I saw Betty Buckley in this role, and she was fantastic! Patti is the true original and should have opened the role on Broadway. I saw Glen Close in the revival... she was okay.
Let's just enjoy all of the performances of this song. Every singer brings their own approach & feeling to it. That's what theater is about. You are moved more or less by a particular approach to the song. I like all of them.
That's the beauty of theatre. I worked professionally as an actor and director for about 30 years -- and if we all believed "there's only one way to play a role" theatre would never happen. Everybody brings their own shadings and their own interpretation -- or else they're imitating someone else's previous work. I get tired of hearing that kind of thing , that "the only way to play it is the way ___________ played it" or "the way ___________ sang it". When I direct, if there's a movie or a cast album, one of my "first-meeting-drill" things I always say is "forget it! we're here to find YOUR performance". :)
I love Lupone and saw her in London in this before she was fired. Vocally it was sensational, but I always thought at the time she wasn't quite old enough to understand Norma. She had so much fire, but she needed to be more scared than bold in the role. Conversely, I got to see both Buckley and Close in the role also, and although her singing isn't quite Buckley or Lupone, Close's performance as Norma was the most moving. You really got to understand what a scared, fragile person Norma was supposed to be. But all three performances are like having three diffrerent shaped diamonds-all beautiful, just different.
She had a contract that stated that she would only do the london run if he gave her broadway also and then he hired Glen Close without telling her so she found out through a gossip column.
Jared Goerke She was FIRED! And I predicted it from the second she was cast. I HATE when people are so adoring they believe anything. Ms. LuPone was FIRED....for a much more expensive star who stayed with the show half as long as she would have. Ms. LuPone received a hefty settlement for her FIRING....and she joked about using the money being used to build a pool. This is painful. Buckley outsings everybody by a mile.
Listen --- I have had the great fortune of seeing, watching and hearing this amazing artist in Les Miserables, Evita, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, and Anything Goes. Not boasting or bragging just so lucky. I've seen these shows more than once with others and each has their own nuance and style and skills --- Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige, Angela Lansbury, Glenn Close. All great artists -- great material and Patti Lupone shines! Then they all shine as bright. From a small London West End theatre to a stadium-sized Shubert -- don't miss the opportunity!
What a pro! She nailed it!!! Betty Buckley will always be the definitive Norma for me. But LuPone gave em chills., Very glad to see this. Hope there is a Broadway revival with her as Norma. It almost seems inevitable.
Saw miss lupone on her last matine she was amazing and yes as she said in her memoirs she came out to entertain the theatre while they sorted out the problems. She is a total star and doesn't get enough credit for this role!!
...a senhora Close mais parece uma velhinha do Texas num assalto a uma diligência...não foi à partitura pq canta mal...sua voz é de falsete...depois está overacting...na cena final parece possuida no corrimão...mais parece um animal que esteve em cativeiro e de repente abrem a porta e sai sem norte nem para onde deve ir...chega a ser patético...a pior de todas...mas é Gleen Close...
She is still sublime. Loved Glenn in the show years ago. But never caught Lupone if she did broadway. Glenn burned in my mind as Norma Desmond. Lupone will always be my Evita. So everyone wins and gets what they want.
I have heard other women take on this role but none of them can match Patti.If you can ,get hold of the London Original cast album and hear her sing, its spine tingling....especially A new way to dream.
Because of Glee I found this. Very moving and a very beautiful lady. I really liked this version. Chris Colfer's version is my wake up music and I'm inspired. Thanks for uploading this.
In the UK we had Faith Brown on the national tour. She was stunning - got ovations everywhere, but of course not known at all in the USA. Lupone is a great artist.
I feel like she had trouble with this performance because the conductor rushed the tempo. You can see in her eyes occasionally "WTF why are we going so fast?!"
I was lucky enough to see miss lupone in sunset and she really was phenominal!! this performance really didn't show her off at all. in the show she brought the house down on more than one occasion. I guess sunset is one of those shows where you hate the lead actress or love them. I saw sunset 3 times after miss lupone left. with miss buckley, miss paige and with miss clark. and miss clark was really the worst of them all! just my opinion xxx but much love to all my fellow sunset fans out there xxx wish id seen ria jones in the latest production xxxxx
This was recorded at the BBC television centre in London in the early nineties.It was night of annual fundraising-Comic Relief- and towards the end of the evening there is a "Caberet" hour when various cast members from the West End musicals perform,that explains the phone numbers which are just appearing on the screen.Patti was then the star of the premiere run.As mentioned her contract was cancelled,apparently to allow adjustments to the show.She was compensated but we were not.
I don't know why I'm frightened I know my way around here The cardboard trees, the painted seas, the sound here Yes, a world to rediscover But I'm not in any hurry And I need a moment The whispered conversations In overcrowded hallways The atmosphere is thrilling here as always Feel the early morning madness Feel the magic in the making Why, everything's as if we never said goodbye I've spent so many mornings just trying to resist you I'm trembling now, you can't know how I've missed you Missed the fairytale adventure In this ever-spinning playground We were young together I'm coming out of makeup The light's already burning Not long until the cameras will start turning And the early morning madness And the magic in the making Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye I don't want to be alone That's all in the past This world's waited long enough I've come home at last! And this time will be bigger And brighter than we knew it So watch me fly, we all know I can do it Could I stop my hands from shaking? Has there ever been a moment With so much to live for? The whispered conversations In overcrowded hallways So much to say, not just today but always We'll have early morning madness We'll have magic in the making Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye We taught the world new ways to dream
Patti mentioned in her memoir that when Glen took the role, they lowered the keys for her and a lot of the score lost its beauty. I can agree with that. We can argue for days on who acted the part better, but I do believe that the song has more of a romantic and powerful feel to it when Patti sings it over Glen.
