Jacintha Abisheganaden
| Jacintha Abisheganaden | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
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| Born |
3 October 1957 Singapore |
| Genres | Jazz, bossa nova |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, actress |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Associated acts |
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Jacintha Abisheganaden (born 3 October 1957), also known as Jacintha or Ja, is a Singaporean singer and actress. Jacintha studied at the National University of Singapore with a degree in arts, majoring in English literature. She is a founding member of performance company TheatreWorks.
Abisheganaden was born in 1957 to musician parents, the Sri Lankan classical guitarist Alex Abisheganaden, a recipient of the Cultural Medallion, and a Chinese mother who sang and played the piano. She studied piano and voice from her early teens and also sang in the Singapore Youth Choir, where she met her future collaborator Dick Lee. Growing up, Abisheganaden listened to a wide variety of music – not only vocal jazz and traditional pop, but also artists who ranged from Stevie Wonder to Joni Mitchell to South African singer Miriam Makeba. Abisheganaden was a big fan of Brazilian bandleader Sergio Mendes during her upbringing, and she has been quoted as saying that she was "obsessed" with Barbra Streisand.
Abisheganaden was educated at Marymount Convent School, Raffles Institution and the National University of Singapore, where she graduated with an honours degree in English. She then went to America where she studied creative writing at Harvard University.
Abisheganaden first came to prominence in 1976 when she won a local television talent contest, Talentime, singing jazz. She continued this winning streak in 1981, when she nabbed the Best Female Performer award for her role as Nurse Angamuthu in General Hospital at the Drama Festival.
Beginning in 1982, she worked as an arts reporter for The Straits Times, interviewing figures like Neil Sedaka, Cliff Richards and Sophia Loren. In 1982, she acted as Pala in Samseng and the Chettiar's Daughter, a Singapore Arts Festival production directed by John Tasker. She also acted in the Experimental Theatre Club's Terry Rex for the 1982 Singapore Drama Festival. In 1983, Abisheganaden released her debut album Silence on WEA, on which Dick Lee wrote nine out of the ten songs. The new wave album, containing a cover of the Bee Gees' "Run to Me", was reviewed positively, with The Straits Times calling it "probably the most impressive debut album...from a local singer." In the same year, Abisheganaden acted in the Experimental Theatre Club's production of Susan's Party, directed by Lim Siauw Chong, for the Drama Festival. In 1984, Abisheganaden starred in Dick Lee's play Bumboat—the title song, featuring the cast, was released as a record, with "Unsaid", a duet between Lee and Abisheganaden on the flipside. In 1985, Abisheganaden returned from the States temporarily (where she moved with her husband) to act in TheatreWorks' Love and Belacan, three playlets co-starring Lim Kay Tong. In 1986, Abisheganaden returned from the States permanently to record her second album, and played a series of live jazz shows at The Saxophone. In the same year, she sang and acted in Singapore Broadcasting Corporation's hour-long programme Destination Mauritius. In 1987, Abisheganaden was voted Best Performer at the fourth ASEAN Song Festival and released her second album Tropicana. She also acted as Zemphira in The Gypsies—The Tragedy of Zemphira, directed by William Teo. In 1988, she performed in TheatreWorks' musical Beauty World and acted as singer Josephine in Pam Gems' Piaf. In the same year, she was Singapore's representative at the Pax Musica cultural entertainment show in Singapore. In 1989, Abisheganaden and Dick Lee represented Singapore at the Asia Song Festival in Japan. She performed "Come Back to Me Tonight", which Lee composed for the event. In the same year, she acted in TheatreWorks' Mixed Signals, a three-act comedy written by Michael Chiang, and Jackson on a Jaunt by Eleanor Wong, staged as part of the double bill Safe Sex. She also performed with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta.
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