Lani Misalucha: The Star, Queen of the Big Dome

The Araneta Coliseum was filled to the rafters. Eleven thousand four hundred people (official count at the venue) trooped to The Big Dome Saturday night. A long line had formed as early as 4 p.m. People of all ages waited until the gates opened at past 7 p.m. And they waited again as the concert began about a few minutes late. But nobody seemed to mind.

Crossover, main sponsors of the event, had promoted in their usual style. They pulled out all the stops and gave notice to the entire country that they had a big show coming up. Posters, billboards, print ads, radio spots. Crossover spared no expense.

All this for Lani Misalucha? Lani Who?

It’s showtime!

Is this perhaps too dramatic a setting for a newcomer on the scene? The white chiffon-like drapes, shaped like wings on the proscenium, lend an air of elegance.

The Overture plays.

Then we hear The Voice, pure, cultivated, practiced, honed and tuned like a fine instrument and set free to explore notes and cadenzas never before attempted on a concert stage.

What a grand entrance!

On cue, the veils part, revealing an uncluttered stage, two huge white pillars stand in the background. We barely hear the voice – over the announcement. The crowd goes wild! Lani Misalucha!

She emerges from the bowels of the stage, wearing a spectacular gown (Rajo Laurel, take a bow!) with a starburst for a headdress. The crowd roars.

She sings Queen of the Night! And indeed she is!

Now out of her gossamer cocoon, dancers make off with Lani’s tiara. In a sparkling white jumpsuit, she sings about a Deeper Love. She dances!

There’s a natural radiance about Lani Misalucha. Her smile is like a flashing welcome sign. From across the footlights, she devours with her eyes. She exudes confidence but does not come across cocky. She shows a maturity that comes from years of struggling to be true to her craft, from being a wife and mother.

Sexy! That she is! And this she achieves without even trying. Without baring. Without flaunting her physical endowments. Without losing her sense of propriety. She just is! Beautiful without being pretty. A la Barbra Streisand.

Lani Misalucha connects. She reaches out to the very last row, up in the bleachers. People hang on her every word, on each note she sings, and she in turn becomes intoxicated by their frenzy.

"Can you please turn up the lights?" She wants to see her audience. Not an empty seat. Visibly overwhelmed, she greets. Magandang Gabi po! And when the reply comes back to her like thunder, in disbelief, she says "May tao nga." You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me from her second album, Tunay na Mahal comes next. The audience cheers.

One of the highlights (and there were many), is a rambunctious but sentimental journey with her sisters. May (a great singer in her own right and a comedienne to boot) and Karlyn (a pretty young mother, on the violin). May takes over the talking while Lani catches her breath. I Will Survive and It’s Raining Men take a new meaning with the trio. Thoroughly entertaining and heartwarming.

Malik, a new artist from the Artist Station stable is on stage for a handclapper version of It Was Not Me. (I felt like clapping my hands over my granddaughters’ ears during that number. Listen to those lyrics. No please don’t!).

"The day you came along with this song... A Million Thanks To You, My Love."

The spotlight picks up a vision from the past. There in a skin-tight evening gown, the pose, the stance, and yes, even the voice. It is vintage Pilita. Well, perhaps less voluptuous. But sensational just the same.

After a brief apology to the people concerned, Lani lovingly pays homage with an impeccable impression of the divas. She does Kuh Ledesma’s Till I Met You. Close your eyes, and it is Kuh. She mimics Jaya, singing Wala Na Bang Pag-ibig. Jaya was seated in the second row that night, flattered and impressed. Every nuance, every moment, and the curly variations of each note, is totally Jaya. There is Sharon Cuneta’s pa-tweetums rendition of Maging Sino Ka Man. Now it’s Regine Velasquez’s On the Wings of Love, a flower behind her ear, pleading for a harness to lift her up high.

But her best impression is Zsa Zsa Padilla! Singing Hiram,her voice suddenly takes on that velvety and beautifully - textured quality, exactly like the Divine Diva herself. The gentle touch, the sensual face. Dolphy would have considered coming up on stage for that one.

Finally, as herself, Lani follows with a beautiful rendition of Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin from All Heart her latest album.

The crowd loves My Heart Will Go On from the box office hit movie Titanic with Italian lyrics Il Mid Cuore.

Joey G. of Side A draws wild applause. After doing the theme from Superman. Lani joins him for duets of Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang and Aiza Seguerra’s monster hit Pagdating Ng Panahon.

Another solo by Lani: Ikaw Lang Ang Mamahalin. She is great with OPM.

Again Lani shares the spotlight with another entertainment luminary, Martin Nievera. Her introduction is full of eloquent superlatives. Finally, almost to the accompaniment of a dramatic drum roll, she announces: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Concert Queen, Martin Nievera (Freudian slip?)"

This brought the house down. Standing on a rising platform, the "red in the face" King of Late Night television tries to think of a way to wiggle out of that one. And wiggle he does, regal fashion, down the steps to the front of the stage. With typical Martin aplomb, he introduces his medley of hits. "This song is a Favorite of the Concert Queen." A tremendous hand!

Lani is back on the stage, this time a duet with Martin. They do The Prayer. The response is incredible.

(Author’s note: This of course was my favorite part of the show. But then, I am a passionate Martin Nievera fan. For me, he walks on water.)

Lani, Joey G. and Martin take the audience down memory lane with a medley of songs by the Air Supply.

The versatility of Lani Misalucha was never more evident than in her interpretation of Nessun Dorma, from the Puccini opera, Turandot. The song is typically an aria for a tenor (it is one of Luciano Pavarotti’s favorites.) But it becomes Lani aria, her voice turning operatic. She sounds like the prima donnas on the stage of La Scala de Milan or the Metropolitan Opera. This is definitely not an opera crowd, but they lap it up and give her a standing ovation. Her third for the night.

Predictably, Lani ends her repertoire with stirring songs made popular by Whitney Houston.

The night seems not to end. The applause is deafening. She obliges with encore after encore. Even after what should have been the last curtain call, there is more.

People remain on their feet, clapping, cheering! They call out her name. And Lani weeps for joy.

What a night!

What a woman!

Traffic is snarled for a couple of hours. It is a warm and humid night. But the crowds are happy. And those of us who had earlier asked, "Lani who?" come out of the coliseum totally enamored and mesmerized by Lani Misalucha, The Star!