quot;Probably, to a bunch of you, it&#x27;s kind of OA — &#x27;Why is she of all people crying about this?&#x27; It&#x27;s not about money, it&#x27;s not about what we get to earn. It&#x27;s not that. It&#x27;s when we&#x27;re able to exercise and express and share what God-given talent we have, it gives us an internal equilibrium.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Being able to sing, being able to do this, it&#x27;s been important. It&#x27;s great that all of us have been given an avenue and a place to play and share what we do, because not having been able to do it, in the way that we&#x27;ve gotten used to, it is hard,&quot; she said.</p><p>Salonga, who raised over P1 million just within the hour of her stream, said she plans to hold another online concert under &quot;Bayanihan, Musikahan.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m thankful. This has just been an incredible release of emotion, of pent-up energy. Times like this don&#x27;t make me happy, but I&#x27;m just grateful that we kind of have this, that we&#x27;re able to sing, we&#x27;re able to perform and express ourselves, and be able to help other people,&quot; she said.</p>

<p>In a rare moment, Lea Salonga turned emotional during an hour-long stream that marked her first live performance during the coronavirus quarantine, as she opened up about how the crisis has taken a toll on her mental health.</p>

In a rare moment, Lea Salonga turned emotional during an hour-long stream that marked her first live performance during the coronavirus quarantine, as she opened up about how the crisis has taken a toll on her mental health.