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The Good Life: Editors’ Picks of the Week

This week’s Editors’ Picks consider two expressions of craft: the spectacular performances of Lea Salonga and the cast of Les Misérables, and Bulgari’s Vimini collection.
January 23, 2026

In every The Good Life: Editors’ Picks column, we round up our editors’ favorites—restaurants, cocktails, experiences, exhibits, and everything in between. Here is our latest list.

Les Misérables at The Theater at Solaire

GMG Productions

First watched Lea Salonga as Eponine on Broadway back in 1993. Visited her in London to watch her recreate the role on the West End, singing “On My Own” as she pined away for her clueless Marius. Later, she again broke the hearts of New York audiences as the hapless Fantine, a mother willing to go to all lengths and sink to all depths, to keep her child alive. 

And now Lea’s back home for the Manila leg of the Les Miserables World Tour Spectacular, going full circle as she plays Eponine’s mother, Madame Thénardier, the uncouth innkeeper’s wife. And she does it robustly, raunchily, with coarse aplomb and unbridled glee. Paired with Red Concepcion as the brash, toothless Thénardier, they bring the house down with hoots, laughter, and applause.

Filipino talents Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine, and Emily Bautista as Éponine, round off the show with their powerful vocals and expressive renditions. Geronimo Rauch won us over with his empathy and dramatic tenor voice as Jean Valjean. I must say though it was the severe intensity of Jeremy Secomb, who brilliantly plays the singleminded Javert, that kept me riveted throughout the show.

The full live orchestra atop the barricades, the lighting, and the projections complete the emotionally charged, engaging performance.

Heard the shows are completely sold out till the end of the tour, but who knows, you may just be able to do a Thénardier and pilfer one from an early bird buyer. – Yvette Fernandez, Chief of Editorial Content

More information at https://www.gmg-productions.com/

Bulgari Eternal: Vimini Collection

There were many stunning pieces on the stars at the recent Golden Globes, but what caught my attention was Lisa Manobal’s and black choker, an unexpected choice.

As it turns out, that night was the worldwide unveiling of Bulgari Eternal, the jewelry house’s reimagining of archival designs, and Bulgari Global Ambassador Lisa’s choker was from the launch of its first chapter, the Vimini collection. Featuring a woven pattern—”vimini” means “wicker” in Italian, an illusion cleverly executed by segments that taper at the ends and, in some pieces, linked together by round, pavé-set diamonds—the collection is inspired by a bracelet made by the maison in the 1940s. What’s even more unexpected is the use of an innovative Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating over gold, giving the design a bit of an edge.

Bulgari

I’d say that the collection, which also features earrings and rings that feature the same pattern in solid yellow gold, is poised to become a classic. – Kimberly Rocha-Delgado, Digital Editor

Learn more at https://www.bulgari.com/en-ph/

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