S. Oles It's interesting how that changed when Buckley took over. But Lupone's rendition on most of the songs were different during the preview and in the westend, i thought the keys were higher but it lacked power.
Her voice has to be heard live to be believed. Maybe Glenn could get through it, but when all is said and done, there's Patti towering over everything, squishing Glenn into the sand like a cigarette butt. Which is why it is so hard to see anyone else in a part after Patti; she ruins it for all those who come after. At least for me, it becomes very difficult to hear another artist sing something she's sung or perform a role she's played.
That's funny since Glenn was the one chosen to perform the show on Broadway instead of Patti..they both played Norma prior to it opening on Broadway and got good reviews, but Glenn got Broadway and the Tony..
I was talking from a strictly vocal sense, in which you cannot possibly compare the voice of Patti LuPone to Glen Close, but since you brought it up: "In any case, the 1994 production was something of a triumph for Close; she was well-reviewed and won the Tony award. It pains me to say that her second outing as Norma is no triumph. Leave aside that she cannot sing the role, if she ever could. Her head voice is now pitchy and hooty; her chest voice raw and unregulated. (It’s also madly overamplified to achieve the effects deemed necessary in the big numbers.) Great acting was meant to compensate, but her new interpretation of Norma - a mite more playful and less otherworldly - actually makes things worse." www.vulture.com/2017/02/glenn-closes-new-sunset-boulevard-is-facedown-in-the-pool.html
Hater's gonna hate, but this show sucks with a capital S from jump. Then, ALW kept bandaging the show's flaws by throwing all the blame on leading lady after leading lady, most of whom who couldn't sing (Faye Dunaway?!?! Come the f on!!). Combine all that with the fact that ALW wrote the role for none other than Patti LuPone, humiliated her by firing her because the SHOW wasn't getting the reviews he and Really Useful wanted and then expected someone else to be able to pull it off vocally. That's just dickly, egomaniacal and stupid. I mean, Patti has kind of a freaky amazing instrument, so writing something with her voice in mind might have adverse consequences for someone with less going on, vocally, than Patti. Now, Betty Buckley on the other hand, gave you that Sunset filth for days and, I think, was probably be the only acceptable heiress to the role thus far. She had it all and I dare say, I prefered her conception of the role as a whole, to Patti's. Sad that this kind of performer is disappearing. :'(
I love me some Patti Lupone, but this performance almost seemed phoned in. And her phrasing was a bit weird. "Feel the early morning Mad-NAAAASSS..." ?????
I also love LuPone, but there have been many times I've listened to her and thought, "Can you NOT just pronounce vowels the way God made them???" I know she was furious they replaced her after London with 'Glenn Close for Broadway, but I can see why they did it. Just going by the cast albums, Close (who is nowhere near the singer LuPone is) stayed much more in character; LuPone's vocalizing struck me as self-indulgent, as if it were a cabaret performance, not like she was playing a defined role.
Close played it like a madwoman, which if that's the consensus of who the character is, and the singing is irrelevant, then that's what one will go going to go for... Everyone has a favorite Norma...
Vibrato is part of the natural resonance of the voice. When precise, it matches the vibrato as established by the vibrato of a violin. I much prefer a vibrato to the spitty "T"s as the style of today. I do not care for the sound of spit. Just sing the letter "T."
I have to say I know most of the story around the why Patti didn't do Broadway. I think she is a phenomenal performer and having seen many leading actresses do the role - although she was great - the best for me vocally and emotionally was Betty Buckley
People are saying that Patti is better than Glenn Close, but honestly this version is missing the raw emotion of being onstage, the excitement of it all. It seems very passive and Patti is trying to woo the crowd with her odd vocals but it has no spirit.
I have a friend who sings this as if she was born to sing it...and since she recorded it...I cannot even hear any other version without comparing it to hers! It's incredible, really! I usually love LuPone but I think this version is really STINK-O and I do like Lea Salonga's version better than the rest of the usual suspects!
Lea Salonga has plenty of emotion...it's just not overstated as Patti LuPone's is. Salonga's performances are subtle in general. She is not at all given to facial or body gyrations as she sings. The real emotion, as befits this particular song sung at this particular moment in the production, should not be over acted or acted out. All the emotion of it should be sung...and Salonga has it over all of them in that way. The effect and affect is actually much more powerful the way she performs it. Remember what the scene consists of...this is THE supreme diva of film whose time had long passed but who, now, may have an opportunity to resurrect her former fame and attempt to reveal what really amounts to a new talent in an altogether new medium... SOUND! She hasn't acted in many years and is remembered, only slightly, by some. She is frightened beyond belief and yet...at the same time she is drawn as a moth to the flame. She can smell the greasepaint again but can she do this? Everything from her former self says YES, I can!...but the flip side of the coin is an almost paralyzing fear and anxiety she dare not show to the world around her or to herself. That's the set-up...now sing the song!
