Dame Judi Dench sings "Send in the Clowns" - BBC Proms 2010 

I've heard every version: Frankie, Barbara, Judy Collins, etc. And this one, by far, strikes the marrow of the song. It is the most moving version. It is not about who has the most impressive voice. She made me cry.

This is a masterclass in understanding a song.

She's a great actress; she's seriously thinking, concentrating about what she's saying; she's using what actors call sense memory; and heaven knows what else. She's mesmerizing, magnetic; she's a marvel. Thank you for this, Dame Judi.

For all those who think she can't sing, she's not trying to sing it, she's performing it.

The silence in the auditorium during her rendition of the song is all you need to know about how mesmerizing and beautifully she performed.

I still find this the most beautiful performance of Send in the Clowns ever; I don't care if she misses notes ... she has lived this song, you can tell by how she performs it. It is mesmerizing.

Truly the ultimate, definitive, heart wrenching performance. She knows and means every syllable of every word. No other actor has gotten to the depth of the soul of the character. Her performance literally takes the air out of your lungs.

I never 'got' the song until I saw this performance. I was in tears. I will never understand how she makes emotion look so natural, real & effortless.Amazing.

Most people don’t know this. Before she went on, she was backstage saying “why do they want me to do this”. I can’t sing. She was so nervous. She didn’t think she could do the song justice. Well, she did.❤️🙏

The way she snaps "Don't bother" with so much anger and then her voice just breaks at "they're here". It's brilliant and deeply tragic

I Believe THAT is how that song was meant to be sung. With feeling. With pause. So much more elegant.

She doesn’t just sing or recites this song, Dame Judi feels every lyric, thus moving the soul and ears of those who hear this version.

The emotions in the way she sings it is off the scale. This is what musical theatre is all about. It is not about hitting every note perfectly, but telling a story and this is just perfection

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you tell a story!

I don't know why I'm even surprised. She's far & away the greatest theatre actress who has ever graced the stage.

Perfect . This song was written for an actress not a pure singer, hence the emotion. Just beautiful.

As some one who is in music education this has to be one of the most charged literature based performances I have seen so far… such love and innocence in the sound is just 😘😘👌👌

Have you ever heard a song, and thought - that, is just what I’m feeling right now. Just heard this performance for the first time and that is exactly what DJD does. She doesn’t “Sing” it as the title says, she feels it. Most of us, would sound exactly like this if we were truly expressing our feelings, raw, emotional, heartfelt, angry, sad, disappointed, depressed and failing. This is not a song. This isn’t sung… This is a soul expressing its deepest feelings, and it is one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL things I’ve ever heard in my life. I feel blessed to have heard it, seen it, felt it, lived it. Open your hearts, not your ears. That silence as she shows her soul, is exactly what you should be. Silent. Embracing this wondrous emotion. Not a sound amongst the thousands there. Simply open to what was her bearing her soul. Beautiful Thank you so much Dame Judi Dench. Thank you so much ❤

i can’t help but cry at just how beautiful this rendition is. the emotion is so powerful and it really brings the story to the forefront, rather than a performer favouring vocals over anything else. stunning

GLORIOUS is the only word for it. Her performance is so powerful it can break your bones.

People say Leonard Cohen couldn't sing either, but either you get it or you don't, this is a heart felt wonderful performance of a great song .

I'm in tears. It's her face, so expressive, so sad.

Sobbing watching this in 2023

She isn't just singing this-she's living every word! Utterly magnificent.

Brava to the audience in this theater that GETS it. Dench is sublime. Period.

I never understood this song, until now that is. Listening to Dame Judi Dench's version is....for lacknof a better phrase, transformative. I felt every word, every syllable. I know she will never read this, but thank you ma'am. This version brought me to tears. You were perfectly imperfect, and I was spellbound. I've listened to your version about 10 plus times now. And I will continue to listen to it. Thank you.

Sondheim writes music for actors who can sing. Not singers who can 'act'. What an astonishing woman. Happy Birthday Dame Judi! xx

Simply stunning and awesome, one voice holding the whole of the audience in the palms of her hands. You don't blink or look away from that performance for one single second.

