"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
Sorry, any list of Broadway belters that doesn't include Ethel Merman is totally off mark. She was THE belter of all time and her exclusion from the list is inexcusable. And don't give me any malarkey about never having seen her in person -- her records tell the story. Ever hear Merman's OBCR of Gypsy?
A lot of the women listed can certainly "belt" when called upon, but to me the true Belters are Merman, Karen Morrow and Andrea McArdle (who is strangely left off the list). And where is Stephanie Block?
For me a true belter is one who has no break in their voice, The Merm, Morrow and McArdle can reach higher notes but it still sounds like it is coming from their chest. A lot of us older folks find fault in Rimalower's list but he is obviously catering to a younger (less informed) group. That's his thing.
And then he says: "Also, some might call some of this singing mixing, not belting — the technique is the singer's business, as long as I get the feeling of being belted at."
So that shouldn't exclude Andrea and Stephanie. Block's GET OUT AND STAY OUT! (or whatever it was called) was one of the great belting moments in recent years. And I love Dame Angela to death, but never thought of her as a belter. Except in the Pub!
Not to slight McArdle's talent, but going according to Rimalower's criteria of post-1980, original cast of non-revivals only, McArdle's only two chances at the list are with Starlight Express or State Fair. To me that doesn't seem as representative of her abilities as Annie or her concert work would be.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
I find Marin Mazzie's belt really interesting because she has this awesome combination of that legit Audra/O'hara style soprano but also this really powerful ear splitting belt. I realise she might not have always sung it in the show this way but the last note of her "Eve was Weak" on the recording is scary and I will never get tired of her "Back to Before" on the RAGTIME cast recording.
I like this list.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000