Lani Misalucha leaves no room for error
LANI Misalucha during rehearsals of her Valentine concert
For Lani Misalucha, rehearsing for a show can be as enjoyable—and, at times, just as challenging—as being onstage itself.
“The thrill of piecing together a repertoire is there. I love the creative process, making mistakes and fixing them. I’m usually more laid-back. But come show time, all the tension is there, you have to give your all—and there’s no room for error,” she told the Inquirer in an interview.
We sat down to observe the vocalist in her first rehearsal session for her two-night Valentine concert, “Love Catcher,” on Feb. 14 and 15 at Resorts World Manila’s Newport Performing Arts Theater (call 891-9999).
From the get-go, it was apparent that Lani was very hands-on. She didn’t merely run through the numbers, she also had ideas about each one—like, how to make the transition from her signature song, “Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin,” to “Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin,” a lot smoother.
“I want to be involved as much as possible,” said Lani who belted out the songs, with a microphone in one hand and a phone set on record in the other.
“This is for my homework! At home, I listen to the recording and look for things I could still improve on, and practice some more, especially the songs I’m not too familiar with,” she said.
“My weakness is memorizing lyrics… sometimes, I even forget the words to my own songs,” she quipped, laughing.
A show such as her coming concert usually requires three to four days of rehearsals, she related. Between rehearsals, Lani makes it a point to rest her voice. “Preparations can be more vocally strenuous, because you need to do several takes of the same songs over a period of four hours,” she pointed out. “Having enough sleep is very important.”
Meanwhile, after sharing the stage with Regine Velasquez, Martin Nievera and Gary Valenciano in a bigger Valentine show last year, Lani said she wanted to do something more intimate this time.
“I want to interact and chat with the fans; to feel their warmth,” she said. “But it’s also nerve-wracking, because it’ll be easier for them to catch the errors I make!”
“Love Catcher”—which will be for the benefit of the Cancer Alleviation Network on Care, Education and Rehabilitation—also features Baihana, the Philippine Madrigal Singers and Edward Benosa. Allan Policarpio