This never gets old, even after 13 years it was gorgeously performed by the Great Dame herself. 🥹🥲 She commands the stage with her presence and with the sensuous sound of the orchestra serenading along with her only then this pin drop silent in the hall can be achieved ❤ Thank You again for this remarkable performance. I need tissue please 🥲🥲

This is how the song is supposed to be sung. It's a haunting lyric and the voice is supposed to hoarse as if the singer is crying at reminiscing about the past.

well this is what singing a musical theatre song supposed to be. not hitting the notes perfectly or as they are written. saying the words however you feel. bravo

54 year ol d male here. The very last part of the song, with Judy Denches intense stare towards her inner thoughts, got me into tears. So stunningly beautiful and moving. Greetings from Italy.

I am not a fan of non-singer interpretations of great songs...and coming here after Sinatra's seminal, eternal reading. But...Judi Dench proves the exception. And here I am left in tears. A brilliant performance. Her glances, expressions, and voice tell a story of tragedy, mistiming, farce, and aging. Beautiful.

I first heard this version of the song. And it just hit me differently than any other version out there. The emotion she sings the words with. You can see she feels every word. Love, love, love this woman.

She has the gift of story telling and only a few actors or singers have that gift.

This is one of the saddest songs. So beautifully performed with all the regret and irony

I come back to this every few months and each time I'm still in awe. The quintessential performer of this song, understanding what Sondheim intended.

My goodness, I have always been smitten with Dame Judy. Love her to bits!

Perfection, pure perfection. Watching this great lady is such a privilege. 🥰

whoa! Wow! now, i don't understand how people can say, "she can't sing". her interpretation, the character of her voice and her face made this musical performance just unbelievably beautiful.

She can wring so much emotion with each word, with each pause. So empathetic and human. So much talent. So many feels. I love this.

I love how she smiles for the initial applause and then right before your eyes becomes the character

Just when I thought I have heard enough versions of this song, I come upon this gem. It literately brought tears to my eyes.

As Judy said at the time she's no singer,but the emotion she puts into this is just her doing what she does best. I love her natural looks,she's not gone down the route of face lifts,fillers,injections etc,she is just a beautiful mature lady and the word lady so suits her,but she has the naughty twinkle in her eye. One of our true "stars"

I didn't know Judi Dench ever sang a song before. She may not have the best singing voice in the world, but she was fantastic enough to remind me of what I seen in a classic musical.

I have had people ask me "What do you think you re going to miss most when you are gone'? Obviously the answer to this question is "Am I going to be aware of time, space and my past experiences when my time has past"? Who Knows? But I do know this, Judi Dench and her contemporaries gave me the gift of love while I was here. She made me understand that you simply don't love people for what they are, but, for what you are when you are with them and for the part of you that they brought out. So, I may be an old man, my face shows an abundance of wrinkles but hidden in my past and known only to me is the love others have shown me and the love I have given in response and the joy I have every night when my head finds my pillow and every morning when the light of day alerts me that a new day is beckoning. Thanks Judi Dench and I thank all those others who overlooked all the foolish weak things in my life and drew out into the light all the beautiful parts of me that others had not looked quite far enough to find.

2024.... Dame Judy Dench is an artist of the highest order

a nine year old video, but the woman does now and always has taken my breath away. She is what the performing arts is all about. I think she is one of the greatest actresses of our time.

Oh my dear Lord, this is do beautiful, such a performance, full of emotion power and vulnerability. I keep coming back to it and I’m in tears every time. Bravo Dame Judi, bravo.

Oh, Lord, she is not just singing, she is giving life to the music music

Absolutely gorgeous..Heart wrenching music and words..My favorite actress!!

An actor who sings! Not a "vocalist", but an actor who conveys the story with the talent required. Stunning!

14 years and this still has the power to bring so much emotion. Thank you Dame Judy! You are a precious jewel!

What a beautiful performance. Some of the people commenting here should realize that singing is not always about hitting all the right notes, or vocal acrobatics, or belting. Dame Judy was absolutely on point with this performance. She wasn't off-key, and she conveyed emotions through her voice perfectly.

A beautiful story teller..she can emote more than most singers…no movement..just those engaged eyes..focused on the unseen…and a voice built to take people on journeys! The break of her voice in that last word…divinity!

Her version was beautiful she's so soft and gentle I cried she's beautiful

You can find multiple video clips of her singing this over the years, but this is by far the most poignant, most human performance there is - brings tears to my eyes every time. Brava.

The first time I saw her lerform this song, she was sitting on the edge of a two people bed. Alone. With that special voice of hers. I broke down and cried. She is such a fantastic actress! The depth she gives to this, already great song, gives me goosebumps, everytime I hear it.

