Audra McDonald is starring in Porgy and Bess on Broadway, but as Bess (and rightfully so). She's performing with Norm Lewis (Porgy) and David Alan Grier (Sportin' Life). The actress who sings this song in the play is Bryohna Marie Parham (as Serena).
I love how the high notes at the end don't come out as just high notes, but rather as a grieving wail, all while singing beautifully. Gershwin would be proud to hear his music sung with such feeling.
man oh man she is just the best. she could move you with a glance and a blink but she chooses to sing and the sounds that come out are more human than human and otherworldly at the same time. spectacular artist
Houston Grand Opera won a Tony Award for their 1976 revival of Porgy & Bess--the only opera company ever to win one. I used to work for HGO, and I've seen the statue!
I have watched this video too many times to count and EVERY single time I am blown away by her power, her talent & honesty. GOOD LORD woman you are blessed!!!!
@sopranosd Actually it was the year before, 1994 (age of 24) she was in Carousel on Bway. I was privileged to see her and it was evident even then that she would go places.
Great diction WOW!!!! A true artist, and a great presence!!! The only thing is her vibrato which is to my taste, a litte too quick, but it is a question of taste. Or else her high notes sound absolutely fabulous, shame she doesn't take more time at the end, I guess that is how the conductor wanted it. In any case, she is a great singer, RESPECT.
Really? I encourage you to listen to mezzo(s) Cecilia Bartoli, Shirley Verrett, Ebe Stignani, Christa Ludwig, and Jennifer Larmore before deciding that the mezzo-soprano voice has, somehow, "half-soprano" characteristics. Also, listen to several different recordings of any Mozart opera (e.g. 'Così fan tutte') and understand that you may be rigidly and unnecessarily clinging to (a very limited notion of?)a system of voice classification which was never conceived with rigidity in mind.
The very best I've ever heard, and I've heard many great sopranos sing this aria. Audra lives it, and I believe her. The pacing, the breathing, the articulation -- perfection.
Yes Audra's rendition is very beautiful. I invite you to view the 1993 movie version of Cynthia Clarey's rendition. I promise you won't be disappointed. The poorly named title on RU-vid is "My Man's Gone Now (Old Man Sorrow). It is a brilliant performance.
@@lindafowler4659 I think Cynthia's version is the pinnacle of operatic performance. But I also think Audra's rendition is the most technically good one I've heard. It's clear and resonate and doesn't suffer from the heaviness that this song can suffer from when over performed.
gotta be the greatest Broadway voice and star of the past 50 years, if not of the century...Streisand and Andrews thrown in the mix give her competition, but she is nonetheless the definition of GREATNESS...I'm so happy I'm living in a time when I've gotten to see Audra sooo many times...
@@mannail888 It's safe yet sad to say; black women have to work twice as hard just to be considered equal. Yet Streisand is referenced as the Gold Standard although we know she could never pull this off in her wildest thoughts.
Please never ever play the race card in any kind of debate that involves African-American artists, particularly their reception in the general public. The race card rhetoric is hyperbole at best.
@@mannail888 ummm no it’s not. Audra has an amazing voice and we all know she would’ve been a household name earlier on in her career if she wasn’t black. She’s a musical theatre icon and your under appreciation of her won’t take that away.
This performance is so full-out, so beautiful and raw and abandoned --- it caught me unaware (and I've heard this aria sung many times by many excellent singers). This is an art that grabs you by the throat and makes you feel. Love me some Audra McDonald.
Phenomenal. Heartbroken and heartbreaking without a trace of self-pity, but, instead, the kind of sorrow that wells up from reserves of strength.. Just raw emotion and profound loss.
She's simply incredible. I love the coolness of her soprano in this piece and she seems to add such passion to every note she sings. Resonance is so gorgeous in even the highest of notes.
I love having Leontyne Price and Audra both singing this song. They both do it so differently. I adore them both. Granted, Price owns everything in the realm of opera.
I can promise you, the restaurant wait staffs, office buildings and church choirs of NYC are FILLED with people who have studied opera at Juilliard… and the Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes, and many others.
Does it really matter what her voice type is in the end? She is Audra McDonald. She basically sings anything she wants. She sang that with SOOOOO much passion that I could not imagine anyone NOT singing about their man being gone.
Oh Miss Audra! I wish I could stop crying long enough to give you the accolades you deserve. You lived this anguish and drew us all in to share the pain and sorrow. Breath taking. Michael Tilson Thomas at the baton bringing that magnificent orchestra to her aid. Third time listening and I can't get out. Thank you so much for posting.
