WATCH: Esang sings 'Castle on a Cloud'

MANILA - With no less than Broadway star Lea Salonga believing in her talent, Esang de Torres, one of the finalists of the second season "The Voice Kids," aced her audition piece that landed her a role in the Manila run of "Les Miserables."

On the April 8 and April 9 shows of the acclaimed Cameron Mackintosh musical, De Torres will join the cast as a young Cosette --a break she had been dreaming of getting.

"Dati ko pa po ito pinapangarap," she said in an interview with ABS-CBN News' MJ Felipe. "Sinasabi ko po na sana mangyari sa akin iyong nangyari kay Coach Lea."

Prior to being cast as Kim in the worldwide debut of West End's "Miss Saigon," Salonga starred in a series of local stagings of international productions. In 1980, she bagged the title role in the Manila run of "Annie."

"I'm very thankful and I'm very grateful, unang una po kay Lord kasi tinupad niya po ang pangarap ko na maging Little Cosette sa Les Miserables," De Torres said.

"Second po, sa family ko dahil bata pa lang po ako ay sinuportahan na nila ako. Third po, kay coach Lea at kay mommy Ligaya [Salonga's mother] for always supporting me," she added.

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De Torres also shared the advice Salonga gave her for her first role in a musical. "Dapat po you need to focus," she said.

"Dapat po mayroon kayong discipline. You need to be humble. Tapos po dapat galingan ko lang po kasi bihira lang daw po iyong ganito," she added.