Showing posts with label musical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musical. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2019
All I Ask of You--a beautiful love song from Phantom of the Opera
I went to see Phantom of the Opera for the second time this past Saturday, in Oslo, in Norwegian, together with my husband who had never seen it before. Everything about the Norwegian production was excellent, and strangely enough, the song lyrics in Norwegian were just as beautiful when sung as they are in English. The first time I saw this musical was in London, back in 2003, I think it was. I was together with my sister, and we enjoyed it (I think me more than her), but the whole experience was fun--especially during the pause when we opened our pre-ordered bottle of champagne that was waiting for us at our reserved table. It was good to see this musical a second time; I got a chance to focus on the story, but mostly on the music and songs--they are truly beautiful songs. I especially like 'All I Ask of You', the duet between Christine and Raoul. I found a version online that turned out to be my favorite, after having listened to several different versions with different singers. This one is with Sarah Brightman and Cliff Richard. The video is overly-romantic and over-the-top, but it works. This is one romantic song that will bring tears to your eyes. Enjoy............
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Why I loved La La Land
If you haven’t seen La
La Land, the movie musical that won and lost the Oscar for best picture in
the space of a few minutes (it was mistakenly announced as Best Picture at the
Oscar awards), see it. It was nominated in fourteen Oscar categories, and won ten
of them (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3783958/awards).
The Oscar fiasco is quickly forgotten when you slip into the world that
La La Land creates. I am not a real
movie musical fan—it’s not my favorite genre—but if more of these kinds of
musicals are made in the coming years, I may become one. The songs in this film
are lovely, catchy, bittersweet and memorable. There is an air of respect in
the movie that is rare these days. It was a refreshing change to experience
that level of respect for nearly everything in a film--respect for the genre, for
the actors, for the plot, for jazz music, for acting, for individual dreams, for
good manners, for courtship and good old-fashioned romance (more important than
one often likes to admit), for serious conversations, and overall for the art
of movie-making. That art is on display in full force in this movie—stylish lovely sets,
historical references to the Hollywood of a bygone era and to a Los Angeles of
a bygone era as well. It’s a dreamy, dreamlike film in some respects that has
its feet firmly planted on the ground in most respects. Boy meets girl, they
don’t get together right away, and then they do. Both are talented individuals
who have big dreams, and whose pursuits of those dreams unite them in a common
cause. They love each other and they want the other to succeed. And when the
other doubts himself or herself, they are there to remind them of the bigger
picture, the goal, the big dream. They are there to remind them to never give
up. Neither of them do. I loved pretty much everything about this movie. It
evoked just the right amount of nostalgia for a (presumably) more innocent
time, the longing for a time in one’s life when everything was still new and
untested, when love was new, when conversations between people mattered as a
way of getting to know them. It illustrated the importance of striving tirelessly
to achieve your dreams regardless of the outcome (not always a happy ending),
of not compromising or settling for the
job that gives you the most money, of believing in yourself even when everything
seems to be falling apart around you or when the voice of reason is telling you
to give in and settle for less. Along the way, we are treated to acting that
tugs at your heartstrings (Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone were wonderful together
and singly) and a story that reminds you of that time in your life when dreams and love
were new and your future, largely unknown and somewhat daunting, was ahead of
you. There were some really good dance numbers and some memorable songs. I found myself
humming one of the songs (the one that Ryan Gosling whistles when he is walking
out on the pier) on the way out of the movie theater. The director, Damien
Chazelle, makes it clear that the typical Hollywood happy ending as depicted in the
fantasy sequence at the end of the film is not always the ending in real life for those who achieve their dreams. Boy and girl don’t always ride off
into the sunset together. We need that reminder, even though we are rooting for
the couple to be together against all odds. Sometimes we experience a love when
we are young that transcends us and our real lives, and we are not ready for
it. Or it may simply serve another purpose—to bring out the best in ourselves and to help us achieve our dreams—and that
kind of love is to be cherished for a lifetime.
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The Spinners--It's a Shame
I saw the movie The Holiday again recently, and one of the main characters had this song as his cell phone ringtone. I grew up with this mu...