Longest "Belt" by A Male or Female Broadway Performer?- Page 2

[soulman83]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 8:48pm

I feel like hands down it goes to melba moore but i think what makes it so impressive is the fact that she holds such high notes for days! breath control is insane.

[mrkringas]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 9:12pm

Some quick replies

Ruthie Henshall is Polly in the Crazy for You OLC
Percy does indeed have a nine bar A flat but thats nothing compared to some of the sustained phrases in Children of Eden.
Anthony Warlow is indeed a god in J+H. I give him full marks for the endless G at the end of The Way Back. Tops that cliche song every time
Henry Goodman is the OLC Billy Flynn and did indeed hold that note forever live. In fact Ute Lemper also seemed to extend a lot of her notes too.

[Demitri2]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 9:26pm

Soulman...you just beat me to it. Melba Moore by far held a note at a concert I saw longer than anyone I have ever heard. There was no contest. It just went on and on and on. I believe she attributed her ability to hold a note that long to a form of breathing she had learned in yoga class. Cleo Laine's husband, composer/musician John Danksworth, also taught her a form of continuous breathe control similiar to a musician playing a brass instrument. Not only was she able to sustain a note longer but it also opened up a couple of octaves she never knew she had before. I once saw her live in concert where her technique went out of control and her voice was everywhere. The concert came to an abrupt finish. It was very strange seeing an artist who had made a career of what my partner at the time called "her vocal tricks" flounder helplessly. She kept looking at her husband with a bewildered look and said to the audience "I don't understand what's happening?". She then tried singing "On A Clear Day" and her voice was bouncing off the walls, gave up and walked off the stage. A most uncomfortable evening.

[WordedGrace]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 9:38pm

Jennifer Holliday...enough said!!! There was belt and more belt in her voice...

[thejcm]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 9:45pm

If anyone saw the final performance of "Raven" by Ramona Keller in Brooklyn...that was a loooooooong note. I don't think she was truly belting that, though.

[Eileen2]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 10:24pm

I don't know if it's long enough to be in contention for the longest belt, but Hugh Jackman in the Boy from Oz the ending of "Once Before I Go". It's long and he was solid with it.

[I<3bway]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 10:45pm

I think Norb does a nice belt when he sings "But I think we still deserve a haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnndddddddd!!" in Dirty Rotten Number.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 11:59pm

There's this deceased Japanese female actress (performed in Miss Saigon, and such, I think) who has a solo song, which she holds the note for ridiculously long time...

It's on the unmentionable tube site, and if you search for "Minako Honda Tsubasa", you'll find the video on the first link.

[Poppy]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 12:39am

Rob Evan can belt with the best of them.

[CurtisTaylorJr2]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 12:43am

I looked it up Minako and that was wild how she held that note out like that.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 3:21am

It's a tough call as to whether or not Honda was mixing or not (I personally think that she was), but if we are simply turning this into a "who sang the longest recorded money note" thread, then the aforementioned clip of Minako Honda singing "Tsubasa" might very well be it. She holds it for nearly thirty seconds.

Other performers who have the ability to sustain "belted" notes for ridiculously long periods of time include Darius De Haas, Michael Arden, and Stephen Pasquale.

[PARISinNYC]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 5:31am

I think everybody pretty much mentioned all the ones I was thinking of but one.

Well, it might just be my opinion, but it sure as hell is longer than Sarah Saltzberg's note.

Beth Leavel in "As We Stumble Along" from THE DROWSY CHAPERONE. I remember when I saw it live she held it much longer than she does in the cast recording. It was really amazing.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 7:12am

Eden Espinosa in BKLYN in "Brooklyn in the Blood" - "Iiiiiiiiiiiii've gooooooooooooooooooot....."

Now, in the cast recording, it's not that long. But live-- oh dear sweet jesus.

June 11, '05 I went backstage with Eden and we were talking about that part of Bklyn in the blood. She said that James Sampliner (the conductor) would play some tricks on her and hold that note for her for forever. Gotta be 10+ seconds... and in the little black and white monitors you could see James laughing his ass off, even after he cued the orchestra. =)

[Sant]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 10:43am

BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL had a couple of long notes in RAGTIME and in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN ("The Day After That" and "His Name Was Molina").

IDINA MENZEL does a couple of long stretches in WICKED's "The Wizard And I" ("...with meeeeeeeeAnd I'll stand there with the Wizard" and the final "...and I")

MICHAEL CRAWFORD on his recording of "Gethsemane" from JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR.

Not a stage musical song, but BARBRA STREISAND's famous "Papa, watch me flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" from the movie YENTL has to be one of the longest one I've ever heard.

[Derek2]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 10:53am

i know we dont all love wicked lol, but i do remember near the end of her run, idina would hold out "is ever gonna bring meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee down!" for a verrrry long time. it usually started a standing ovation. at least at the performance i was at. i have also heard from others the same comment. thats pretty high up there (both vocally and the fact that she is 60 ft in the air standing on a tiny little platform). to me it doesnt seem too easy. i give everyone on broadway alot of credit.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 10:59am

Rob Evan has an awesome belt. I saw the closing of Little Shop and he held that Dentist note out forever!!!!

[Poppy]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 1:00pm

Yep...I agree. I saw "For The Glory" in Gettysburg and Rob held that last note in the finale number 'For The Glory' for the longest time. Very effective, too...like a plaintive cry.

[Cenoern]

Posted: 7/22/06 at 1:17pm

Yeah, that link of Minako is insane. 30 seconds.

[CFK]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 2:21am

Idina has an insane belt in the Wild Party at the end of Juggernaut. Its over 14 seconds and change.

[bwaymizfit]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 12:06pm

A few people have mentioned BSM in "Ragtime" The particular song in question is "Make Them Hear You." The whole song is amazing, but that last note is just incredible (not to mention tear-jerking)!

"When they hear you/I'll be near you A-GAAAAAAIIIIINNN"
He holds that E for a full 14 seconds

[amcchemist]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:59pm

Michael Crawford also did a long one as part of his Fosco role when he was with Woman in White in London. It was during his "You can get away with anything" solo. It was pretty amazing. I timed it at least 30 seconds, if not longer. I wonder if he could have held it longer.
Updated On: 7/28/06 at 10:59 PM

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 2:33am

I'm positive that he wasn't belting at all.

[fachedaluna]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 2:24am

I've heard Stephanie J. Block hold a belt note singing "Don't Rain on My Parade", from Funny Girl. I counted the last note on that song and she held it for a good 25-30 secs. She's got some good lungs

[landryjames]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 10:47am

Linda Eder holds notes simply forever. "This Time Around" on her It's No Secret Anymore is one of her longest recorded notes at about 25 seconds I think. On her albums, she frequently holds notes out for 15-22 seconds which is insanely long.

Rumor has it at last year's concert tour she held a note in "Some People" for 40 seconds. This was attested to by more than a few people. If so, then it is a different arrangement than what she recorded for "Broadway My Way."

[flaemmchen]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 11:54am

Darius DeHaas's final "found" on Lost In the Wilderness is incredible and always gives me goosebumps; it's beautifully clear and it seems like he can sustain it forever.

Elaine Paige holding that "side" for what seems like forever in Nobody's Side on the London recording of Chess also comes to mind. I will never figure out how she sustained it that long...although maybe what ended up on the cast recording was the tenth take of that bar. I like to think otherwise

Updated On: 7/31/06 at 11:54 AM