Most Difficult Broadway Song To Sing?- Page 3

[broadjay]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 4:36am

I totaly agree with all those who say, "Giants in the sky" theres no wear for air and you nedd excellent diction.
I also think "Buddies blues" from 'follies' if done as the solo arrangement doing all parts by yourself, it's flat out incrediable and taxing as hell, it takes a certain kinda performer to pull that song of remotely well.
"Glitter and be gay", of course, but it's also in a league of it's own.
"The millers son" rythm are extremly difficult, and theres alot of demanding sounds to make in that song, to nail it!
I'm sure this debate could go one for ages and I do think as (someone said earlier- forgive me forgetting who said) that some songs like "flying home" are a case of either you got the chops for it or you don't and that is one hell of a diffucult song!

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 4:44am

""Kiss Me" from Sweeney Todd is a mouthful, mainly because both parts are intricate and then putting them together. And Johanna's is all over the place in terms of range."

I adore that song. I love how it takes place as though it were a real conversation... it's just brilliant.


Re: "Ya Got Trouble"

That is a difficult song as far as stamina goes...especially when you have to keep rehearsing it over and over again. Another song from The Music Man that is also stamina demanding is "Wells Fargo Wagon"... though it's not that different (singing wise).

Oh...I just thought of a song... oh! "Quintet" from West Side Story. That one can get a bit tricky.

But...going back to what Rath said... it highly depends on the person. Obviously, a person with opera training will have no issues in handling a song spefically written for that genre. (well, you know what I mean. )

[bjivie2]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 4:52am

I'm confused. Yes, Glitter and Be Gay would be hard for an alto to sing. Just because it's written for a soprano doesn't make it hard. It's that the song is hard for SOPRANOS to sing, and it's WRITTEN for sopranos. It jumps all over the place and has that high D or whatever it is. It's not about the vocal type, it's about the specifics of the song.

Most of EVITA is difficult to sing because it sits on many women's break from chest to head.

Most Sondheim is difficult. The intervals are atypical and often times go against the piano part.

A lot of JRB is difficult because it's really rangy (spans two different vocal types).

"Pity The Child" is difficult because so much of it sits on the top of many men's range that you have to be careful not to scream it so you can sustain through the whole song.

"And I'm Telling You" is really difficult because it's tailored to the specific vocal traits of Jennifer Holliday.

Anything by Guettel or LaChiusa is difficult, as well.

[CompletlyNakedStatue]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 7:58am

Another vote for "Pity the Child".

I also think the roles of Floyd and Homer in "Floyd Collins" are also very difficult, especially Homer's part in "The Riddle Song".

I have to disagree with all the "Into the Woods" songs that are being brought up. I've heard them all done very skillfully by both amateurs and professionals... if the score was *that* difficult it wouldn't be done by high schools and community theatres all over the place. (Granted these productions aren't always successful, but I've seen many which have been.)

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 11:07am

Glitter and Be Gay is hard even for a soprano because that song vocally jumps all over the place.

[moulinrougehk]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 11:28am

Giants in the Sky. It kills me!

[Sant]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 11:36am

Difficult as... ??

- requires extremely wide range?
- requires shifting from one singing technique to another?
- changes in tempo and rhythm makes it hard to sing?
- quick tempo and a lot of words?

Difficult in which way??

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 11:46am

As a singer, I think the most difficult thing to deal with is a song that sits right in the passaggio. I can work a song over and over until I don't have to think about breath and pitch, and of course, I have the range that I have. Stamina can improve through vocal exercise, but except for singing through it and mixing really well, there's not much to do about dealing with passaggio. My voice teacher always gives me really hard songs that sit right there, and it makes placement a b*tch.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 2:01pm

I would say Getting Married Today from Company

Another, although not a traditional song , would be Confrontation from J/H do to the physical acrobatics the actor must do

[TheaterBoy7777]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 4:02pm

Lot's Wife from Caroline or, Change

-I would like to see you sing this is sounds really difficult vocally

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 8:49pm

Ellington's SOPHISTICATED LADY, though not a real theater song, is an extremely gnarly song to sing due to its chromatic bridge. Unless your intonation and pitch are perfect, this is a nightmare to negotiate.




Mayella Ewell
Maycomb, Alabama

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 9:04pm

If i could sing well, i'd love to sing The Confrontation!

[dirty rotten guy]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 9:15pm

"The Ballad of Czolgosz" from Assassins

[LostLeander]

Posted: 11/23/06 at 9:36pm

Sophisticated Ladies is my big book o' songs.

