Patti Lupone played Symphony Hall last night with many members of the CSO, conducted by Ted Sperling. I was lucky enough to be in the center, front balcony. "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" was a treat sweetened by plentiful strings, timpani, brass and general musical power. And the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was there too!
Seriously. The orchestra sounded rich and divine. The Hall was beautiful.
Patti was, well, many things delightful.
Her voice seems in great form these days and it did again last night. I'm impressed with how she has developed her head voice over the years. To me, she has never sounded better. And it sounds like she is singing properly now, not putting her vocal cords in jeopardy by yelling out a song. A lifetime of being a work horse, loving a life in the theater, striving to continue to learn and love, bottomless sheer talent, she remains an easy inspiration for me.
Many great, celebratory moments... my favorites were Soliloquy from Carousel... funny, very Patti, rendition of A Boy Like That where she sang both Anita and Maria's parts, and Ladies Who Lunch... With a director that knows how to allow her to let go and stay musically focused, I think she would make a stunning Joanna. Elaine Stritch would be proud. My favorite of the night was the a Capella, un-amplified In A Hundred Years after the 3rd encore.
I felt lucky to be there.
Best bit of gossip from Ted Sperling's bio: "He is delighted to be conducting for Patti Lupone tonight, and looks forward to conducting a joint concert next summer for Ms. LuPone and Ms. McDonald at Ravinia"
We were treated to a full Overture. Over The Rainbow was teased, but, sadly, unsung. She has always left me wanting more.
6 comments:
I'm so glad you made it -- but sorry we didn't get to meet. Ah, New York... or Ravinia... That Patti sure is fab.li
Oh so sweet! Roadtrip to Ravinia again I guess.
Oh so sweet! I guess we'll be roadtripping to Ravinia again.
Wasn't it a night?
That Over the Rainbow tease was an artifact from when they did this concert at Carnegie Hall 7 years ago -- as if to string Patti and Judy's Carnegie Hall performances together.
And I do agree - her voice has improved over the years. And she has SO MUCH energy last night. And did you notice how she kept fiddling with the mic stand - adjusting it fractions of an inch over and over?
Sorry to have missed you!
I just want to go on record as being officially jealous!! Sounds like a magical evening!
Thanks for sharing, Martha!!
Cheers,
Steve
Sounds amazing, I didn't find out about it until too late. We were in NYC last week and saw the new version of Company, I agree Patti would be a great Joanna. We were sad that Sweeney Todd closed before we made it though, would have loved to have seen her in that.
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