Kuklapolitan You are entitled to your opinion, which is all it consists of, a wordy OPINION. You are not Norma Desmond. You didn't write the screen play. How the song should be sung is up to interpretation. We simply have to agree to disagree. Cheers.
Scott Dunavent There is really no need to be insulting and cheeky. No, I am not Norma Desmond...and, since you've mentioned it, neither are you! I have, however, directed the play two or three times in local community theater and have a musical background so I am familiar with the role and the score with the emphasis being on this particular piece! This is not a Cabaret performance...it is a Theater performance...and as such, interpretation is not, solely, left to the artist performing the song! It is normally a joint decision between the artist and the director! If your only reply is the revelation that I am not Norma Desmond and that my "opinion" was just too wordy for you...it is not a response at all. I had already given my opinion of the LuPone version...what I offered was an explanation as to why and how I think as I do. It's too bad I wasted my time trying to do that! Ta-ta!
Kuklapolitan I sincerely apologize if you found me to be insulting or cheeky. I simply have to agree to disagree with your opinion. Each of us are entitled to our own opinion on art, music, literature, and scientific hypotheses. Cheers.
This is the "Evita" version of Norma Desmond. Patti Lupone is brilliant and beautiful. However, she is not bittersweet nor tender, which is how Glenn and Betty Buckley portray Norma and this song. I love them all. All different, with varying perspectives. Cheers!
...meu Deus Norma Desmond não era agridoce nem terna, era uma mulher altiva, desdenhosa, manipuladora e nada de humano tinha...Lupone entendeu e fez brilhantemente...nem era esfusiante como tantas outras o fizeram...
tipofmytongue1024 it's for vocal technique reasons. EE vowels are much tighter and harder to sustain while the AAAHHHH vowel is much more open and allows the air to flow out and spin faster giving it a prettier sound.
sawadee By breaking a contract and firing her out of hand like some 3rd rate starlet? She made Evita into the force it became in the US for him, and has been a consummate performer in every sense of the word, and he dismissed her like trash. I'm glad karma bit him in the ass, because he hasn't seen success on Broadway since then outside of Phantom's continued run. Also, it's a musical, and a Lloyd Webber musical at that. Singing is EVERYTHING to the role. Glenn Close was remarkable in the role, but so was Patti, and she originated the fucker.
Scott Dunavent Are you high?! Glenn Close is not a multiple Tony award winning, 6 time Oscar nominee for nothing you know! Yes, she hasn't got Patti's voice (who does? Thank God) but she brought a pathos and a camp absurdity to the role that I think even Gloria Swanson would have been proud of. Glenn Close IS Norma Desmond. FACT!
forevermonde Are you high? What an impertinent question. You may have your opinion on pathos and I and others will have our own. I still say Close is a terrible singer and actress. You don't state "facts". You state only your opinion. And unless you are Norma Desmond, you nor I have no authority on whom she would think did the best job. My opinion is that Glenn Close sucks as a singer and as an actress, nominated for Oscars or not. The only thing you and I can agree on is that we disagree with our opinions. You are entitled to yours, and I to mine. Cheers
Scott Dunavent Norma Desmond is the character being portrayed, I was referring to Gloria Swanson who originated the role on screen in the '50's and lost the Academy Award for her performance to Vivien Leigh. You would know all this if you studied film, theatre performance or acting for that matter. As a person who's written papers on Billy Wilder, Gloria Swanson, Andrew Lloyd Webber and this very show, I am telling you, FACT, you have no idea what you're talking about! Patti Lupone is lovely and put in a great effort, but to say Glenn Close (THE Glenn Close) can't act or sing, is not only uninformed it's point-blank embarrassing. Take a seat, you're embarrassing yourself
forevermonde I am well aware of who Gloria Swanson is. I am not aware of your expertise in film, or anything else for that matter. Our opinions differ. You obviously have an incredibly high opinion of yourself to accuse someone else of embarrassing themselves? Unbelievable! Please don't ever ask me to "take a seat". Please don't ask me for anything. You simply can't allow others to have a different opinion than your own. I am not at all impressed that you have written papers on the subjects aforementioned. Let it go! Cheers
All great Artists were not cast of the same mold, She not capable of the emotion of Norma Desmond like Glenn Close is. Patty sings the songs , Glenn acts and sings them . Patty rushes through this song like the cops are on her ass.
I couldn't AGREE with you more on that! Lupone just sings....bad acting! Listen to her....... "I don't know why i'm frightened"......yet she doesn't look frightened at all. I just saw Glenn Close last week 2/8/17 at the Palace theater on Broadway. She's the best Norma Desmond and should be cast in a movie version. Betty Buckley was even better than Lupone.
The people who saw Patti perform the role in London said that it was fantastic. You can't tell by this concert performance, because the conductor rushed the tempo.
Fantastic! But I honestly prefer Glenn Close. Just in terms of taste. Close is playing the character, lupone is playing herself. Which isn't a bad thing, Patti Lupone is pretty fucking fierce. But you truly think Glenn Close is losing her mind on stage.