Great song, but it happens to fit my voice well. I could see how it's a bitch to sing, in range, and vocal negotiation.

Gorgeous, though.

[IAMmyownMUSICAL]

Posted: 11/24/06 at 5:56am

Why, God Why
Glitter and be Gay
Giants in the sky (Although I finally mastered it...it takes a long time to figure out the breathing, and the diction has to be freakin' perfect!)
Last Night of The World
Lot's Wife


I know there are millions, but these stand out to me

[EltonJ]

Posted: 11/24/06 at 7:54am

KISS ME from Sweeney Todd. It is also amazing to listen to.

[punk ballerina]

Posted: 11/24/06 at 9:29am

Well, this isnt really broadway songs but, the show is on broadway so it sort of counts. Some of the songs from Jersey Boys. Especally the falsetto* for guys who normally have deeper voices than women.

Also Kiss Me from Sweeney Todd because there is a lot of range and your saying 2 different things at once and it has to sound pretty.

*Im not sure how to spell that one.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/24/06 at 10:18am

nobodyhome---Yes, I did actually played the cello as Henrik.

I was on a voice and viola double-scholarship in college. I had played violin and viola for many years prior, so I wasn't starting completely from scratch.

I'm pretty proud of it.

EDIT: And I've also sung "Giants in the Sky" on stage... not an easy-breezy song... but it's a walk in the park compared to "Later."

Updated On: 11/24/06 at 10:18 AM

[Neverandy]

Posted: 11/24/06 at 12:35pm

Why God Why? Shouldn't be on a list of MOST Difficult Songs to sing. (I am going to start swinging my dead cat again!)
Last night is deceptively difficult. Chris's Role is tough because it requires the delicacy to sing the soft parts of Last night but also the belting chops to do the Confrontation at the end. Why GOd Why though is a textbook contemporary musical theatre Ballad. Any Baritenor worth his salt shoudl be able to do that one (and annoyingly enough most do!)

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 11/24/06 at 5:09pm

"Maria" from WEST SIDE STORY is difficult at the end because of the high tenor notes. Larry Kert did it justice. It's hard for me to sing, at any rate, but I am not a professional tenor.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/24/06 at 5:40pm

Glitter and be Gay

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 12:26pm

Thanks for the reply, best12bars. It sure didn't look easy when Korbich did it, though I guess that sort of thing has become a bit more common.

If Korbich does play the cello, I wonder why he hasn't been in a Doyle show yet. Of course, he's employed now. And I guess they had enough cellists in Sweeney.

Btw, Gypsy9, Kert didn't sing the high B-flat that's in the score in "Maria" (though perhaps it's marked optional?). I guess Bernstein decided Kert's other good points compensated for him not being a true tenor, since all the tenors they could find would not have been believable in other ways.

And IIRC, there's also an optional high C for Tony at the end of the quintet, and Kert didn't sing that note but a lower one (a G, perhaps?).
Updated On: 11/25/06 at 12:26 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 12:32pm

More votes for

Not Getting Married Today

Kiss Me (duet and quartet)

Glitter and Be Gay

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 12:43pm

i definitely agree with a lot of these..

"The tirade section of the Octet from The Light in the Piazza is extremely difficult to sing; the intervals, the syntax, the tessitura. That takes some surefire power of placement... all while emotionally breaking down."

totally, watching it live was just a slap in the face because all of the actors were so emotionally and physically torn by it, very impressive.. highly difficult.

and also from piazza, autiami & even il mondo era vuoto, purely for the italian. yes, i realize it's not uncommon to sing in another language but that is an intense emotionally draining song, and i doubt it being easy.

and i definitely agree with all the JRB stuff. though he is my favorite composer, some of his stuff is quite challenging.

but the hardest song in musical theatre, i seriously don't think just ONE song could take the cake for that. i mean, out of thousands of songs, just one? i don't think that would be accurate to say. but i definitely think you guys have seriously nailed many of them.

<33

[pants2]

Posted: 11/25/06 at 12:57pm

1. once upon a time- the vocal strength that the end of this song takes is unreal, as i've only heard 2 people do it well in my life, and i've heard ALOT of ppl sing it
2. giants in the sky for was easy after i learned the words, which was the hardet part becaus it is very wordy, but as far as range and tempo and breath it was a breeze after a few times of doing it.
3. i definetly would say defying gravity is EXTREMELY challenging but i woudnt say it's the hardest for someone with the right range and vocal strength