On Tue, 29 May 2001, Martha Merrill wrote:
> Hi List,
>
> I just got a CD over the weekend with Mandy Patinkin singing showtones by
> Hamerstein and Sondheim. He has quite an interesting voice, don't think I
> have ever heard anything quite like it. Any opinions on his technique or
> sound?
I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Patinkin in concert a couple years ago
(the beginning of his long MAMMALOSHEN tour). My observation, at "close
range" and without studio electronics is that Patinkin has a really
attractive baritone voice that he does his best at all times to obscure by
singing almost exclusively in falsetto. It's a terrible shame, because I
think his "true voice" is that of a latter-day Alfred Drake. Instead, he
chooses to give us Michael Crawford.
As a performer, however, he is a phenom - albeit occasionally
self-conscious and self-indulgent. His concert was an act of artistic
generosity - a non-stop hour and a half at the highest pitch of energy
and intensity.
His theatrical work (and film work) shines in serious roles - George
Seurat in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, Che Guevara in EVITA, for
example (also Avigdor in YENTL, James Nashe in THE MUSIC OF CHANCE) - is
fine, but I think his comedic work is much more problematical, and there
are some things he just shouldn't have done - e.g., Sancho in the studio
recording of MAN OF LA MANCHA, and Lt. Cable in the studio recording of
SOUTH PACIFIC: both performances show artistic poor judgement and maximum
self-indulgence. One suspects that Mandy grabs onto his own artistic idea
and keeps it firmly locked in his jaws, and no amount of persuasion from
directors, conductors, etc. will induce him to let it go. As a result,
when he makes the right artistic choice, he's grand; when he doesn't, he
can make an embarrassing spectacle of himself.
KM
............................
NEIL SHICOFF, TENORE SUPREMO
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Own Website
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ I sing hymns with my spirit, +
+ but I also sing hymns with my mind. +
+ - 1 Corinthians 14:15 +
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