ESPECTACULAR!!! Esta mujer es una maravilla, puro sentimiento, una voz dulce, delicada elegante y majestuosa. En definitiva.. la definición excta de la perfección.
lord how mercy this child just song the mess out of this song. Her articulation and diction very stong. I can hear every single word. And her facial language was just wonderful
@Doromir She has a degree from Julliard in Classica/Opera. This was really where she started.... You're right though - it's not easy to switch styles. However, broadway performers with a classical (read technical) vocal background will find that they can sing just about everything because they have healthy voices/good technique and thus understand how to make modifications across genres in a way that is still healthy and sounds ggood!
Her vocal registers are much more connected than Leontynes, making the performance way more affective. Also her diction is impeccable, and she does something you rarely see in opera anymore... Act.
LOL. Actually, her registers are fairly unsupported, especially the breathy lower end of her voice. And from my point of view you see a lot more “acting” on the opera stage today than you hear great singing.
almost as if people have different tastes than u... i love audra but don't come for beyonce and rihanna just because one type of art suits your tastes more.
HOLY CRAP! I've only ever seen her on Private Practice... my voice teacher gave me a list of singers to watch and listen to and Audra was on that list... never knew she could sing... and MAN can she sing!!!
I agree with everything except her registers being more connected than Leontyne Price's. In the version of Leontyne performing this piece with James Levine (Beverly Sills, hosting) the register changes were intentional and very effective of the time period or setting of the opera. But as far as the second half of your comment, I couldn't agree more!!!!
and...I'd like to hear ANY of the facial critics sing the piece and see if I can hear and understand EVERY DAMN WORD THEY SAY......cause before Audra, I ain't know WHAT THE HELL Leontyne was doing her cattle call about!
Remarkable performance. The pain and aguish of the song are absolutely palpable. She should be as famous as Beyonce. 'cept in America you gotta shake yo bootie an' pop yo kouchie for da big time.
I agree, she's incredible. And what really matters most is whether you can communicate the meaning of the song. That seems almost a lost art, esp (IMHO) in opera.
Sondheim said, "Certainly I can think of no better Porgy than Norm Lewis nor a better Bess than Audra McDonald, whose voice is one of the glories of the American theater." No rebuke there.
@osbornd89 Maybe other singers should also learn how to sing operatically? It's difficult to bash people who have taken time to refine the voice as an instrument. Most of the sounds of contemporary music are simply obstructions to a clear voice. For somebody who spends time evening and relieving tension from the voice, there's no *desire* to sing *incorrectly* to please an audience. Also,, after training in art song (interpreting esoteric poetry) there's little desire to go back to pop.
@spintotenor83 I stand corrected. I thought she had done both Classical and Opera training. I think I was melding her educational background with Kristen Chenowith! And...not snooty...I'm a professional (classically trained) singer and voice instructor myself. I am well aware of the difference as I was trained at a university with both Opera and Vocal Performance (classical) programs. Thanks!
@osbornd89 I have to say that I find some of what you say to be true. We have raised a generation of singers that do not appreciate or understand the arts. Just look around the nation at the school systems that are cutting funding for the arts. I am an opera singer, and I agree we need to be versatile, but I think there is a time and place for everything. I dont think opera houses need to do more mainstream music. It is just that, an opera house. There are opera companies that do light
@octopussy1234 ..and others who appreciate this clip. It is from a 1998 PBS special from Carnegie Hall in Celebration Of "George Gershwin at 100". Fortunately I recorded this 105 minute program and have it on transfer to DVD-R. Truly remarkable performances by Audra, Brian Stokes Mitchell as well as Frederica von Stade all under the baton of John Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. George would have been proud!
Your post is too funny. Chil', PULEEZE!!! You are entirely lost and out of your element here. Price reigns supreme in this aria. She is the sine qua non. Audra is nice, but also out of her element here. This is not operetta. This is Grand OPERA, and PRICE delivers just that and more to boot. Get a grip! And "the southern thing", as you condescendingly say, is actually what it's all about. This is Cat Fish Row, not Brooklyn. Audra's glissando is not fab, it is merely adequate, in her small voice.
Then go ahead and grow upset. ;-) There are different kinds of vibrato. When singing with what Richard Miller calls International School of Singing (let's say an evolved version of bel canto), there will be a vibrato. He explains it as an aerodynamic effect, related to the effect that causes the vocal cords to vibrate in the first place. Bel canto singers can also sing without vibrato, but that's an "effect", and it's seldom used. Any vibrato that is deliberately "made" is going to sound bad.
