The focus and intensity and emotion she brings to this performance is breathtaking. And the way she sells it in simple “stand & deliver” style blows me away. I get goosebumps every time I watch it. Sadly I never heard her live and I had multiple opportunities. Thankfully we have these classic performances on the internet accessible at just a few clicks.
Read MoreMy spotlight today focuses on one of these tv celebrities, Florence Henderson, aka Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch), who died several weeks ago at the age of 82. Born in February 1934, she came to NYC in 1951 and made her Broadway debut in 1952 in Wish You Were Here (music by Harold J. Rome, book by Arthur Kober & Joshua Logan, lyrics by Rome). Later that same year, she would leave the show to begin a national tour of Oklahoma, specifically chosen by Rodgers and Hammerstein to play Laurie. In 1954, she returned to Broadway in the long-running musical, Fanny (888 performances) in which she originated the title role.
Read MoreMy first introduction to opera was through The Ed Sullivan Show in the late 50’s and through the 60’s. On Sunday nights I could hear Roberta Peters or Robert Merrill or Renata Tebaldi and many more. I didn’t really “get it” but I did enjoy it. It wasn’t until college, at UNC-CH, where as a music (voice) major I began my real introduction to opera and to all other areas of the classical vocal repertoire.
Read MoreAnother wonderful voice performing some terrific songs in another genre—Patsy Cline [1932–1963], one of the great singers of the 20th century. Born in Winchester, Virginia, on September 8, 1932, she got her big break in 1957 thanks to the Arthur Godfrey Talent program. Six years later(March 29163) at the age of 30 and just months after her last recording session, she died tragically in a plane crash while returning home from a concert in Kansas City, KS.
Read MoreEileen Farrell. I seriously hope you are not saying, “Who’s that?” She was an America soprano whose career spanned five decades, 1940’s–1980’s, and her repertoire was much like the NYFOS motto, she could sing just about anything, and do it beautifully. Her voice was truly remarkable, a force of nature. To get a sampling of her range, watch the 1955 film Interrupted Melody, which starred Eleanor Parker as the Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence. Farrell supplied the singing voice.
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