Bernadette Peters — Page 2

I treated myself to her concert here in Denver last year. I love her voice. It is showing signs of age but that was ok. (And I will admit that I wasn't crazy about her years ago) I sat in the upper ring of the concert hall with nobody near me and was swept away. I actually wept when she sang "Children Will Listen". And was a bit emotional when she sang the lullaby to the little girl in the front row who was clutching her children's book. She was so sweet with this girl. I would kill to attend the upcoming concert on Broadway.

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It is muscle23ftl. Perhaps Brightman would get more respect if more people listened to her version - which is probably why I don't fully enjoy Bernadette's voice half the time.

iWannaBEaSedaris: I'm one of those people who love the voices usually over the acting or atleast together on par. While it isn't necessarily great fun for me anyway to listen to a recording of Bernadette's, seeing her live is really something different and the voice doesn't bother me.

THen again, msot composers aren't going strictly after a voice any more either - otherwise people like Linda Eder would be on Broadway all the time!

I think most are trying to find the balance - someone like Jill Paice. Great actress, great singer. Best actress ever? No; Best singer ever? No. but still excellent.

She's just so comfortable with the high notes at the end, it's really wonderful, listen to that youtube clip ya'all!

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I'm not trying to suggest we should all be monolithic in our opinions, but is this really up for discussion? Is there really a bigger living Broadway star than Bernadette? I think Ms. Peters has proved herself to be one of the greatest forces in this art form. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. To me, debating whether or not Bernadette is a great musical theatre vocalist and actress is like debating whether or not Usain Bolt can run fast.

And comparisons to Sarah Brightman? Really? Really? I mean, sure, there's no way that Peters could beat Brightman in a dazed chipmunk imitation contest. I kid, I kid. I actually recall seeing Brightman in a concert tour of her ex hubby's music when I was a kid. She actually had a lot of stage presence and was a charming hostess for the evening. This was before her ridiculous PBS Pledge Video/Classical-Lite bull**** career. BUT, I'd argue that Peters dwarfs her in terms of presence, acting chops and, yes, even in vocals. I find Peter's voice far more soulful, emotive, intelligent and unique. Whether or not Brightman has a wider range I'm not debating.

Anyway, here, I think is a classic example of *beautiful*, tender vocals from Peters matched with wonderful dramatic technique.



Stay With Me

Updated On: 9/5/09 at 01:08 AM

^ What he said.

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