The great Lady of Musical

Elaine Paige: Even music lovers who should not know their names are unlikely to be all around come to her voice, because she was often there when a major new musical from the baptism was lifted. As a first stage Evita, Cats first-Grizabella and first Chess-Florence it is not only immortal initial recordings at the top of the plate, but was up in corresponding single releases on the radio and played down. Forte significantly hardened and partly almost the piano a little breathy, sometimes girlish easy: Even if other, better interpreters of the same songs should have heard yet in the meantime, but simply the typical Paige sound remains with the one or other melody connected unpleasant nasal. Actually not really beautiful voice. But what a performer. What a power. And that fits perfectly to Sunset diva Norma Desmond: this oscillation between girlish innocence and (egomaniacal) hardening, to grimace. And on the basis of great melodies.

A complete recording of this there is unfortunately no interpretation. Fortunately, Elaine Paige has received yet the three key songs of the musical "Sunset Boulevard" (With One Look, A perfect year and As If We Never Said Goodbye) very seriously in the studio and makes them available on this CD. Appetizer, make clear appetite for more. Similar appetizing also three well-chosen excerpts from the biographical stage play Piaf by Pam Gems, for those who do not want to reveal the whole album to this project, both 3-packs show Paige as a mature, strong-voiced character actress with great Ambitus and great charisma ,

The other inserts this CD are more likely to enjoy with caution. The well-known duet I know him so well from chess and is wonderful, but who is still missing in the collection? The live recordings of Do not cry for me Argentina and I Dreamed A Dream (Les Miserables) in 1993, with a large orchestra actually most welcome (finally, there is also of Paige as Fantine no adequate perception) scare with highly expendable order arrangements (who came up with the stupid idea to rewrite the prelude of Fantine ballad?). Furthermore, the attentive listener still will benefit from 4 Excerpts from a production from the 80s, called Stages, which, following on from its successes in Evita and Cats, should demonstrate their full width on stage options: Memory, I do not know how to love him (Jesus Christ Superstar), Another Suitcase in Another Hall and On My Own (Les Miserables: Eponine) (Evita Why must also still sing the only non-Evita ballad of the piece.?). What win the recordings through the emphasis of the young singer, they gamble again by their attempt to jazz up the stage version radio friendly. Why do Grizabella a Hawaiian guitar? So they wait, the 80s ...

So documented Encore not only the representational width of a recording artist, but also the qualitative spectrum in dealing with the preservation of musical pieces on CD that can definitely still room for improvement and the live experience anyway can never replace. So if you want to enjoy Norma times at great length, but the drive for new production to Bielefeld!

These and many other CD-Recommendations can be found in my blog "Potpourri Pottis" under
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