Glenn Close has this role sewn UP! This is not a scream/sing at the top of lungs role. It requires subtle actions. LuPone isnt right for the part...yet.
Listen to Lupone....... "I don't know why i'm frightened"......yet she doesn't look frightened at all. I just saw Glenn Close last week 2/8/17 at the Palace theater on Broadway. She's the best Norma Desmond and should be cast in a movie version. Betty Buckley was even better than Lupone playing the role of Norma Desmond. Does Lupone understand the character she's playing? The story?
Dude you were far too generous. LOL. I thought she was screeching, not signing. LOL. It actually hurt my ears, and that's sad really. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why she was recast for the American production. I'm not trying to dump on her but if one can not connect with or understand the character they are playing, then they should move onto another role.
Having seen all three actress, I can say that while Patti is breathtaking, she is not only too young, but too fiery. Norma is deeply insecure, but LuPone isn't at all. Paige had the same problem, but the opposite. I felt she was to little and shrank in the role. Close and Buckley really tie for the best. It impossible to pick between the two.
Love Patti Lupone. Here, she is powerful & VERY loud. But she doesn't seem right for this particular character. Her phrasing is off. Best Norma (for me) will always be Betty Buckley with Karen Mason on equal ground (vocally.) Just MHO.
No one has ever come near Patti in this. The Original and Best ❤❤❤
Everything’s as if the part was written for her. (Oh wait - it was.) She is phenomenal, as always.
I saw Betty Buckley in this role, and she was fantastic! Patti is the true original and should have opened the role on Broadway. I saw Glen Close in the revival... she was okay.
I cannot get enough of her ❤️
Let's just enjoy all of the performances of this song. Every singer brings their own approach & feeling to it. That's what theater is about. You are moved more or less by a particular approach to the song. I like all of them.
Exactly my thoughts. These people dont appreciate by merely criticizing the performance and not enjoying it. They're missing it.
That's the beauty of theatre. I worked professionally as an actor and director for about 30 years -- and if we all believed "there's only one way to play a role" theatre would never happen. Everybody brings their own shadings and their own interpretation -- or else they're imitating someone else's previous work.
I get tired of hearing that kind of thing , that "the only way to play it is the way ___________ played it" or "the way ___________ sang it". When I direct, if there's a movie or a cast album, one of my "first-meeting-drill" things I always say is "forget it! we're here to find YOUR performance". :)
Wonderfully well said and wonderfully well put !! THANK YOU so much for your thoughtful and insightful comment !! :-)
I love Lupone and saw her in London in this before she was fired. Vocally it was sensational, but I always thought at the time she wasn't quite old enough to understand Norma. She had so much fire, but she needed to be more scared than bold in the role. Conversely, I got to see both Buckley and Close in the role also, and although her singing isn't quite Buckley or Lupone, Close's performance as Norma was the most moving. You really got to understand what a scared, fragile person Norma was supposed to be. But all three performances are like having three diffrerent shaped diamonds-all beautiful, just different.
She actually quit. Her book tells the whole story its a really good book.
Didn't she try to sue him?
She had a contract that stated that she would only do the london run if he gave her broadway also and then he hired Glen Close without telling her so she found out through a gossip column.
Thanks, I knew about the Glenn Close thing but I didn't realize she quit. Thanks for the info.
Jared Goerke She was FIRED! And I predicted it from the second she was cast. I HATE when people are so adoring they believe anything. Ms. LuPone was FIRED....for a much more expensive star who stayed with the show half as long as she would have. Ms. LuPone received a hefty settlement for her FIRING....and she joked about using the money being used to build a pool. This is painful. Buckley outsings everybody by a mile.
She killed it
Magnificent.
She should have done it on Broadway.
Future Broadway actresses.....take notes from this woman. She is the master.
Listen --- I have had the great fortune of seeing, watching and hearing this amazing artist in Les Miserables, Evita, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, and Anything Goes. Not boasting or bragging just so lucky. I've seen these shows more than once with others and each has their own nuance and style and skills --- Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige, Angela Lansbury, Glenn Close. All great artists -- great material and Patti Lupone shines! Then they all shine as bright. From a small London West End theatre to a stadium-sized Shubert -- don't miss the opportunity!
What a pro! She nailed it!!! Betty Buckley will always be the definitive Norma for me.
But LuPone gave em chills., Very glad to see this. Hope there is a Broadway revival with her as Norma. It almost seems inevitable.
I actually saw her in 'Sunset' in London - a true star!!!
saw her do this role in London NO ONE LIKE HER THE BEST!!!!!!!!
I'm fortunate to have the CD of this cast to play on a decent Hi-Fi system. Her voice is incredible.
Outstanding! No one has even come close to your performance Patti!
She does not come close to the performance of Glenn Close.
Patti sings but doesn't act to bring out the character.
Libby Checks
To be fair, this was a concert performance, not from a performance of the show
HER VOICE GIVES ME CHILLS JEEZ
The very best individual to play Norma Desmond hands down. Thank you for posting this video!
Betty Buckley is perfection in this role.
