I think Bernadette Peters is great and she has stage presence, however I find her voice to be grating at times. I can't listen to the Gypsy recording without having to cringe. From her singing to her awful line-delivery where she sounds as if she's playing Rose drunk, I think that recording was just off.
Idina Menzel I like at times, but many times I just find her to be doing the same yelling over and over again. Even in Aida, she couldn't play the character straight and had to add the Maureen riff she does in EVERYTHING. And let's not forget the constant gasps. It's like "I'm *gasp* flying high *gasp* Defying *gasp* Gravity! *huge gasp*
I'm one of her bigger fans, but Kristin Chenoweth, I feel, sounds really bad on CD recordings. Maybe it's the music selection or the way the studio is processing her voice to the CD, but she sounds thin and on the Wicked CD, a lot more nasal and grating. However, when she does the more classic route and when she sings live, I find her to be a whole lot better.
To me, a lot of things are forgiven for singers who have tendencies to be annoying or grating if they fit the character and have those things give the character depth and personality.
In that respect, I cut Patti Lupone a lot of slack because from what I've heard and seen, she sells the hell out of her characters. However, I don't think I could listen to her sing for a long time. I can't word this right, but she can sound loopy and her diction is just really awful.
Oh, and Hugh Jackman! Someone please tell me his appeal? I think his voice is one of the most obnoxious sounding voices ever to grace the stage. I can't find anything redeemable in his singing voice. I guess it helps to be a "hunk".
"I've got to get me out of here
This place is full of dirty old men
And the navigators and their mappy maps
And moldy heads and pissing on sugar cubes
While you stare at your books."
Updated On: 10/11/06 at 11:18 AM