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| Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: pookndale 10:08 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
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| We enjoyed the documentary "The Sound of My Voice", but were surprised at Kevin Kline's praise of Ronstadt. We saw the show 3 months after it transferred to the Uris, and during intermission, my wife and I talked about how we were surprised that Ronstadt really couldn't sing the score. I'm curious if we caught her on an off night or if the score was a problem for her. Thanks. | |
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| How was Pam Dawber? | |
| Last Edit: bobby2 11:48 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| Posted by: bobby2 11:47 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: Ronstadt in Pirates - pookndale 10:08 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
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| The LA cast was on Merv Griffin but she was sick and the understudy went on. Pity. I guess no one knew then that youtube would make these talk shows live forever. This must have been a fascinating show to frequent. So many star cast replacements. (any stories of who you saw?) I saw it twice as a kid. The first time I don't remember too well. Karla De Vito was Mabel. Estelle Parsons and Kevin Kline were both out which I was old enough to know was a disappointment. I saw it again (which I remember better) with Maureen McGovern, Patrick Cassidy, Gary Sandy and Kaye Ballard. All were good. I remember McGovern's coloratura was excellent but she didn't really look the role. Laurie Beachman was one of the daughters. I don't really remember her singing just that it was summer and she was VERY tan. Much too tan for a Brit! |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: Hair 10:26 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: Ronstadt in Pirates - pookndale 10:08 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
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| I never heard Ronstadt in Pirates, but I do love the Forbidden Broadway parody Poor Warbling Star I'll do my best Singing in chest And simply faking the rest |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: Delvino 10:34 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - Hair 10:26 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| Well, it may be clever, but it wasn't true. If she lowered keys on sections like "Go ye Heroes!" she didn't fake the soprano range. The discovery of that part of her voice was one of the events at the time, which all of the reviews commented on. This pop belt knocked the Mabel songs quite literally out of the park. Listen to the recordings -- both B'way and film soundtrack -- readily available on Spotify. Ronstadt sang every note of the coloratura. Did so at every performance. | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 12:44 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 12:38 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - Delvino 10:34 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| I saw her perform the role in Central Park, and she was just magical whenever she sang. I had a feeling she had the soprano notes in her when I heard her recording of "Blue Bayou" as the way she sang her final high note was quite beautiful. It hinted that she had a soprano range, which she certainly exhibited well in "Pirates". That was a terrific production, and while I enjoyed Kevin Kline, Rex Smith, Tony Azito and George Rose, it was my distinct pleasure for my only opportunity to see the great Patricia Routledge on stage as Ruth, who sang and acted superbly. They are all on a recorded video performance. | |
| Link | Linda Ronstadt - "Blue Bayou" |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 10:16 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 10:14 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: Ronstadt in Pirates - pookndale 10:08 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
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| I lived on the Upper West Side during the park run, and in addition to seeing it in the Delacorte, would walk over at night and listen to the show. Ronstadt was superb every time. When the show moved to B'way, I thought they allowed her to sing a bit more of the score in her belt, but I could be wrong (and will be corrected I'm sure). In any case, she was stunning on B'way, her "Poor Wandering One" and act one close superb. I never heard anyone find her vocals lacking -- fully accepting the amplification -- even if she was never considered anything close to an actor. She had maybe two lines that weren't sung, and their flat amateurishness ended up adding to the charm of the whole piece. Ronstadt's use of her voice was expert, and when she was singing, any awkwardness vanished. | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: waterfall 11:51 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - Delvino 10:14 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| How interesting. My experience almost exactly mirrors yours, Delvino, up to and including listening from outside often at Delacorte. I worked on the Broadway version up to opening, and I'd also agree that she did belt a bit more on Broadway. | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 07:55 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 07:55 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - waterfall 11:51 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| There's an argument to be made that the way Ronstadt blended the two voices -- her pop chest voice a glorious and supple instrument -- marked the event. She was a pristine, angelic Mabel capable of revealing another side of herself solely through that famous belt. When she let it loose in the second act, the justification for her casting only tripled. It's a unique performance, a masterful singer cleverly expanding and yet fully exploiting -- in the best sense -- her own vocal reputation. The other Mabels sang well, but only Ronstadt created that meta event. | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 12:36 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 12:34 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: Ronstadt in Pirates - pookndale 10:08 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