Patti is amazing but was incredible in the production! God dammn Lloyd webber! He had no idea what a phenomenon he had xx
Who are all these queens in here screaming about Glenn Close?? We get it girls! Let Patti live
Saw miss lupone on her last matine she was amazing and yes as she said in her memoirs she came out to entertain the theatre while they sorted out the problems. She is a total star and doesn't get enough credit for this role!!
...a senhora Close mais parece uma velhinha do Texas num assalto a uma diligência...não foi à partitura pq canta mal...sua voz é de falsete...depois está overacting...na cena final parece possuida no corrimão...mais parece um animal que esteve em cativeiro e de repente abrem a porta e sai sem norte nem para onde deve ir...chega a ser patético...a pior de todas...mas é Gleen Close...
I'm glad someone mentioned the tempo, cause it did feel rushed, glad it wasn't just me
...segundo o autor foi a única que leu a pauta como tinha sido escrita...
Love me some lupone!
She is still sublime. Loved Glenn in the show years ago. But never caught Lupone if she did broadway. Glenn burned in my mind as Norma Desmond. Lupone will always be my Evita. So everyone wins and gets what they want.
I have heard other women take on this role but none of them can match Patti.If you can ,get hold of the London Original cast album and hear her sing, its spine tingling....especially A new way to dream.
Because of Glee I found this. Very moving and a very beautiful lady. I really liked this version.
Chris Colfer's version is my wake up music and I'm inspired. Thanks for uploading this.
She is the most dedicated talent and her voice is beyond compare. She's been through a lot and Thank Heavens she never quit!! Love Her!!
In the UK we had Faith Brown on the national tour. She was stunning - got ovations everywhere, but of course not known at all in the USA.
Lupone is a great artist.
eu, com 53 anos, somente agora "descobri" esta maravilhosa artista, ainda bem que vivo, obrigado mrs. Patti, obrigado meu Deus!!!
I feel like she had trouble with this performance because the conductor rushed the tempo. You can see in her eyes occasionally "WTF why are we going so fast?!"
Connor Twigg In fairness, this version is no faster than in her version of the show. LuPone always sang it at this tempo during her Sunset run.
Yeah this is sped up its not supposed to be
Far too fast!
Maby coz it was tv time?
She worked with what she had. Her voice is magnificent!
beyond brilliant!!!
I love her!!!!!!!!!!!!!❤
I was lucky enough to see miss lupone in sunset and she really was phenominal!! this performance really didn't show her off at all. in the show she brought the house down on more than one occasion. I guess sunset is one of those shows where you hate the lead actress or love them. I saw sunset 3 times after miss lupone left. with miss buckley, miss paige and with miss clark. and miss clark was really the worst of them all! just my opinion xxx but much love to all my fellow sunset fans out there xxx wish id seen ria jones in the latest production xxxxx
Just so gorgeous. Tyler Lord Hamilton
She sang.
Glenn Close performed.
Agreed. Norma Desmond is the only role I feel LuPone was truly miscast in. However, this doesn’t justify how she was treated by ALW.
...Close esta overacting e exagerada e sem voz de musical...voz de falsete
Well, this is a TV show not the stage production.
This was recorded at the BBC television centre in London in the early nineties.It was night of annual fundraising-Comic Relief- and towards the end of the evening there is a "Caberet" hour when various cast members from the West End musicals perform,that explains the phone numbers which are just appearing on the screen.Patti was then the star of the premiere run.As mentioned her contract was cancelled,apparently to allow adjustments to the show.She was compensated but we were not.
I see Pudsey Bear. Got me wondering for the last 7 minutes I've been listening to this!
Chris Colfer performed it on Glee. It was magical.
I don't know why I'm frightened
I know my way around here
The cardboard trees, the painted seas, the sound here
Yes, a world to rediscover
But I'm not in any hurry
And I need a moment
The whispered conversations
In overcrowded hallways
The atmosphere is thrilling here as always
Feel the early morning madness
Feel the magic in the making
Why, everything's as if we never said goodbye
I've spent so many mornings just trying to resist you
I'm trembling now, you can't know how I've missed you
Missed the fairytale adventure
In this ever-spinning playground
We were young together
I'm coming out of makeup
The light's already burning
Not long until the cameras will start turning
And the early morning madness
And the magic in the making
Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye
I don't want to be alone
That's all in the past
This world's waited long enough
I've come home at last!
And this time will be bigger
And brighter than we knew it
So watch me fly, we all know I can do it
Could I stop my hands from shaking?
Has there ever been a moment
With so much to live for?
The whispered conversations
In overcrowded hallways
So much to say, not just today but always
We'll have early morning madness
We'll have magic in the making
Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye
Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye
We taught the world new ways to dream
patti is divine
but ms close's version was un friggin believable
saw her in LA and NYC
magic was about....
God the orchestra sounds terrible
Patti managed to deliver a good performance but the tempo was way to fast.
...segundo o autor esta foi a única que cantou a partitura como foi escrita...
I allways said this, for some odd reason she sang it way faster than the others
Patti mentioned in her memoir that when Glen took the role, they lowered the keys for her and a lot of the score lost its beauty. I can agree with that. We can argue for days on who acted the part better, but I do believe that the song has more of a romantic and powerful feel to it when Patti sings it over Glen.
