Most Vocally Demanding Roles — Page 4

Snakeskin said: "I see a lot of people saying Eva Peron and Sweeney Todd and this confuses mebecause the most famous actors filling those roles was Madonna and Johnny Depp. Clearly you do not even need to be a good singer to be cast in these roles."



Honestly, if you've not seen Evita or Sweeney Todd performed on stage as written, I think I can understand that people might think they aren't vocally demanding roles. Eva requires vocals of steel (I believe it was the show that established required alternates for matinees so nobody ever had to sing it twice in a day), but Madonna sang in lower keys in the movie. Evita is almost a vocal stunt show, and if she's not going to aim for the roof, there's not really a point in doing it at all.

Sweeney's music is not incredibly high, but is demanding and intricate and runs through layers of intensity that make it a bit more conducive for an "actor who sings." Depp mostly mumbled his way through the score. Helena Bonham Carter approached her music as if she were feather dusting the piano and occasionally humming along.

Simplifying the music in those shows to accommodate a mediocre singer is like putting on a circus with the high-wire on the ground and a children's swingset for the trapeze artists.

Compare:

Johnny Depp: https://youtu.be/g5O9yLhEuTs - notice how intense and angry the orchestration is and Depp kind of warbles along. He yells a lot, but when he sings his acting drops out.

Michael Ball: https://youtu.be/quctDawu_bo - I have never seen this one before now, but it gave me chills three separate times.

Updated On: 9/26/18 at 05:18 AM

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Diana Goodman. Now THAT is a vocal marathon

Updated On: 9/26/18 at 08:31 AM