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| re: Lloyd Webber's dramaturgy | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 03:24 pm EDT 04/20/20 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 03:14 pm EDT 04/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Lloyd Webber's dramaturgy - Michael_Portantiere 09:26 pm EDT 04/19/20 | |
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| I don't really think any of the roles in Sweeney are written for opera voices... just because opera voices CAN do them doesn't mean they are meant for that kind of voice, or, more to the point, the kind of singing that singers trained in opera bring to whatever role they do. And the best performances of the show I've seen and/or heard never had opera singers in the roles. At least something like Candide is written for or complimented by that kind of singing and ability and in many sections requires singers to do that kind of singing whether they are "opera singers" or not (ex: Barbara Cook). And even that isn't full defined as an opera! (And frankly I think in almost every single case I've seen, including the most recent example of Renee Fleming in Piazza, but also all the opera Sweeney's I've heard, when opera singers do roles like this their training and instinct block their ability to act the lyrics fully/appropriately and/or make it too difficult to properly hear the words that are much more important in these kinds of musicals. As wonderful as Bryn Terfel sounds doing some sections of some of those songs, I would trade him out for Cariou or even Hearn any day) |
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| re: Lloyd Webber's dramaturgy | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 05:51 pm EDT 04/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Lloyd Webber's dramaturgy - Chazwaza 03:14 pm EDT 04/20/20 | |
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| I agree with every word of your post immediately above, and I think it's likely that your excellent points are very much along the lines of what Sondheim may be thinking in terms of opera vs. musical. Whether or not it's primariy due to training, it does seem that relatively few opera singers have been effective in musical theater roles -- even in the sung sections, let alone the dialogue. For example, Terfel and Fleming are both considered in the first rank of acting ability in opera, but certainly not in musicals. Of course, there have been some notable exceptions, like Robert Weede :-) |
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