I've heard Dame Judi Dench perform this classic before but I somehow missed this particular performance from a Sondheim 80th birthday celebration this summer.
A friend was talking to me about Dame Judi's version of this song several weeks ago and I completely forgot to YouTube it...and now here it is...thanks Nathaniel!
I feel like this is one of those rare pieces that captures a quiet melancholy. Musicals love their bombastic emotions, and Sondheim does too, but this is a rare instance of a realist approach to emotion in a genre in love with the melodramatic.
I should note this is my favorite showtune ever, and it may be a tad cliche, but with a song like this (and a performance like DAME JUDI DENCH'S [that needs caps]) how could it not be your favorite?
MattyD -- if you love this song that much i'd recommend listening to LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. I feel like "Dividing Day" is one of the great modern showtunes and it's from this same school of complex subtle adult emotion.
A friend was talking to me about Dame Judi's version of this song several weeks ago and I completely forgot to YouTube it...and now here it is...thanks Nathaniel!
ReplyDeleteFirst Look at The Tourist starring Johnny Depp + Angelina Jolie VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dieWjyhucjU
ReplyDeleteNow I want to see A Little Night Music on Broadway before Stritch and Peters step out.
ReplyDeleteLovely! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteIronically, today is my birthday.
ReplyDeleteIs there anything she CAN'T do.
ReplyDelete@Andrew R -
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, today is your birthday
(Happy Birthday)
I feel like this is one of those rare pieces that captures a quiet melancholy. Musicals love their bombastic emotions, and Sondheim does too, but this is a rare instance of a realist approach to emotion in a genre in love with the melodramatic.
ReplyDeleteI should note this is my favorite showtune ever, and it may be a tad cliche, but with a song like this (and a performance like DAME JUDI DENCH'S [that needs caps]) how could it not be your favorite?
MattyD -- if you love this song that much i'd recommend listening to LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. I feel like "Dividing Day" is one of the great modern showtunes and it's from this same school of complex subtle adult emotion.
ReplyDeleteMORE CLIPS OF "THE TOURIST":
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ETYXfwGUlg
Compare Dame Judi's subtle brilliance with CZJ's "Tony Winning" performance:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUGkjNTRoNo&feature=related
There's no comparison.
merseytart -- if you wanna do comparisons: GO SEE BERNADETTE PETERS IN NY. utterly brilliant. the best rendition i've ever heard of the song.
ReplyDeletesublime. wow. how can you watch the whole show? there aint nothing like a dame.
ReplyDeleteAnon 10:29-Thanks for the correction and birthday wishes.
ReplyDeleteandrew -- happy belated birthday!
ReplyDeleteAgreed Nathaniel. I've never heard a theater go so quiet as when Bernadette Peters started singing this song. Glorious. But Dench is marvelous too.
ReplyDeleteomfg. I finally got out of Europe and flew to NY last week and got A Little Night Music-tickets at TKTS, and I was 'f ing blown away!
ReplyDeleteAnd Bernadette signed my playbill. Without a doubt one of the best days of my life!