LEA SALONGA & SIR DAVID SUCHET

Tony Award-winning Disney and Broadway star Lea Salonga joins The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in singing cherished Christmas carols, hymns and holiday classics. In one highlight, she delivers a powerful performance of a World War II-era song in Tagalog, "Payapang Daigdig," which shares a message of finding peace and hope amidst devastation.

“I like to think that, in whatever language, music transcends every manmade barrier. There is one Filipino song that I have just been loving to perform that's about finding peace, quiet and hope amidst chaos and devastation, and it's one of the most beautiful Christmas songs of any language. It feels like a gift to have been there in such an incredible space, with everybody from the musicians to members of the crew and the little kids who get to dance, all of whom met us with kindness at every step.”

– Lea Salonga

Lea Salonga is a multiple award–winning actress and singer renowned across the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch. She is best known for her Tony Award–winning role in Miss Saigon. In addition to the Tony Award, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World Awards in the field of musical theater. 

Lea was awarded the Disney Legends Award in 2011, and fans of all ages recognize her as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan from Mulan and Mulan II. As a concert artist, Lea gave two tours—the “The Human Heart Tour” in 2019 and the “Dream Again Tour” in 2022—that saw sold-out audiences and record-breaking sales across North America and the United Kingdom. 

An avid techie and gamer, Lea divides her time between Manila, Philippines, with her family and the United States.

As the evening's narrator, Suchet powerfully recounts the story of Winton, an English stockbroker who worked tirelessly in the months before World War II to save endangered Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, orchestrating the safe passage of 669 refugees, with a known posterity of 6,000.

“I've appeared with other orchestras, but never in a space like this and never with a choir like this," said Suchet. "Yet the more I worked with everybody, including the wonderful staff and the crew, the space seemed to warm up. Being there with the Choir and the amazing talents that they give so generously from their hearts was tremendous. I know where that sound comes from, and if it doesn't come from the heart, then the audience doesn't feel it. The Tabernacle Choir makes us feel it, and it is such a privilege to be on the stage knowing that we are all together.”

– Sir David Suchet

David Suchet, eminent stage, screen, and television actor, is best known for his role as the engaging, suave, and precise Hercule Poirot in 70 episodes of Agatha Christie’sPoirot for over 24 years. Suchet has received many awards and nominations for his decades of work on stage. 

He has played characters such as Iago in Othello, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Caliban in The Tempest, Bolingbroke in Richard II, and Angelo in Measure for Measure. All were nominated for Olivier Best Actor Awards. 

In 2011 Queen Elizabeth awarded him Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in 2020 Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire for his services to drama and charity.