best divas/best belting!!- Page 4

[Plum]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 11:31pm

Trust me, it's going to take a lot more than a tiff about musicals to make me hate you.

[bwaybaby2]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 11:47pm

should i be scared???? mmmm....

[Princeton78]

Posted: 9/4/04 at 12:04am

Best belting eh? I'm a big fan of fab divas belting out big numbers. Here are a few faves of mine...
1. Sutton/Gimmie Gimmie...saw it twice, once was great, once, she literally made me shake and even fill up a bit. Her, "Somebody to looove MEEEEE" absolutely blew the roof off the place. Got a standing ovation when the song was over.
2. Donna Lee Marshall-She was playing Grizabella in a tour of "Cats" in the early 90's. Her final verse of "Memory" was fabulous
3. Simone in the 1st. Nat. Tour of "Rent".....singing "Out Tonight"
4. Carolee Carmello in "Scarlet Pimpernel" Geez, what volume this woman gets. I'd go back to see her in "Mamma Mia". Her "WInner takes it all" is gonna blow the sound system.
5. Gotta go with Patti LuPone's version of "Being Alive."

[jmnpublications]

Posted: 9/4/04 at 12:26am

Well, Rachel York comes to mind. How about that sustained "meeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnn" in "I Hate Men" in "Kiss Me, Kate." Also the multiple ways she sang the word "never" in her duet with the bird in the same show. Pretty impressive.

lc

[BT]

Posted: 9/4/04 at 9:21am

Ethel's voice was not pretty, but that dame could belt. Go back and rent some old musicals with her in it. It evokes an era in musical theater that is gone now. And yeah, "powerhouse" is the way to describe it.

If you're in the mood for belting, I agree that Patti's "Being Alive" on the Sondheim at Carnegie Hall CD is perfect for that fix you need. I also think Bernadette does a nice bit of belting in "Move On" from SITPWG.

You can also count on Patti in Sunset Boulevard singing "With one look" and "Never said goodbye".

[BT]

Posted: 9/4/04 at 9:30am

OK, I'll expose myself here - but I think it is nice to see a new generation of Broadway fans. I am a fan of the old guard - Merman, Martin, etc. and of the folks who were on stage when I started to get interested in Bway - LuPone, Peters, Paige and now I like to listen to the new stars - MacDonald, Chenoweth, etc. I took the time and effort to learn about ALL of then - see shows or hear recordings or rent movies. Each of them has their own special something that makes them a star. You do yourself a great disservice if you make blanket statements about "old" musicals or singers who kept singing beyond their prime. In my opinion, being a true theatre fan involves more than going to the current crop on Broadway. Luckily most of you are young enough to have LOTS of time to do the research and really get informed about the stuff that came before this season. I promise you that you will enjoy it. The special effects are not as good as today, some of the orchestrations may seem dated, some of the recordings may be scratchy and some of the singers may sound different than they do today, but without those folks there would be no Wicked, no Q, no nothing!!!

Posted: 9/4/04 at 9:35am

lovesclassics,
agreed. Rachel York is great!

[Derek2]

Posted: 9/4/04 at 11:32am

UMMMMMMM

Patti Lupone in everything
Ethel Merman in everything
Lilias White in How To Succeed
Jennifer in Dreamgirls
Idina Menzel in Wicked

there are just so many lol