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Post by Elliot Kane on Sept 9, 2009 3:28:56 GMT
Gilbert & Sullivan are arguably the best writers of Operetta in the history of the medium. Hayley has arguably the best female singing voice in the world. I can't help thinking that putting the two together would be dynamite.
I know Hayley doesn't do Opera, but Operetta is a whole other thing and I suspect Hayley's voice would compliment it perfectly.
Am I the only Hayley fan who's ever wondered what she'd sound like singing Operetta? And what do you all think of the idea? Good or bad?
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Post by stevemacdonald on Sept 9, 2009 6:49:21 GMT
Long time ago I suggested for Hayley G & S's "The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze". That would suit her nicely.
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Post by Libby on Sept 9, 2009 19:37:08 GMT
What's the difference between opera and operetta?
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Post by milewalker on Sept 9, 2009 19:48:04 GMT
one "e" and two "t"s  |
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Post by chantelle on Sept 9, 2009 19:53:02 GMT
Operetta is a step "down" from opera and a step "up" from musical comedy. (Each of the three having varied yet equal merits of their own, of course!) Opera is usually far more dramatic, and is almost always completely sung. Operetta is generally comic, with some spoken lines. And operettas are generally shorter. The difference between a musical comedy and operetta is that generally the musical comedy has a "local" theme. For Broadway and New York, that means a show like "Guys and Dolls" is pure musical comedy, while "Show Boat" with its exotic Southern locale is actually an operetta (that is also due to slightly differing musical styles!). Examples... Opera- Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Mozart. The heavy-weight stuff. Operetta- Most anything by Jerome Kern. Leonard Bernstein's "Candide." Gilbert & Sullivan, obviously. There are many French operettas... Some would consider Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals such as "The King and I" to be operetta. Musical / Musical comedy- West Side Story. Funny Girl. The Pajama Game. Cabaret. My Fair Lady. The Music Man. On the Town. Hope that helps? Wikipedia is always a good resource. |
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Post by milewalker on Sept 9, 2009 20:01:46 GMT
In addition, I think that an operetta is usually sung by a genuine "operatic" voice, whereas musical theater often is not.
Jon
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Post by stevemacdonald on Sept 9, 2009 20:41:54 GMT
Operettas typically include lots of choreography. You wouldn't make it in a Gilbert & Sullivan troupe without passable hoofing skills.
Even though established operetta companies employ highly-trained singers, not every song in an operetta is meant to sound strictly professional -- which ironically takes considerable talent. In the case of G & S there is the occasional "patter" song -- kind of a precursor to today's rap -- in which the lyrics are largely spoken to the music.
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Post by Elliot Kane on Sept 9, 2009 21:48:22 GMT
I think Chantelle's covered the distinction perfectly  I would also consider musicals such as Oklahoma, The Desert Song and Camelot to be Operetta. Anything you'd expect to find Howard Keel in would be a good bet!  In Gilbert & Sullivan Operettas, it is normal for there to be one part that is played by a comedian rather than a singer as such, which is certainly a major difference to Opera. Possibly the most famous comedic role would be that of The Lord High Executioner, from The Mikado. Personally, I love the Judge in Trial By Jury (played so memorably by Frankie Howerd in a great BBC production some years ago), but then I love Trial By Jury best of all - quite ironic, as it's the shortest and the only one where every line is sung with no dialogue between. The one slight snag with getting Hayley to sing G&S would be that most of the best songs are written to be sung by a man. Still, I daresay 'I Am A Pirate Queen' would sound just as impressive as 'I Am A Pirate King'! Iolanthe has some good songs for women, too. |
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Post by Libby on Sept 11, 2009 5:36:11 GMT
Well, all this sounds a little doubtful to me. At least to be on one of her albums.
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Post by Elliot Kane on Sept 11, 2009 16:00:05 GMT
Well, I don't claim for one second to be able to predict what Hayley might or might not do, Libby. I certainly wouldn't have expected the Japanese Songs collections, for example. I just wondered whether other Hayley fans would like to hear her tackle Operetta or not Possibly the best thing about Operetta is that while it CAN be sung 'Opera Style' it actually sounds better sung 'Show Style' - at least, IMO. So Hayley could pick her own preference and run with it. Sounded like an interesting possibility... |
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