It’s just as well that the theater season in London’s West End and the rest of Europe has not picked up in full speed.
Singer-actor Gerald Santos, who has done two years of Miss Saigon, says he’s taking the downtime to rest his voice.
“Doing eight shows a week for two years straight strained my vocal cords. Singing in musical theater is a lot different from my turf, which is romantic ballads. In theater, we are trained to go big in everything that we do, and this hardened my voice. When I returned to Manila and reverted to singing my love songs and ballads, I noticed that my singing has changed. Now, I’m using this downtime to tune up my vocal cords,” he tells us one lunch hour at a Lipa City mall recently.
Not that Gerald isn’t anymore interested in pursuing a career in musical theater.
“I have made small inroads there, sayang naman. One of these days, I might send audition tapes again. But, while the theaters are still closed, I take the time to tune up my vocal cords.”
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After having been home-based for two years, Gerald, recently named brand ambassador of Contura Medica, looks forward to travelling again in May this year. He is heading to Vienna, Austria for a concert on May 14 with local artists.
He and his manager, Rommel Ramilo, are making a side trip to Italy for some little shows, in their own words.
“I really miss travelling,” says Gerald, who has done two films in the time of pandemic. He played opposite Claudine Barretto and Mark Anthony Fernandez in Deception.
Another film of his, Mamasapano, based on the real-life events that shocked the country in 2015, is eyeing a local film festival.
Gerald is also in the cast of "Pain," a sexy drama launching a new face, Angel Arcega, under the direction of Lester Dimaranan, who also directed Mamasapano.
"Pain," Mamasapano and are under the banner of Borracho Films, owned by Atty. Ferdinand Topacio.
Now that the live scene is warming up, Gerald is gearing up for another major concert, his fifth, in the third quarter of the year. He’s also slated to lead "Rise in Harmony," a dinner show that aims to raise funds for Good Samaritan Foundation, the charity arm of Mary Mediatrix Medical Center in Lipa City.
Towards the end of 2022, he’s set to stage in Manila another musical, this time, based on the story of King David.
Gerald is releasing a single in May in time for his birth anniversary on May 15. The pop-rock song, composed by Yugel Losorata, is "Ibulong Mo Na Sa Akin, to be released digitally by Polyeast Records.