Stunning performance from Dame Judy..

After listening to Barbra Streisand sing this (wasn't aware she'd done a copy), then the one I'm familiar with by Judy Colllins, I saw this with Dame Judi Dench. I know she's not a singer - but I absolutely loved it. Babs is technical perfection, Judy Collins is, of course, who one thinks of with this, but for some reason Judi Dench made me cry with her version. One doesn't have to be a spot on singer to make something good and emotional. Brava.

Wow! Before watching this performance, I was already a great fan of Judi Dench. Now, my passion increased even more.

If queen Elizabeth had a rival for affection, there she is.

Sings it with a passion it's like her talking about her life showing such feelings in the words

The controlled emotions, the simple theatricality, beautiful, simply beautiful.

Sublime!!!! I never really understood this song but after seeing Dame Judi perform ........... I not only understand it's meaning, It's become one of my all time favourite songs.

How can anybody dislike this? It is fabulous communication?

She has understood that she just has to 'be' Desiree and let the song and emotion well up from deep inside. Total identification with the piece.

I saw her perform this when she was on stage at the National and it was as mesmerising as it is here. She is note perfect and emotionally spot on too.

Magnificent Dame Judi Dench. That is a statement of fact! Her performance here, as usual, is amazing. This is the way Sondheim meant it to be conveyed.

She's magic! I have no words.... Long live, Dame Judi Dench!

I love her. She's so amazing. She should perform more often thank you Dame Judy. You are a treasure for the years

Gorgeous performance. Sung with real emotion and the audience felt it

She's magnificent. Brilliant song, and the way she performs it breaks your heart, every time. Sublime.

My favorite version of one of my favorite Sondheim songs. Thank you, Dame Judy.

Perfectly performed, a song that brings a tear to my eye everytime, but Dame Judy made me want to reach thru the screen and hug her.

GOOSEBUMPS!!!!!! THANK YOU DAME JUDY DENCH for such an emotionally powerful performance. Felt every bit of that...simply beautiful ❤🎵🎶

Great acting. Who needs more for a magic moment. The way she transports the song is sheer bliss.

WOW, what a perfect performance of this number. She had the audience enthralled. What a talent. BRAVA indeed.

this is how this song should be sung

She's absolutely wonderful, I adore her!

I'm crying. So beautiful.

This gave me goose bumps !!!!! If only all singers would interpret their lyrics with such passion, conviction and honesty ...... thank you for this !!!

...and our tears never stop running...

An amazing performance that shows the meaning in the lyrics. Well done Dame Judi

This fantastic performance is exactly the reason they made Judy a Dame. She was brilliant playing M in the Bond movies,especially her moving last scene.

Judy Dench and her powerfully moving delivery of Send in the Clowns. Beautiful.

To me one of the best interpretations of this haunting song

Judi's rendition is my very favorite. The emotion you see on her face half sells the song. A song in a musical is there to advance the story, to explore more of the character's emotions than mere words can convey. Judi was told before she did Cabaret that she could not be taught to be a great singer but she could learn how to "put over a song". This performance proves she did indeed learn how to put over a song. She is a great dame.

She understands the specificity of musical theatre. She’s an ennobling force for theatrical arts. What a blessing she is. And how deeply she should be applauded.

This performance is exquisite. Never fails to move me and choke me up

A beautiful performance. The audience holds onto her every word.

OMG. This is one of my favorite Sondheim songs. So many have made this song about them not really paying attention to the lyrics but rather trying to showcase their virtuosity at the expense of the pathos of this wonderful piece. Dame Judy Dench has made this about what Sondheim intended with every expression and nuance. This is a truly remarkable performance. There is none other like it.

That was freaking amazing. Just the anticipation had me in tears before she even began singing. I knew she would be perfection.

It is such a simple song, such an evocative song--anyone could wish they had written it, so obvious and so lovely. Her rendition is spot on!

I just love her so much .. she’s not a singer .. she’s definitely performing it .. love her !!!

Yes she certainly should keep acting and singing too, everyone has their own voice and this is DAME JUDI DENCH our beloved actress, what a legend she is. Well done, bravo and lets see more.

Love her as an actress, but she does the same singing, gorgeous!

Dame Judi is amazingly beautiful and we are all so lucky to have this to enjoy. She should be cherished ❤

Its all about the emotions ..how it feels to the person listening ..

I will always love this version, thank you for singing this it means so much