S. Oles It's interesting how that changed when Buckley took over. But Lupone's rendition on most of the songs were different during the preview and in the westend, i thought the keys were higher but it lacked power.
S. Oles I saw Close also. She was horrific! An absolute disaster as a singer and actress. Desmond had to role over in her grave.
Nope. #nicetrytho She's BACK and just as Brilliant!
Norma Desmond is a fictional character so I don't think she'll be doing any rolling over in said grave 😂😭😂😭
It took me four years to figure out who Glenn was and I only discovered who she was because she portrays the author of a book I recently read
glenn played her more insanely, which i adored....better makeup too
Nobody tops Buckley
Her voice has to be heard live to be believed. Maybe Glenn could get through it, but when all is said and done, there's Patti towering over everything, squishing Glenn into the sand like a cigarette butt. Which is why it is so hard to see anyone else in a part after Patti; she ruins it for all those who come after. At least for me, it becomes very difficult to hear another artist sing something she's sung or perform a role she's played.
That's funny since Glenn was the one chosen to perform the show on Broadway instead of Patti..they both played Norma prior to it opening on Broadway and got good reviews, but Glenn got Broadway and the Tony..
The production team famously made life hell for Patti to get her to quit, and fired her like a common starlet. Webber is a piece of shit madman.
Colin Peabody de Verteuil-Lorraine he's a dreadful, jealous little copy cat.
I was talking from a strictly vocal sense, in which you cannot possibly compare the voice of Patti LuPone to Glen Close, but since you brought it up: "In any case, the 1994 production was something of a triumph for Close; she was well-reviewed and won the Tony award. It pains me to say that her second outing as Norma is no triumph. Leave aside that she cannot sing the role, if she ever could. Her head voice is now pitchy and hooty; her chest voice raw and unregulated. (It’s also madly overamplified to achieve the effects deemed necessary in the big numbers.) Great acting was meant to compensate, but her new interpretation of Norma - a mite more playful and less otherworldly - actually makes things worse." www.vulture.com/2017/02/glenn-closes-new-sunset-boulevard-is-facedown-in-the-pool.html
Hater's gonna hate, but this show sucks with a capital S from jump. Then, ALW kept bandaging the show's flaws by throwing all the blame on leading lady after leading lady, most of whom who couldn't sing (Faye Dunaway?!?! Come the f on!!). Combine all that with the fact that ALW wrote the role for none other than Patti LuPone, humiliated her by firing her because the SHOW wasn't getting the reviews he and Really Useful wanted and then expected someone else to be able to pull it off vocally. That's just dickly, egomaniacal and stupid. I mean, Patti has kind of a freaky amazing instrument, so writing something with her voice in mind might have adverse consequences for someone with less going on, vocally, than Patti. Now, Betty Buckley on the other hand, gave you that Sunset filth for days and, I think, was probably be the only acceptable heiress to the role thus far. She had it all and I dare say, I prefered her conception of the role as a whole, to Patti's. Sad that this kind of performer is disappearing. :'(
Yellow Diamond as Norma Desmond, of course I needed this.
legendary performance
Betty Buckley is my favorite Norma.
Brilliant!
My all time favorite! Thanks for posting. When was this performance?
I saw the last performance Patti did in London and also Glenn Close in NYC and I much prefer Miss
Lupine.
NEXT!
Wonderful song. Wonderful singer. Wonderful post. Thank you. (Did you notice your title was misspelt? goodbey/bye)
The pace is too fast. Shirley Bassey nails it .Fantastic singer truly professional.
I think that's the conductor's fault, not Patti's.
Beautiful.
I love me some Patti Lupone, but this performance almost seemed phoned in. And her phrasing was a bit weird. "Feel the early morning Mad-NAAAASSS..." ?????
+JA Musicman Let's hear you keep the vowel closed on a low G?
I also love LuPone, but there have been many times I've listened to her and thought, "Can you NOT just pronounce vowels the way God made them???" I know she was furious they replaced her after London with 'Glenn Close for Broadway, but I can see why they did it. Just going by the cast albums, Close (who is nowhere near the singer LuPone is) stayed much more in character; LuPone's vocalizing struck me as self-indulgent, as if it were a cabaret performance, not like she was playing a defined role.
Close played it like a madwoman, which if that's the consensus of who the character is, and the singing is irrelevant, then that's what one will go going to go for... Everyone has a favorite Norma...
All professional singers change certain vowels to make them sustainable. Patti's are a bit exaggerated but all Broadway singers do it.
Where was this? I’m obsessed with the set
Betty Buckley is without peer.
Outstanding!!!!!
Vibrato is part of the natural resonance of the voice. When precise, it matches the vibrato as established by the vibrato of a violin. I much prefer a vibrato to the spitty "T"s as the style of today. I do not care for the sound of spit. Just sing the letter "T."
Imagine that, a singer in the role required singer, Emily Blunt good luck.
Mike Anderson LoL 😆
I have to say I know most of the story around the why Patti didn't do Broadway. I think she is a phenomenal performer and having seen many leading actresses do the role - although she was great - the best for me vocally and emotionally was Betty Buckley
...Glenn Close was stunning and you totally believed her she oozed Old Hollywood Glamour and vocally rich
Yellow Diamond
What a pity that she was dropped for the Broadway run!
