THE man who first played Tan Sri P. Ramlee in Istana Budaya 15 years ago is back in action, this time in the prestigious Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) specially to serenade lovebirds for Valentine's Day.
Sean Ghazi will be delivering several romantic songs from Broadway, Hollywood and homegrown musical gems, accompanied by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) in 'A Valentine's Serenade', a two-hour concert which begins at 8.30pm on Feb 17.
AMOROUS SELECTION
Sean and the MPO, which is helmed by Resident Conductor Gerard Salonga, will also be joined by popular singers Ida Mariana, Nikki Palikat and Izen Kong.
They are set to spellbind audiences with songs celebrating love with a touch of orchestral magic, such as 'Love Story' (Where Do I Begin), 'Last Night', (They Long To Be) 'Close To You', 'Somewhere Out There', 'Love Changes Everything', 'If We Were In Love', 'Cinema Paradiso' and 'Love Me Tender', sprinkled with some Broadway hits from 'Wicked', 'Funny Girl', 'Les Miserables' and 'Phantom of the Opera'.
A TREAT
In a recent interview, Sean said that it was always a treat to perform with the MPO at DFP.
"This will be my third time with the MPO at the venue. Out of my last two experiences, the 'MPO Goes Broadway' concert in January 2023 is my fondest memory.
"It still felt like we were just coming out of Covid-19 and the response from the audience that night was genuine and grateful — and we could see people in tears... the power of music!
EVERGREEN STANDARDS
"This time around it is a mixture of Broadway and all time evergreen standards, all aimed at providing a romantic experience for Valentine's Day."
Sean is delighted to once again team up with his close friend and soul mate Ida.
He said: "The key to my awesome chemistry with Ida is a mixture of our '
'kooky' personalities, our vocal suitability or 'ngam-ness', and our love for the same kind of music."
ITALIAN SONGS
He also said that he was learning his lyrics, rehearsing almost daily for a month now, and staying healthy with sleep, workouts, eating well and drinking lots of water.
"There will be several new songs and even a couple of them in Italian," said Sean.
The singer also said that he truly enjoys working with conductor Salonga and the MPO.
"Of course with an orchestra this size, you get reminded of what it takes to corral nearly 70 musicians to put on a show so it is nice to be part of this mechanism."
HOLLYWOOD BOWL
When asked about his latest musical developments, Sean said that he may have been under the radar last year, but has never left the musical world.
"I do perform on occasion in Singapore, where there is more of a home-gown musical theatre scene."
His all-time favourite show is singing at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles for an audience of 18,000 people with Pink Martini. "That was pretty surreal," he said.
"And my shows at my nightspot in Bangsar, BoboKL can be super powerful and all immersive given the intimacy of such a tiny space. My recent re-stage of 'Bobo On Broadway' remains a top-of-the-pops for me and my career."
WEST END
Sean has played the leading roles in London's West End stage through 'Miss Saigon', 'Rent' and 'The King & I'.
He has also acted in 'P. Ramlee The Musical' at Istana Budaya and is the lead singer and creator of 'Tarakucha! a Big Band' with a Malaysian twist.
The first Malaysian to play a leading role in a musical at London's West End stage, Sean is the recipient of a Cameronian Arts Award for his concert revue 'I Have Dreamed – An Evening With Sean Ghazi', and he has also won the Anugerah Industri Muzik award for Best New Artiste for his debut album 'Semalam' in 2007 which reimagined Malay classics with big band and orchestral arrangements.
CABARET
His most recent roles have been in Singapore as George in 'La Cage Aux Folles' for Wild Rice and Caldwell B. Cladwell in 'Urinetown – The Musical' for Pangdemonium.
Sean's film work includes supporting roles in 'C.O.G.' directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, 'Anna & The King' and 'Spilt Gravy On Rice' which won Best Film at the 2022 Festival Filem Malaysia.
KEBAYA JAZZ
Ida is also a singer with Tarakucha! and is also known as the Queen of Kebaya Jazz, a genre she founded 12 years ago.
A theatre graduate from the University of New South Wales, Australia, Ida is adept at singing in many languages and fans will remember her vocal prowess and presence in 'Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical' at Istana Budaya in 2005.
Tickets for 'A Valentine's Serenade' are priced between RM218 and RM488. They can be purchased at 03-2331 7007.