All Rights Reserved, CML. The 1998 Royal Charity Gala Concert, "Hey, Mr. Producer!". Concert held at the Lyceum Theatre in London, raising funds for charity by honoring producer Cameron Mackintosh.
this has spoilt every other version for me, Judi is the master. she is so beautiful and talented, and she gives this song a life that no one else could give it. thank you Judi, for the joy you have added to my life.
The astonishing thing about this is that I am absolutely convinced that we have never before, nor shall we ever again see a rendition of this piece of art as perfect as this is. Earth shattering moment in musical theatre performance hostory. Truly for the ages. I come back tyo it every so often and im as captivated as I was the first time i saw it. Judi Dench is mesmerising, almost as if I am enchanted. I cannot say enough about it. Perfect moment of theatre.
Paul Casals: And what the hell makes you an expert to say what musical theater is and isn’t? Glynis Johns on the original cast recording I C better and no more of a singer than Dame Judi.
Being a great Stephen Sondheim fan, I think I have heard every version of this classic song that has been recorded. But I never really heard it at all until this interpretation. Absolutely brilliant Judy Dench brings the true meaning and feeling of the song to new heights. She is beyond moving here....she is emotionally astounding while, at the same time, being very simple. This, my friends, is art.....
First, it's Judi (with an "i"). You might have heard all of the recordings, but you've probably never seen it "performed", like you have here. So that's why it's more resonant. It's apple and orange comparing a *vocal* performance with an *acting* performance.
Normally I'm a real critic when it comes to music, but this IS different.... This isn't a matter of a 'perfect' performance, but it's her raw emotion that sends shivers down my spine beyond believe.....
When I first saw this video my response was "Oh! Now I get it!" I never quite got "Send in the Clowns" until Judi just put it out there for us. She is phenomenal and my hero.
Every singer should hear this performance, it is a complete education in timing, expression and emotion. Beyond any issues of voice quality she more acts than sings in a performance which outshines any of the great singers who have recorded this piece. Bravo
I was in the audience the night Judy performed this amazing piece. I was around 17. I went because I was a huge fan of Julie Andrews and she was hosting the show. So I was very enthusiastic with my applause when she walked out on stage as you can imagine 🤣. I couldn't remember the other acts of the evening until I found this recording of the show and watched it to remind myself. But I did remember Judy's performance from the night. As it stood out to me. The whole audience seemed to go even quieter and still. As we were all drawn into her incredibly moving performance. She got the biggest applause of the evening. As everyone else must have been so moved by her too. It was rapturous. For someone who was performing amongst all these other well known singers to steal the show right out from them as an actress singing rather than as a well know singer. Was really something to behold. She was and is amazing. I'm so glad I got to see her perform and witness such an incredible moment live. Just shows what an incredible actress she is. She won the race that night. Haha 😂 obviously Julie was incredible too but she didn't perform musically or act that night. Imagine how amazing that would have been if she had. 😍
An example of complete artistry, expression, communication and devotion to the text and music. What she does with so little vocal technique is masterful. She is a lesson in singing without even being a singer. One of the most perfect and beautiful moments of theater ever created. The match of Dench and Sondheim is touched by divinity. This is truly amazing. One of my all time favorites!
Love the circus Miss the elephants But never liked them mistreated The clowns are a distraction As in this great poem with music Masterfully delivered by judy Dench
He wrote the anthem of my life. He died on my birthday. Rest in peace, the creator of the most beautiful ballad of my life...Every my birthday I will listen and shed a tear in honor of you , our dear...,🌿
Came looking for this because I told someone I never understood the lyrics until I heard/saw it done by Miss Dench. I see so many here voicing the same. Watched it and, again, Miss Dench has brought me to tears. It's so beautifully done by Dame Judy.
i was lucky enough to see Dame Jude sing this live in the West End... she is pure gold and this is the most intuitive rendition of this piece ever. She lives & feels every single syllable of every word.
Leave it to Dame Judi to be able to reduce me to tears in under 5 minutes. So much of a backstory and regret squeezed in without any extraneous fluff. This version should win an Emmy every year.
I keep coming back - the most brilliant rendition of this song ever. Jeez it tears your heart strings. One can almost feel the total heartbreak that is inherent in the words of the song. Amazing interpretation. Brava Dame Judy. Brava.
Timeless song, a performance for the ages, I've heard so many world class singers sing this song but nobody connects with you with the meaning of the song as Judi, and that includes Steisand and Sinatra.