Somehow, this song doesn't seem to be a very friendly match for her (incredible) voice. They just don't seem to be a very interesting union..
She would be better on film
goodbey
Consensus: Patti does it best
barbra does it best.
+tb717 Glenn does it best)
sorry but Patti has Barbra beat.
Barbra is better than Glenn Close.
People are saying that Patti is better than Glenn Close, but honestly this version is missing the raw emotion of being onstage, the excitement of it all. It seems very passive and Patti is trying to woo the crowd with her odd vocals but it has no spirit.
I have a friend who sings this as if she was born to sing it...and since she recorded it...I cannot even hear any other version without comparing it to hers! It's incredible, really! I usually love LuPone but I think this version is really STINK-O and I do like Lea Salonga's version better than the rest of the usual suspects!
Lea Salonga has no emotion!
Lea Salonga has plenty of emotion...it's just not overstated as Patti LuPone's is. Salonga's performances are subtle in general. She is not at all given to facial or body gyrations as she sings. The real emotion, as befits this particular song sung at this particular moment in the production, should not be over acted or acted out. All the emotion of it should be sung...and Salonga has it over all of them in that way. The effect and affect is actually much more powerful the way she performs it. Remember what the scene consists of...this is THE supreme diva of film whose time had long passed but who, now, may have an opportunity to resurrect her former fame and attempt to reveal what really amounts to a new talent in an altogether new medium... SOUND! She hasn't acted in many years and is remembered, only slightly, by some. She is frightened beyond belief and yet...at the same time she is drawn as a moth to the flame. She can smell the greasepaint again but can she do this? Everything from her former self says YES, I can!...but the flip side of the coin is an almost paralyzing fear and anxiety she dare not show to the world around her or to herself. That's the set-up...now sing the song!
Kuklapolitan You are entitled to your opinion, which is all it consists of, a wordy OPINION. You are not Norma Desmond. You didn't write the screen play. How the song should be sung is up to interpretation. We simply have to agree to disagree. Cheers.
Scott Dunavent There is really no need to be insulting and cheeky. No, I am not Norma Desmond...and, since you've mentioned it, neither are you! I have, however, directed the play two or three times in local community theater and have a musical background so I am familiar with the role and the score with the emphasis being on this particular piece! This is not a Cabaret performance...it is a Theater performance...and as such, interpretation is not, solely, left to the artist performing the song! It is normally a joint decision between the artist and the director! If your only reply is the revelation that I am not Norma Desmond and that my "opinion" was just too wordy for you...it is not a response at all. I had already given my opinion of the LuPone version...what I offered was an explanation as to why and how I think as I do. It's too bad I wasted my time trying to do that! Ta-ta!
Kuklapolitan I sincerely apologize if you found me to be insulting or cheeky. I simply have to agree to disagree with your opinion. Each of us are entitled to our own opinion on art, music, literature, and scientific hypotheses. Cheers.
The Best
She is great but this version is too fast. The song was never this fast in the original score.
This is the "Evita" version of Norma Desmond. Patti Lupone is brilliant and beautiful. However, she is not bittersweet nor tender, which is how Glenn and Betty Buckley portray Norma and this song. I love them all. All different, with varying perspectives. Cheers!
...meu Deus Norma Desmond não era agridoce nem terna, era uma mulher altiva, desdenhosa, manipuladora e nada de humano tinha...Lupone entendeu e fez brilhantemente...nem era esfusiante como tantas outras o fizeram...
Sings down her nose!
Not a big fan of "New ways to dreeeeyaaaaaaam"
Keep it on the EEE vowel.
tipofmytongue1024 Same with Mmmaahdnnaaaahhhhaasss
tipofmytongue1024 it's for vocal technique reasons. EE vowels are much tighter and harder to sustain while the AAAHHHH vowel is much more open and allows the air to flow out and spin faster giving it a prettier sound.
That’s a patti signature listen to her slower songs and you’ll hear it.
I am sorry, Glen may have looked better, but no one sung this role better than Patti!
Acting is more important than singing for this role
No wonder Lloyd Webber dumped Patti for Glenn. Right decision.
sawadee By breaking a contract and firing her out of hand like some 3rd rate starlet? She made Evita into the force it became in the US for him, and has been a consummate performer in every sense of the word, and he dismissed her like trash. I'm glad karma bit him in the ass, because he hasn't seen success on Broadway since then outside of Phantom's continued run.
Also, it's a musical, and a Lloyd Webber musical at that. Singing is EVERYTHING to the role. Glenn Close was remarkable in the role, but so was Patti, and she originated the fucker.
@@MartyMusic777 Glenn Close is not a singer. And the show flopped on Broadway. It needed a singer like Patti to make it a success.
Sorry about the spelling
I can't believe people think this performance was better than Glenn Close.
Are you deaf? Close can't sing, and acts even worse!
