Topic who Sondheim would like to write a show around from the General Chit-Chat forum.
Post a reply or begin a new topic.
View other threads or jump to a different forum.
Go to page: Next or 1, 2
|
| Author | Topic: who Sondheim would like to write a show around |
|---|
Scottie
Registered User
Registered:
3/6/2006
From:
Edinburgh, Scotland | posted: 5/7/2008 at 8:43:44 AM ET
Q: Who is the one broadway star you would like to write a show around?????
Sondheim: Unfortunately, there are very few stars, there are many very talented actors and musicians in musicals. A star is usually defined as someone who can sell tickets. And, unless they come from the world of television or movies, there are very few. Now, if you're asking whom I would like to write for, I can name a number of people. They are mostly people I have worked with before, such as Bernadette Peters Angela Lansbury, Mandy Patinkin, Donna Murphy, Raul Esparza. I could go on with others because most of the actors I have worked with are performers I would like to work with again.Ther eare also a number of performers who I have not worked with that I would like to. They are numerous, and I am not being coy. Theatre is filled with sensationally talented singer-actors of both sexes.
full Q&Aatdresscircle.co.uk
"There’s a lot in the world for us to turn our attention to — helping people, helping animals, and helping animals help people." ... Bernadette Peters, August, 2007
|  leebee
Registered User
Registered:
1/19/2004
Fav. BP Song: Being Alive
Fav. BP Show: Sunday In The Park With George
| posted: 5/7/2008 at 3:52:20 PM ET
That was a great Q&A. A stage musical of Groundhog Day!
|  Colleen
Registered User
Registered:
9/20/2006
From:
Michigan | posted: 5/7/2008 at 5:01:53 PM ET
Aww...he mentioned Bernadette first. If only he would write a new musical with her as the star!
Did Peters, whose character is a Broadway baby transplanted to Ireland, have any qualms about playing a lesbian, even in a family-friendly movie? "I was more nervous about playing Jewish," she notes, adding her trademark giggle. "And having to be an actress who read Chekhov."---this just cracks me up
| Scottie
Registered User
Registered:
3/6/2006
From:
Edinburgh, Scotland | posted: 5/9/2008 at 8:58:15 AM ET
Hah! Now someone on the dress circle board is actually claiming that Bernadette is "deteriorating" and has to "distort her vowels" to get a good vocal line. Grrr, how very dare he! 
dresscircle.co.uk
"There’s a lot in the world for us to turn our attention to — helping people, helping animals, and helping animals help people." ... Bernadette Peters, August, 2007
| Karen
Registered User
Registered:
5/3/2002 | posted: 5/9/2008 at 10:45:51 AM ET
That's a great forum. The people posting are really funny. But what does it mean to distort all your vowels in order to get a vocal line? Could you explain what that means exactly? Maybe give an example so I can picture what's being talked about.
| Scottie
Registered User
Registered:
3/6/2006
From:
Edinburgh, Scotland | posted: 5/9/2008 at 12:40:12 PM ET
The dress circle forum is very interesting a lot of the time. These little theatre-mad boys know so much ... for instance, in that same thread, I've just learned that "women over the age of 60 should never be encouraged to wear costumes that show their thighs".
It's also fascinating to learn that Dame Julie Andrews started deteriorating years ago and "has not sung well since the mid-70s" . I quickly put on the nearest Dame Julie recording I could find, and I must admit I definitely heard a fair bit of "vowel distortion" when she got to the song on Track 8 "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".
"There’s a lot in the world for us to turn our attention to — helping people, helping animals, and helping animals help people." ... Bernadette Peters, August, 2007
| Karen
Registered User
Registered:
5/3/2002 | posted: 5/9/2008 at 1:06:58 PM ET
LOL! But is there an explanation for that concept or is it just a complete invention?
|  Bernadette-Fanatic
Registered User
Registered:
6/11/2002 | posted: 5/9/2008 at 1:34:26 PM ET
Vowel distortion simply means that you modify the sound of a vowel so that it's easier to sing. For example: In Rose's Turn at the very end where Rose sings "FOR MEEEE!"... some singers don't like to sing the "ee" vowel because it's not the easiest vowel to sing on, so they sing "FOR MAAAY". Listen, and you'll hear it in a lot of songs (Dreamgirls: "You're gonna looove... MAAAAY!")
And Bernadette does do that. It's very subtle sometimes, and other times it's blatant (she's started singing "For MAAAY" in Rose's Turn now). It's not a good or a bad thing.. it's just something singers do so that songs fit their voices. As Bernadette's gotten older, she can't sing certain songs like she used to. So, with the help of what I can only assume is a very knowlegable voice teacher, she tweaks certain vowels ever so slightly and BOOM. No problem. Easy to sing, not hard on the vocal chords, comes out beautifully.
The voice is such a sensitive instrument that even the smallest adjustment in stance, placement, or vowel shape can make a world of difference. A lot of my friends have made fun of Bernadette when they see her singing "Unexpected Song" at the keychange when she starts belting "IIIII have neeeever felt like this" because she sways and twists her body back and forth. That's because she's using her body as leverage to make it EASIERto sing those high notes with a full belt and to make it sound effortless.
So my point.. hahaha... is that yes, she modifies her vowels. So does Renee Flemming, Patti Lupone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and every other singer under the sun. Some people...
|  moljul
Registered User
Registered:
4/2/2001
From:
New York
Fav. BP CD: I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Fav. BP Song: Dublin Lady
| posted: 5/9/2008 at 1:54:29 PM ET
Really wonderful explanation. Thank you. Yes, some vowels or notes on certain lyrics need to be adapted depending on the note or the parameters of the singer's voice. Perfect example from my singing past: Ask an alto to sing the Hallelujah Chorus and then ask a first soprano to sing her part, especially toward the end. You'll find very "different" lyrics.
