Joanna Ampil: Crossing Musical Boundaries

Joanna Ampil

Hindi matatawaran ang galing ni Joanna Ampil sa teatro -- mula sa pagganap bilang Kim sa “Miss Saigon,” Eponine at Fantine sa “Les Miserabes,” Mary Magdalene sa “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Maria sa “Westside Story,” Sheila sa “Hair,” Maria sa “Sound of Music,” at nito lamang bilang Grizabella sa “Cats.”

Sa edad na 17 ay nadiskubre ang ngayon ay 39-taong-gulang na si Joanna ni Cameron Mackintosh, ang kilalang British theatrical producer, para gumanap bilang Kim  sa pamosong play na Miss Saigon.

Isang pangarap na natupad para kay Joanna ang pag-arte at pagkanta sa entablado na labis niyang ipinagpapasalamat. Aminado ang magandang theater actress na ang kanyang mga narating sa kanyang karera ay produkto ng disiplina at patuloy na paglinang ng kanyang kakayahan bilang alagad ng sining.

“Maraming disiplina ang kailangan, that’s number one. Never give up on your dream and do not take things personally.

 “And to keep improving on your craft, kailangan you are never satisfied. You are never contented with what you have and what you are. It really should be about constantly educating yourself to keep learning. It’s never a bad thing,” pahayag ni Joanna.

Kaya sa bagong self-titled album na inilabas ni Joanna sa ilalim ng Viva Records, maririnig ang pagbibigay niya ng saliw sa mga kantang isinulat ng ilang magagaling na kompositor sa bansa tulad nina Vehnee Saturno, Willy Cruz, Jimmy Borja at Tito Cayamanda na nagpapakita ng kanyang galing, lalim, at maemosyong pag-awit.

Carrier single ng album ang “Hanggang Saan” na isinulat ni Vehnee habang ang ilan pang kantang nakapaloob dito ay ang “The Only Place To Be,” “Smile,” “Kailangan Kita,” “Never Thought I’d Feel This Way Again” kasama si Martin Nievera, at “Kumusta Ka” na ang kanyang ka-duet naman ay si Mark Bautista.

“I have 11 songs. And I got 3 duets and few revivals but mostly are originals. Every single one is a choice of mine and of course Boss Vic. I have to fall in love with every single song,” pahayag ni Joanna.

“I like to be challenged, hopefully that’s a good thing because all the songs here are vocally challenging. I think I like belty songs, I do like to exercise my soprano tone and I’ve always been a belty singer. In fact, I’m a huge fan of Mariah Carey.”

Ipinagpasalamat din ni Joanna ang pagtanggap ng “Concert King” na si Martin sa kanyang paanyaya na maka-duet siya sa “Never Thought I’d Feel This Way Again” na komposisyon ng Italian pop star na si Tony Renis na sumulat din ng sikat na kantang “The Prayer.”

“I’m so lucky that Martin said yes to this. We’re corresponding via Facebook, Martin and I, and then he agreed. But because Martin was so busy and I was doing ‘Cats,’ he recorded it in Los Angeles and I recorded mine in Milan and some of the other lines in Los Angeles as well. It works. I mean, it sounds really good. I’m very happy with it!”

Inabot man ng dalawang taon ang paggawa niya ng bagong album ay masayang-masaya si Joanna sa kinalabasan nito dahil sa naging hands-on siya rito.

“It’s 2 years in the making and I’m very proud of it because they gave me the freedom to choose some of the songs as well and to be quite hands-on with this project,” pag-amin ng theater star.

Nakatakda rin niyang gawin ang movie adaptation ng musical play na “Larawan” na hango naman sa obra ni Nick Joaquin na “The Portrait of an Artist as a Filipino.”

“I’m doing “Larawan” next year. I’m very excited about it because I can get to work with the most amazing legends; Mr. C, Loy Arcenas is directing it, Celeste Legaspi who’s producing it along with my manager Girlie Rodis. I’m so happy to be part of this. I’m so lucky.”