Scott Dunavent Are you high?! Glenn Close is not a multiple Tony award winning, 6 time Oscar nominee for nothing you know! Yes, she hasn't got Patti's voice (who does? Thank God) but she brought a pathos and a camp absurdity to the role that I think even Gloria Swanson would have been proud of. Glenn Close IS Norma Desmond. FACT!
forevermonde Are you high? What an impertinent question. You may have your opinion on pathos and I and others will have our own. I still say Close is a terrible singer and actress. You don't state "facts". You state only your opinion. And unless you are Norma Desmond, you nor I have no authority on whom she would think did the best job. My opinion is that Glenn Close sucks as a singer and as an actress, nominated for Oscars or not. The only thing you and I can agree on is that we disagree with our opinions. You are entitled to yours, and I to mine.
Cheers
Scott Dunavent Norma Desmond is the character being portrayed, I was referring to Gloria Swanson who originated the role on screen in the '50's and lost the Academy Award for her performance to Vivien Leigh. You would know all this if you studied film, theatre performance or acting for that matter. As a person who's written papers on Billy Wilder, Gloria Swanson, Andrew Lloyd Webber and this very show, I am telling you, FACT, you have no idea what you're talking about! Patti Lupone is lovely and put in a great effort, but to say Glenn Close (THE Glenn Close) can't act or sing, is not only uninformed it's point-blank embarrassing. Take a seat, you're embarrassing yourself
forevermonde I am well aware of who Gloria Swanson is. I am not aware of your expertise in film, or anything else for that matter. Our opinions differ. You obviously have an incredibly high opinion of yourself to accuse someone else of embarrassing themselves? Unbelievable! Please don't ever ask me to "take a seat". Please don't ask me for anything. You simply can't allow others to have a different opinion than your own. I am not at all impressed that you have written papers on the subjects aforementioned. Let it go!
Cheers
Betty Buckley was the best Norma for me.then Glenn close..
All great Artists were not cast of the same mold,
She not capable of the emotion of Norma Desmond like Glenn Close is.
Patty sings the songs , Glenn acts and sings them . Patty rushes through this song like the cops are on her ass.
I couldn't AGREE with you more on that! Lupone just sings....bad acting! Listen to her....... "I don't know why i'm frightened"......yet she doesn't look frightened at all. I just saw Glenn Close last week 2/8/17 at the Palace theater on Broadway. She's the best Norma Desmond and should be cast in a movie version. Betty Buckley was even better than Lupone.
+Robfrombohemia Hinkson If you didn’t see Patti do the whole show you can’t say that. Patti is in a concert setting not show.
It's the conductor's fault the song was rushed, not patti's
The people who saw Patti perform the role in London said that it was fantastic. You can't tell by this concert performance, because the conductor rushed the tempo.
Fantastic! But I honestly prefer Glenn Close. Just in terms of taste. Close is playing the character, lupone is playing herself. Which isn't a bad thing, Patti Lupone is pretty fucking fierce. But you truly think Glenn Close is losing her mind on stage.
Glenn Close has this role sewn UP! This is not a scream/sing at the top of lungs role. It requires subtle actions. LuPone isnt right for the part...yet.
excellent but I hate when they speed up the song.
Evita doing Norma. Surreal.
The only Norma for me!
Here's the prove that a big voice is useless if you don't understand the character
The composer rushed the song. She wasn't able to act at all. Watch the other performance.
It must be very difficult singing a very emotional song without expressing one nuance or twingle of emotion. I guess she gets credit for that.
Patti Lupone is the best. Glenn Close can't come close to Patti in this role.
She’s a jumped up chorus girl compared to Glenn Close. Good for you - you have a nice voice. What have you done with it? I’m bored.
Hmm..could SB remake be next Lady Gaga's project, I wonder, I hope!
I love Lady Gaga, but she's too young for the role.
Listen to Lupone....... "I don't know why i'm frightened"......yet she doesn't look frightened at all. I just saw Glenn Close last week 2/8/17 at the Palace theater on Broadway. She's the best Norma Desmond and should be cast in a movie version. Betty Buckley was even better than Lupone playing the role of Norma Desmond. Does Lupone understand the character she's playing? The story?
BETTY BUCKLEY did this. look up her live version. No one should sing it but Betty. Sorry!
She sings like she's had waaay to much to drink. somebody call her a designated vocalist!
Dude you were far too generous. LOL. I thought she was screeching, not signing. LOL. It actually hurt my ears, and that's sad really. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why she was recast for the American production. I'm not trying to dump on her but if one can not connect with or understand the character they are playing, then they should move onto another role.
@@jamessedgwick9183 I heard no screeching. Get your hearing checked.
Having seen all three actress, I can say that while Patti is breathtaking, she is not only too young, but too fiery. Norma is deeply insecure, but LuPone isn't at all. Paige had the same problem, but the opposite. I felt she was to little and shrank in the role. Close and Buckley really tie for the best. It impossible to pick between the two.
Sylvie Palodino is easily as good as this.
Love Patti Lupone. Here, she is powerful & VERY loud. But she doesn't seem right
for this particular character. Her phrasing is off. Best Norma (for me) will always be
Betty Buckley with Karen Mason on equal ground (vocally.) Just MHO.
Aucune intériorité.
Pas d'émotion
Une vraie gueularde !
Too fast.
Where is Glenn Close ?
Please help !!!
With all due respect to Patti Lupone, this song sounds rushed and she screams through most of it. Just like Evita.
Although having a good voice, but she is no Norma Desmond! Glen Close channels Norma!