Ms McDonald has a vibrato that is a bit UNDER the pitch. (It's also VERY FAST!) After a while, this can almost derail the pitch center of the notes. I like this slower version of My Mans Gone Now, but Ms Price in her faster version has a less relentless vibrato, and that allows more room on long held notes for inflection and nuance. With Ms McDonald, it's somewhat more just about the vibrato and the strength and range of her voice. Personal taste issues, I guess.
I know of Lori Brown Mirabal.We may have even met years ago, but I know the name. I agree with you. A dramatic mezzo can sing Serena. I was one when I first did the role, but my voice matured to a soprano. But I have to disagree with you on the Clara regarding Audra. Clara is a true lyric voice, which Audra is not. She could probably sing it in Bess' key, but definitely not Clara's.
Even a well-trained body responds to emotion, be it real or fictive. You're right, there is visible tension. But, the character [is] tense. Tension is more than simply a psychological notion. The performer made a choice in this performance: theatrical vs. musical. Acting and singing are separable to some degree. (I know you've seen the singer/deer in the headlights before.) In this case, something had to give. One cannot equally serve two gods...
That's just it: We're allowed to care about everything or nothing at all when it comes to art. We can choose how focus our attention and receive art. Debates over art don't center around notions of right and wrong as much as such discourse serves to connect minds and to share perspectives. The art, after all, will be what it is (whatever that is) with or without or commentary.
Gershwin conceived, composed, and presented 'Porgy and Bess' as a wholly artistic and 'classical' work; though, he did endeavour to include authentic "folk" elements as well. It is only because the [Other] serves as the American [opera's] subject that there has been such controversy over its place in the Western art canon. Furthermore, there was no distinctively American musical idiom prior to the adoption of the [Black American] musical idiom by the American majority culture.
Man, what is UP with people commenting on the face, lol. You should post a video of yourself deadpanning a soaring aria about your man dying, or something to that effect. OH, and make sure you're performing it for a packed house of at least hundreds of people, so the people in the back rows can appreciate your calm and reserve while singing about a really emotional event in your life.
@osbornd89 opera, and they are wildly successful. WE as singers have to take the initiative and go out and inform people about our artform. I watched Angela Brown do a performance of Opera from a Sistah's Point of View. Highly insightful. It just goes to show that opera is not as supported as it needs to be because it is not taught as it needs to be.
So watching this, I have to wonder: has Audra ever actually played Bess? Because if not, that's a travestry. I mean, it's pretty much perfect for her; you need a very gifted African American soporano for the part, and its one of the most well respected and loved works of American musical theatre/American opera. So if she hasn't, someone needs to cast her ASAP
BUT-- My friend, it IS a dramatic piece, not just a song. There are given circumstances and an emotional need to sing the song. The marriage of her vocal strength and dramatic prowess only makes the experience more full. That's some serious icing on that Gershwin cake, nah mean? ...and BOO to whoever gave you a thumbs up, lol
I love Audra, but I don't know if this is her song. And it's always difficult to classify singers who sing many styles, aspects from her musical theater rep can be heard in how she sings this. Maybe that's why I'm not too keen on her version, I would like it to be a little more operatic. And slower!!!! I like Renee's better.
its great that she's humble and all but TAKE A PROPER BOW lady! audiences erupt for her and she's back in her chair in a nanosecond! nothing wrong with enjoying a bit of glory when you've got a talent like this... superb performance though and thank you for posting
I disagree with your disagreement of your disagreement. LOL The way Ms.Price uses her chest voice is perfect for this song. IT shows a kind of reckless abandonment within the interpretation the same way the character's emotions are out of control due to the depth of her pain. Just my 2 cents
I think I just c***. don't know if I really avoided offense by censoring myself... but WOW. Did not expect that to come out of her.. I mean, I know she's good and trained classically and all.. but after a while, people usually lose it somewhat and can't really do classical anymore... wow.
Gershwin wrote this masterpiece to be sang like this... I'm not even mad on her, she doesnt reach my heart but she's doing as, like I said, how the genius meant it to sound. Plus she's using the old "negro" accent on her voice. Excuse my use of that old horrible word...
i don't much like ninas covers of any porgy and bess. although she has soul and emotion, her lack of vocal technique bothers me. i know, i sound like a music snob, but the woman has little to no vibrato, and she's extremely nasal.