I've heard this song from many beautiful voices ,maybe better than Judy 's but nobody touchs my heart like her and makes me cry. The way she says "no one is there" or sorry my dear give me a sense of loneliness.
Have always loved this song since I first heard Judy Collins sing it years ago. Then I discovered Judi Dench’s performance. It touches the heart like no other. You actually understand the true meaning behind the words. The depth of the words and the emotions behind them.
Dame Judi is not a singer, per se, but this is, in my mind, the BEST perfomance of this song. I find it heart-breaking, devastating. She is such a phenomenal performer. Wow. LOVE IT!!
I couldn't agree more. I have never seen Judi Dench give such an emotional performance. She is truly an amazing actress, one of the finest in our world today. Spectacular!
For everyone "downing" her performance...it's about more than the singing, and incidentally, she sings just fine. She won an "Olivier" for this role, which is British Theater's highest honor. Every performer puts their own into the role, and she is no exception.
This is by far the GREATEST performance I have ever seen or heard of this beatiful song. Dame Judi Dench truly gives this song justice.. she is a superb actress. Watching her perform this song brings a tear to my eye every single time I watch it... This is what acting is all about! You don't need to be a gifted singer as long as you can act the sh*t out of it! hehe and she does!
Year after year, I always come back to this performance. I'm a singer myself, and I always look at this for what I should be conveying. This is raw and intense and, though not musically perfect, Dame Judi expresses this song better than anyone I have heard. I never understood it fully until I saw her. Yes, I knew what it was trying to say, but I never felt it viscerally and cried shamelessly until she came along.
I have seen Frank Sinatra sing this song many times in the almost-900 times I saw Sinatra perform live over 22 years. I never thought I would see someone do this song better than Frank Sinatra -- but here it is! I just now found this, and I am just amazed at how perfect it is. Wow!
@@art8kitty11 Yes, I fell in love with Frank Sinatra in the 1970s when I was in my twenties and living in Los Angeles. I saw Sinatra perform many times in Los Angeles and Las Vegas and San Francisco and Chicago, and then here in New York City and Atlantic City when I eventually moved here. It's because I'm old and I started early in my life that I was able to see him that many times - and I have many happy memories!
It's overlooked...but the expression on the man's face helps add a bit more punch to this song. The pain of two people who kept being on the wrong page from each other knowing that it is finally too late for them.
A performance for the ages, and brilliant proof that the art of singing is to tell a story. Which Judi Densch does magnificently. all tnhe while breaking your heart.
wow, amazing! I had goosebumps all over and tears in my eyes - that's what this song should achieve when being well, very well done! bravo, bravo, bravo!
so beautiful! I really love that she approaches it from a actor standpoint rather than a singer.... it makes it seem so much more real/emotional. That's why I love Sondheim, he's one of those composers who writes PEOPLE who happen to convey their thoughts/emotions through song, not just 2-d characters with pretty songs.
Im a heavy metal fan, this morning my radio alarm went off & I heard this for the very first time, it really bummed me out for a couple of hours but it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. And though i have no reference to this song, the unpolished voice of dj judi is the most naturally human & emotional singing I think I have ever heard.
I'd always heard this song, growing up, by Judy Collins and others, but never really liked it particularly. It wasn't until I saw Judi's performance on this video that I really understood this song. She is just amazing, brings such life and meaning to it.
there are really not enough words to describe how painfully, yet beautifully poignant this performance is. It is just pure perfection in 4 minutes and 35 seconds, and one that should be treasured for a long time to come.
Saw her in this role at the NT and it made us all cry. You feel how much she loves him and how gutted she is. Mesmerising to be in a theatre with an actor making you feel that. Sheer magic.
It's a heartbreaking song about opportunities lost. And Dame Judi just nails it, pouring her entire heart into her performance. It tugs on my heart everytime I hear it :(
@photojean1 I'm with you. I have heard this song, through many interpretations, but thanks to Dame Judy, I now know the words by heart...because she sings them from the heart.
WOW!!! Judi Dench pretty much creeps me out everytime I look at her, but I LOVED this performance!!! She was so amazing and real that I actually cried. I could feel the pain behind the song. She as well as her performance was beautiful.
@greyztone I have to say, I prefer a song interpreted by a great actor who doesn't sing so well over a great singer who doesn't act so well. Dench's performance is what first helped me feel this song.
