Dominican soprano Stephany Ortega opened the first of two performances of her concert "Mi Vida en Canciones" (My Life in Songs) on Friday night at the Café Teatro Juan Lockward, inside the Teatro Nacional in Santo Domingo's Distrito Nacional. Ortega, who is based in Luxembourg, was accompanied by pianist and musical director Manuel Tejada.
Audience members received a card reading a welcome message from Ortega thanking them for coming and wishing them an enjoyable show. About twenty minutes past 10 p.m., she opened with "Derroche," written by singer-songwriter Manuel Jimenez, filling the venue with a romantic atmosphere.
Repertoire and band
Ortega walked in through the audience wearing an emerald green dress, red jewelry and gold shoes before reaching the stage. She performed for just over an hour alongside Manuel Tejada on keyboard, Gonzalo Frometa on drums and Diego Payan on bass.
Ortega, who speaks six languages, built the show around a journey through emotions, with each song introduced by a personal story. One of the first came when she recalled a boyfriend who once stood her up on the day they were supposed to attend the Festival Presidente to see her favorite artist, Ricky Martin, meaning she never got to sing his song "Vuelve" in front of him. This time, she performed it herself, backed by a voice she moved between precise technique and raw emotion. Ortega previously won the Premio Soberano for Lyric Singer.
A song's history and a proud family
Singer-songwriter Jose Antonio Rodriguez was among the audience members. Before performing "Para quererte," Manuel Tejada recalled that the song won the Festival Internacional de la Cancion de Vina del Mar in 1986 and that he and Rodriguez had written it together.
Ortega's parents sat in the front row, with her father occasionally lifting his phone to record or photograph the performance. The artist was set to give the second and final performance of "Mi Vida en Canciones" on Saturday, August 1, at 10:00 p.m.
The set list for the first show included "Derroche," "Vuelve," "Mi historia entre tus dedos," "Mediterraneo," "'O sole mio," "Por amor," "Turista," "Amor prohibido," "Con te partiro," "Confieso," "La fuerza del corazon," "Para quererte," "No entiendo," "Tu falta de querer," "Creo en mi" and "Feeling Good."
