| re: My Favorite Overtures | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 06:07 pm EDT 03/28/24 | |
| In reply to: My Favorite Overtures - Zelgo 10:15 am EDT 03/28/24 | |
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| My top three are Candide, Gypsy and Tenderloin. There are many other great ones, most of which have been mentioned, including It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman, The King and I, South Pacific, Flower Drum Song, Funny Girl, The Boys From Syracuse, and for an example of a terrific overture fashioned from a fairly mediocre score, Walking Happy. Like theatreguy40, I would differentiate between music played prior to the start of action and music specifically created to accompany stage action. But sometimes there is a thin line. Among pieces mentioned below that I would not consider overtures are the “Carousel Waltz” sequence; the West Side Story prologue (there is also an overture, rarely played nowadays, although evidence suggests that it was played during the original run, despite what is sometimes said); the Follies prologue, which after the initial music, taken from the cut song “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” segues into a medley accompanying the arrival of the guests that is called an overture in the published score but it comes around or three minutes into the action and after the prologue; and the Porgy and Bess Jazzbo Brown music. Having said that, I would consider The Fantasticks to have an overture even though it is meant to accompany stage action, but it is called an overture. But I suppose others may differ. I will also mention that the Darling of the Day and On a Clear Day overtures that are heard on the cast recordings were created for those recordings, although the latter does combine the prelude or overture heard in the theatre with the entr’acte, with some adjustments. The Darling of the Day overture, however, was assembled for the recording, using the brief prelude heard in the theatre and parts of an overture heard out of town, but with additional material perhaps created just for the recording. |
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