Question for DR's with "good ears":
In last evening's Capital Celebration, Brian Stokes Mitchell sang "This Is My Moment" and "Impossible Dream" - how many total key changes did he navigate?
der Brucer
And who was The Lady in Red whose penultimate note must have been an H Sharp!
First of all, the song is correctly titled, "This Is The Moment" - from Frank Wildhorn's
Jekyll & Hyde.
-And he was singing the latest "official version" of the song which has the bridge. However, the playout was different from what I'm used to hearing, but it was a concert arrangement so that could be the reason for the almost-discrepancy.
As for the number of key changes, there was only one modulation in each song. The one in "This Is The Moment" is written into the music. The one in "The Quest (The Impossible Dream)" was interpolated for Stokes when he starred in the revival of
Man of La Mancha. It is not in the original version of the song. -And, frankly, shouldn't be there.
*I do have to say, I was a bit off put by Stokes renditions of both songs. They just seemed a little too riffy and nightclub-acty to my ears.
As for the "Lady in Red", she was/is the wonderful soprano, Harolyn Blackwell. -Her rendition of "Summertime" on Simon Rattle's recording of
Porgy & Bess is one of the slowest - if not the slowest - versions on record. And it's exquisite! When I had the good fortune of working with her a few years ago, I asked her why she chose such a slow tempo: "
Chile! Have you ever been in Charleston in the summer? In that heat, you'd be moving slow too."
And I think her penultimate last note was a high D.
**Oh, and the chorus last night sounded a bit rough around the edges too... And/or they were mic'd too closely.
