Paolo Szot in South Pacific- Page 2

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 12:45am

I loved Paolo. But then again, I loved EVERYTHING about this production. I'm sad to hear that he'll be leaving without getting a chance to see him again.

[scrappy]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 12:48am

dayao, sorry- i just can't agree with you. i went to his website and listened to the music he has on there as well. i am just not impressed... plain and simple. but i am glad you love his voice and believe that we each hear different things. we all have opinions, mine no more valid than yours!

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 12:57am

Quote from dayao:
"The role of Emile deBecque was written for Ezio Pinza, a bass-baritone. Paolo Szot is a lyric baritone and sings the role higher as do most singers performing the role today. 11 years ago Anest had to sing the role in the original bass-baritone keys which must have been a disadvantage to such a young singer."

Paulo Szot IS singing the Emile DeBecque numbers in the keys sung originally by Ezio Pinza, so I'm not sure what you mean by Szot "sings the role higher as do most singers peforming the role today." If you mean timbre or color, then I agree because of the lyrical qualities of Szot's voice. But in terms of pitch, Szot's songs have not been transposed higher from Pinza's keys.

If anyone is singing different keys from the original mounting of the show, Kelli O'Hara and Matt Morrison do. For instance, Mary Martin's A COCKEYED OPTIMIST is a full step down compared to what O'Hara sings. And Morrison's reprise of YOUNGER THAN SPRINGTIME is at a full step lower than originally written.

And the only recording I know of where Emile sings higher than how the songs were originally written is the 1986 studio recording with Kiri Te Kanawa as Nellie, Jose Carreras as Emile and Mandy Patinkin as Cable. Te Kanawa for the most part sings the same keys as O'Hara, but Carreras, a tenor, was definitely transposed upwards, most notably his SOME ENCHANTED EVENING.

[dayao]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 3:01am

jsg03jd: Yes, that is exactly what I meant. Szot, who is a lyric baritone sings with a lighter and more colored timbre than a darker colored bass-baritone such as Pinza and Szot puts more emphasis on the lyrical qualities of the music and therefore sounds completely different singing in the same key. It is a matter of the intuitiveness of an experienced singer and Szot sings his songs less operatically than Pinza, which is probably more appealing to today’s audiences but is equally disconcerting to many who have seen and heard other productions of South Pacific in the past, especially the 1958 film version in which Giorgio Tozzi, a true Bass sings de Becque with the added advantage of Robert Russell Bennett’s expanded orchestrations played by a 65 piece orchestra.

Personally I don’t like the way Paolo Szot sings de Becque’s songs, although I definitely am in a minority in this respect. His vocals are too pop sounding for my taste and this is based on seeing the show and hearing him again on the cast album. But I grew up listening to the 1958 soundtrack and later hearing the original Mary Martin & Ezio Pinza recording. That goes to show you how we all react in a different way to singers and none of us are wrong or right. It is just a matter of our own admiration and preference for certain singers and their unique communicative abilities.

[keen on kean]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 9:49am

I am in the same minority boat - with the bass-baritone sound of Pinza and Tozzi recorded in my head. I actually admire Szot for being able to eliminate the operatic attack in his voice because a lot of very good opera singers can't cross over to Broadway songs and Szot gets very close.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 8/23/10 at 12:05pm

Just watched some of the Lincoln Center Live airing and fell madly in love with this show again, and I was blown away by what I saw of Paolo Szot. His vocals are gorgeous and his performance is heartbreaking. I cannot wait to watch the rest!