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| She sang the score quite well, IMO. (I saw the show at the Uris as well.) Some keys were changed to better tailor the role to the strongest parts of her range, but the topmost notes (i.e. in "Poor Wand'ring One" and in other significant spots) were as written. As a high school student back then, who was already well-acquainted with Pirates as written, I was both amazed and delighted by the new musical adaptation, and that, yes, Ronstadt could sing it. Though I still think the show-stealer was Tony Azito as the Sergeant. :-) I did not see Ronstadt in La Boheme - but from what I have heard about it, it does sound like her doing that role was a mistake. |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 01:00 am EST 01/15/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - Chromolume 12:34 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| I don't think she sang original key of Poor Wondering One. Can we get official confirmation on that? | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 01:28 pm EST 01/15/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - KingSpeed 01:00 am EST 01/15/22 | |
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| PARTS of it were transposed. The coloratura sections were in the original key. | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 01:57 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - Chromolume 12:34 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| Having seen the gorgeously wonderful , feisty Karla DeVito twice as Mabel, I nonetheless wore out the lp/cassette tapes of that production, loving Ronstadt on both the album & in the film. Had the worst crush on Kevin Kline, & was envious when I read he had briefly dated Linda Ronstadt early on in the production!!! | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Last Edit: JereNYC 10:03 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 10:02 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - Snowgrace 01:57 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| I'm not an expert and I never saw the production live, but, on the cast recording, it sounds to me like some of Ronstadt's high notes got some help in the studio. There is sometimes a "tinny" sound that doesn't sound naturally produced. That could very well be the recording itself. | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: bobby2 02:23 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - Snowgrace 01:57 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| There's a dvd of the production in Central Park if anyone is interested. Ronstadt sound great. No surprise but she's just fantastic in the belting parts (Go ye heros go and die!) |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: Delvino 10:36 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - bobby2 02:23 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| I saw her in the park, and a family member has the DVD of the performance which is not in any way sweetened. She didn't fake the music, and used both parts of her range effectively. | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: young-walsingham 03:17 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - bobby2 02:23 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| A great DVD including Patricia Routledge as a super Ruth | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: tmdonahue 08:15 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - young-walsingham 03:17 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| I heard Ronstadt in the Park. Her voice was lovely. Her stage presence was somewhat tentative. You know, all you Savoyards out there, they interpulated a couple ballads for Ronstadt to sing from other G&S operettas. | |
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| re: Ronstadt in Pirates | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 12:53 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - tmdonahue 08:15 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| they interpolated a couple ballads for Ronstadt to sing from other G&S operettas. No, only one - Sorry Her Lot. The other added piece was the patter trio (not a ballad) from Ruddigore, which Ronstadt was not in. |
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| Listen to "Sorry Her Lot" | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 10:41 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 10:40 am EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Ronstadt in Pirates - tmdonahue 08:15 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| They interpolated "Sorry Her Lot" from H.M.S. Pinafore, though it didn't make it into the film. It's one of my favorite performances on the recording, and you can hear how expertly she negotiated the ruminative part of the song in her classic rock voice timbre while still reaching the sweet, ethereal high notes at the end. To me, it's the piece of the score -- if not from Pirates -- that explains what she accomplished in the production. She was still Ronstadt, which made it all the more thrilling. | |
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| re: Listen to "Sorry Her Lot" | |
| Posted by: bicoastal 06:22 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: Listen to "Sorry Her Lot" - Delvino 10:40 am EST 01/14/22 | |
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| I remember Ronstadt at the time saying that adding "Sorry Her Lot" was key to her accepting the role because she had grown up listening to G&S and adored that song. Pity (and ironic) that it was cut from the film (which I love). The Broadway recording is one of my desert island CDs--I never tire of listening to it. Also, true story, when the cast appeared on Saturday Night Live, Ronstadt said she would only do it if they announced the appearance as "the cast of Pirates of Penzance" and NOT "Linda Ronstadt and the cast of....", out of respect for everyone she was working with. Sure enough, the week before they announced it as "Linda Ronstadt and the cast of..." and she immediately canceled. It took a lot of work for them to get her back on board, including an apology to the cast. Gotta love her for that! (PS Her autobio is a great read, 90% focused on the music and musicians that influenced her and that she played with.) | |
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| re: Listen to "Sorry Her Lot" | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 07:58 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 07:57 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Listen to "Sorry Her Lot" - bicoastal 06:22 pm EST 01/14/22 | |
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| And the documentary about her full career, The Sound of My Voice, is just wonderful, with Pirates and Boheme receiving earned attention. | |
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