Raising/Lowering Keys

Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard comes to mind- Lowered. It seemed the common opinion was that her singing wasn't that strong, but her acting made up for it.

Carly Rae Jepsen in Cinderella- Lowered.

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I think it's better to make it singable than have them turn in a lousy performance.

Of course, they could have found someone who was capable of singing the original keys in the first place...

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I've always thought that raising/lowering keys were a common occurrence to best fit the performer, especially in a lead role.

I think the keys were raised for all who followed Bacall in Woman of the Year.

I also seem to recall the same happening with those who replaced Karen Akers in Nine. (Or was it Grand Hotel... or both?)

^^ Every song lost its fierceness. I played Patti's Rainbow High and Madonna's Rainbow High back to back for my father once, and he actually burst out laughing when he heard Madonna's.

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I doubt she had to have it changed, but Keala Settle sings an octave higher in "Master of the House"

The most famous example of this was probably Channing in Dolly, where the notes had to be lowered a good 4 or 5 steps for most of the songs because they were originally written for La Merm.

Thank you AwesomeD for your imformed response. Initially I thought if it sounds good what does it matter but had not given any thought to how it would affect the overall sound-so thanks.

I think the keys were lowered for Michael Rupert when he played Tateh in RAGTIME.

"Is it such a good idea to accommodate the singer's voice rather than honoring the keys that the composer wrote in?"

Having workshopped a good number of new pieces now I can tell you that there are plenty of times when what the public finally hears is not the key the composer wrote the song in. Keys will get adjusted in workshops and rehearsals to find the best match for the voice of the actor who is originating the role. So in some cases you are already not hearing anything that is "honoring" the key the composer originally wrote in.

I once heard Patti in an interview tear into the lowering of the keys in the Evita film. She was right in her outrage, but she went on about how keys shouldn't be changed. I laughed because she herself as raised/lowered keys. In fact, she herself said they lowered her "Worst Pies" in the Doyle production to give the song a more natural conversational pitch.

I personally see nothing wrong with it as long it doesn't drastically change the tone (or should I say...feeling) of the piece.

In line with AEA's post, people should also be aware that although there are now computer programs that will transpose a vocal and orchestration automatically, there is still an expense incurred in reprinting orchestra parts, etc. Also, changing the key of one song may alter its relationship with the next song or segue, etc.

I was told by Mimi Hines' assistant that Mimi sang FUNNY GIRL in Barbra Streisand's keys for a year before a friend finally said to her, "YOU are the star of this show now. The keys should accommodate you!" She then demanded adjustments, which were done by hand and probably costs tens of thousands of dollars in the late 1960s. (Not that the show couldn't afford it.)

I was also told that Boyd Gaines sang "Being Alive" several steps lower for Roundabout's COMPANY, much to the chagrin of his competitors who had auditioned with the song in the original key. Speaking of which, I thought the key was almost too low for Larry Kert, but not because he couldn't hit the low notes. It was just that Dean Jones sounds as if he can barely hit the notes on the recording, which adds a lot of tension to the song; Larry sounded like he could have raised the key quite a bit in order to achieve the same tension level.

>>>>Ooh, now I have to find a recording of baritone Jean Valjean....<<<

If you can find the double-CD of the Original French Concept album of Les Miserables, re-released in 1988, "the recording became the first version of the stage show in Paris" and was " the album with which Cameron Mackintosh fell in love with Les Miserables", the role of Jean Valjean was performed by French baritone Maurice Barrier. This was based on the original staging of the musical in Paris in 1980, at Palais des Sports.

There was another cast recording when the show ( Mackintosh version) was staged at the Mogador Theatre in 1991 - but the Valjean role had already been transposed to the tenor range, as it was based on the Wilkinson interpretation.


EDIT: I think album is still available on Amazon, but quite pricey for a new set. Interesting reader comment re the Valjean role --

"Valjean doesn't have many parts strangely enough, but I always thought a tenor Valjean was a bit strange. Here, he is a baritone, who sounds his age, and is very touching."

Updated On: 10/8/14 at 09:58 AM