Well, I suppose since it is at Royal Albert Hall and it is Andrew Lloyd Webber, I shouldn't be surprised that this Celebration is over-produced and involves a somewhat larger battalion than was used in the D-Day invasion. That said it must have something to see live. It's something to see on DVD.
Some quick observations and questions are all I have time for now:
Is Sarah Brightman some kind of cross between a cupie doll and Stevie Nicks? Why does she sing "Music of the Night" from Phantom, rather than a man? Her overly rounded vowels are distracting to watch and are some kind of bastardization of vocal technique.
Donny Osmond is cute. He sings well. He's charming with the children's choir backing him up.
Antonia Banderas is also cute. He doesn't sing well. His circling around everybody is a little odd--is he a herding dog?
I like Elaine Paige's singing. While her Evita gown probably "read" well live in the hall, it's a little much for close-up television.
The roller skating musical hasn't improved with age.
Was that Bonnie Tyler? I'm sure there are credits, but I haven't gotten to them yet. I eventually did get to them and, yes, that was Bonnie Tyler. Which leads to my next question; why was Bonnie Tyler there?
I don't know who any of the British rocker men or boys are. Labels would have been nice. Then again, so would me finishing watching the whole DVD before writing this entry. The cast is listed at the end, and a song by song list is given if you scene select on your DVD player.
There are things I very much like about Andrew Lloyd Webber's theater music. Some of the themes are lovely, but don't developed enough to keep me interested.
The same is true for the Requiem: the "Pie Jesu" for soprano and treble has some beautiful moments and I would appreciate them more if they weren't repeated 10 times in a 3 minute movement; the "Hosanna in excelsis" (I could have that Latin wrong) is exciting and needs a really good tenor, but again let's vary some of the musical motives, Andy.
I want to hear more of the cello concerto, or whatever the piece is referred to as. It's called Variations for Cello and Orchestra.
Glenn Close might not be the best singer out there, but she surely outshone everyone else in the acting department; I couldn't take my eyes off her. I would not have wanted to sing "Memory" after Ms. Close's songs.
Michael Ball is not as cute as I had hoped.
Some quick observations and questions are all I have time for now:
Is Sarah Brightman some kind of cross between a cupie doll and Stevie Nicks? Why does she sing "Music of the Night" from Phantom, rather than a man? Her overly rounded vowels are distracting to watch and are some kind of bastardization of vocal technique.
Donny Osmond is cute. He sings well. He's charming with the children's choir backing him up.
Antonia Banderas is also cute. He doesn't sing well. His circling around everybody is a little odd--is he a herding dog?
I like Elaine Paige's singing. While her Evita gown probably "read" well live in the hall, it's a little much for close-up television.
The roller skating musical hasn't improved with age.
Was that Bonnie Tyler? I'm sure there are credits, but I haven't gotten to them yet. I eventually did get to them and, yes, that was Bonnie Tyler. Which leads to my next question; why was Bonnie Tyler there?
I don't know who any of the British rocker men or boys are. Labels would have been nice. Then again, so would me finishing watching the whole DVD before writing this entry. The cast is listed at the end, and a song by song list is given if you scene select on your DVD player.
There are things I very much like about Andrew Lloyd Webber's theater music. Some of the themes are lovely, but don't developed enough to keep me interested.
The same is true for the Requiem: the "Pie Jesu" for soprano and treble has some beautiful moments and I would appreciate them more if they weren't repeated 10 times in a 3 minute movement; the "Hosanna in excelsis" (I could have that Latin wrong) is exciting and needs a really good tenor, but again let's vary some of the musical motives, Andy.
I want to hear more of the cello concerto, or whatever the piece is referred to as. It's called Variations for Cello and Orchestra.
Glenn Close might not be the best singer out there, but she surely outshone everyone else in the acting department; I couldn't take my eyes off her. I would not have wanted to sing "Memory" after Ms. Close's songs.
Michael Ball is not as cute as I had hoped.
Two show of Webber's that I don't know but need to hear more of are Sunset Boulevard and Aspects of Love.
What kind of name is Tina Arena? It sounds like a pole dancer. And was her song from Whistle Down the Wind repeated to give some sort of closure to the event? It seemed anti-climatic.
If anti-climatic is "against the climax", how does one state "against the climate"? Well, I just looked it up and anti-climatic is "against the climate"; anti-climactic is the word I meant for the repeat of Tina Arena's song. Learn something everyday--that's my motto.
Andrew Lloyd Webber Celebration at Royal Albert Hall
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics: all his collaborators, from Tim Rice on...
What kind of name is Tina Arena? It sounds like a pole dancer. And was her song from Whistle Down the Wind repeated to give some sort of closure to the event? It seemed anti-climatic.
If anti-climatic is "against the climax", how does one state "against the climate"? Well, I just looked it up and anti-climatic is "against the climate"; anti-climactic is the word I meant for the repeat of Tina Arena's song. Learn something everyday--that's my motto.
Andrew Lloyd Webber Celebration at Royal Albert Hall
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics: all his collaborators, from Tim Rice on...
Filmed in 1998, released on DVD in 1999
Cast: Elaine Paige, Donny Osmond, Antonio Banderas, Sarah Brightman, Julian Lloyd Webber, Michael Ball, Glenn Close, Tina Arena, Kiri Te Kanawa
Cast: Elaine Paige, Donny Osmond, Antonio Banderas, Sarah Brightman, Julian Lloyd Webber, Michael Ball, Glenn Close, Tina Arena, Kiri Te Kanawa
1 comment:
hey i like the blog...ive just been back reading and I just wanted to answer a question of yours:
The reason Bonnie "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Tyler was at the concert is because her song "Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts" featured lyrics by Jim Steinman, who wrote Meatloaf's music, as well as "Total Eclipse of the Heart", so her voice fit that style very well.
The music from Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts was reused from Webber's Song and Dance (the song "English Girls), but the sound of "Tire Tracks" leads me to believe that Steinman also orchestrated.
Cheers!
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