"Particular mention must be made of Bernadette Peters, who turns up briefly in a sort of sparkly Glinda the Good costume. She's the reluctant muse sent to help Alice with her writing. The muse is dressed like Oz, sounds like Queens and behaves like a bored student adviser." Alice Film Review, The New York Times, December 25, 1990
"I'm one star away from Dolly Parton ... and Raymond Massey is between us. I hope we don't suffocate him." Bernadette Peters receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, April 24, 1987
| Karen
Registered User
Registered:
5/3/2002 | posted: 5/9/2008 at 1:57:23 PM ET
Thanks. Great explanation!
| Scottie
Registered User
Registered:
3/6/2006
From:
Edinburgh, Scotland | posted: 5/9/2008 at 4:42:48 PM ET
Opera singers are trained to pronounce vowels in a different way, for instance (from memory) E would be more like aay, I would be more like aah, and U would be more like oooh, this is done (especially in higher voices)for harmonic reasons and also for phonetic reasons in coping with different operatic languages (the mouth shape matters too). I lived with an opera singer for eight years and grew used to hearing that vowel change excerise every day. Bernadette's vowel changes in S&D and Gypsy are more likely to be the result of a vocal coach's expertise rather than anything at all negative. Women's voices last much longer than men's ... if they're looked after.
"There’s a lot in the world for us to turn our attention to — helping people, helping animals, and helping animals help people." ... Bernadette Peters, August, 2007
| Anonymous
Anonymous Poster
From Internet Network:
64.85.229.x | posted: 5/9/2008 at 4:50:49 PM ET
sorry to change tho topic but in bollywood the movies are mostly musicals and they use playback singers to dub the songs. there is one playback artist name Lata Mangashkar and she has sung a reported 40,000 recorded songs in 21 different languages. How bad or good is this for the voice?
thanks
|  Christina81
Registered User
Registered:
4/10/2008
From:
Long Beach, CA
Fav. BP Song: "Time Heals Everything"
Fav. BP CD: Annie Get Your Gun
Fav. BP Show: Into The Woods
Fav. BP Character: Margo Stockard from the tv movie Prince Charming
| posted: 5/10/2008 at 12:16:29 AM ET
If you listen to Liza, Judy, and Barbra sing, they also distort their vowels. It doesn't matter to me, one way or the other, how they pronounce their vowels, as long as the quality of their voice is still there....and Bernadette has it!
"If you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it."
| Scottie
Registered User
Registered:
3/6/2006
From:
Edinburgh, Scotland | posted: 5/10/2008 at 7:29:58 AM ET
Yes, interesting that those truly great singers, Judy and Barbra also distort their vowels. Surely it leads to the conclusion that it's the right thing to do? Having said that, Judy probably broke every rule in the singing book. She not only mucked around the vowel sounds but would even leave out the end of words! But who cares, she was pure genius .... Sorry, I had to leave Liza out of those "great singers " I know I'm probably a voice in the wilderness, but I simply cannot stand her voice. But, on the positive side, I vehemently encourage her to go on baring her "over 60 year old" thighs in public. 
"There’s a lot in the world for us to turn our attention to — helping people, helping animals, and helping animals help people." ... Bernadette Peters, August, 2007
| leebee
Registered User
Registered:
1/19/2004
Fav. BP Song: Being Alive
Fav. BP Show: Sunday In The Park With George
| posted: 5/12/2008 at 4:52:25 PM ET
Ultimately, it comes down to - what sounds good to you? Singing is physical, but it shouldn't be treated completely like an athletic event. A violinist that could play metronome perfect 64th notes for 48 bars would be mighty impressive, but is it musical? Would it be pleasurable to listen to or would you want to hear it again to feel a certain emotional response? Technique is technique, it is a set of tools to enable you to create, it isn't the creation itself.
That said, there are performers with seemingly very limited technique who create wonderful art within their own limitations. It is not really fair to discredit someone who can create something wonderful just because the proper paperwork wasn't filled out and stamped for approval. Like a colleague of mine who whined "oh I hate Miles Davis, his armature was all wrong, he always got flat on the high notes, his posture was lousy for breath support.." and I'm thinking, "yeah, but Kind of Blue is a pretty awesome record!"
Bernadette sings beautifully these days. I often find that I kind of prefer her more "recent" performances of songs to the decade old recordings of the same songs. If her voice has deepened a little bit and if the higher register takes a little more belt to make it more believable, then let's hear it, I say. It's not a contest between the 30 year old Bernadette and the today Bernadette. Performers with long careers bring us a nuance and perspective that can only come with years of dedication.
| Scottie
Registered User
Registered:
3/6/2006
From:
Edinburgh, Scotland | posted: 5/12/2008 at 6:13:33 PM ET
'Couldn't agree more. All we have to do is listen to a Billie Holiday album to understand what makes a great singer. It isn't the technique or precision of her voice, it's what she does with it.
"There’s a lot in the world for us to turn our attention to — helping people, helping animals, and helping animals help people." ... Bernadette Peters, August, 2007
| Go to page: Next or 1, 2
Other threads: « Next | Previous » |
Do you think this topic is inappropriate? Vote it down. After a thread receives a certain amount of negative votes it will be automatically locked.
Please contact us with any concerns you might have.
|
