After finding out about Susan Boyle I went on a journey thru youtube land and discovered Paul Potts and the aria Nessun Dorma from Pucini's Opera Turandot and those who have sung it. Luciano Pavarotti made it famous when he sang it in FIFA and the Torino Olympics. Aretha Franklin was a fill in for the sick Pavarotti at the Grammy's Awards. Pop singer Michael Bolton sang it quite well and most surprising of all was my discovery who Deanna Durbin was. She was born of British parents in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1921. She was a child star who displaced Shirley Temple with her sweet voice. She was Anne Frank's favorite movie star as her picture was pasted on the wall in Anne's room. Deanna Durbin saved Universal Studios from bankruptcy with her two movies. Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted her in Oklahoma! and Lerner and Kern for My Fair Lady. If she had appeared in them on Broadway I am sure she would have starred in them in the movies. Universal rejected Oklahoma! and Deanna turned down My Fair Lady. She sang at the age of 22 Nessun Dorma in His Butler's Sister but in English the content of which had nothing to do with the Opera Turandot
Deanna Durbin was indeed a major star in the 1940s. She originally signed with MGM, but that studio wasn't big enough for both her and Judy Garland, so Durbin went to Universal, where her breakout hit came in 1936 with Three Smart Girls. Not only did she have a swell voice, but she displayed a kind of adolescent moxie that the sweet, virginal Garland lacked. Here she sings the "Miserere" from Il Trovatore in the 1947 film Something in the Wind with Metropolitan Opera tenor Jan Peerce:
She eventually got fed up with the movie business and, when her contract with Universal ran out in 1948, she not only walked out on the studio, she quit movies entirely. She's living in Switzerland right now, where she shuns any interviews or any offers for a comeback.
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Setanta
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Sat 13 Jun, 2009 08:25 am
It would be nice if you had a link for a performance of Nessun dorma by Miss Durbin (i know, i know, i could go find it myself). As for Paul Potts, he is, in my never humble opinion, overrated. Without his Major Bowles break, he'd never have gotten a recording contract. I believe that no Italian opera company would have given him the time of day based on that performance. The Italians are tough when it comes to operatic performance standards. Pavarotti didn't make a real name for himself until he hit high C nine times in a performance in New York in 1972--he got 17 curtain calls after the performance. I suspect Paul Potts would be hard pressed to hit it once, based on his Nessun dorma performance.
As for Paul Potts, he's a very talented amateur, but you're right that he's not ready for prime time. His technique is just too raw. On the other hand, he and Susan Boyle would be perfect for a touring company of The Mikado.
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Setanta
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Sat 13 Jun, 2009 08:39 am
Thanks, Joe . . . and that made me laugh about the touring company. Mr. Potts is still (relatively) young. If he's smart, he'll get voice lessons, and exercise daily to build his strength and endurance. The crowd went crazy over Pavarotti in 1972 not simply because he hit high C nine times (that aria is a bitch!), but because he made it look easy.
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Setanta
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Sat 13 Jun, 2009 08:42 am
Ooo . . . very cool, Joe . . . there's a link for her performing Amapola on the same page . . . that's next . . .
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Setanta
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Sat 13 Jun, 2009 09:54 am
Wow . . . they've got a raft of her performances. I knew who she was, and what her shtick was, but i'd never associated her in my mind with the "art song." This has been an eye-opener. Thanks very much, Talk72000!
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Merry Andrew
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Sat 13 Jun, 2009 11:30 am
Thanx for those links, Joe. Thanx for this thread, Talk.
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talk72000
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Sun 14 Jun, 2009 05:41 pm
I just got the Rodgers and Hammerstein's box set. The only movie didn't see was State Fair. I was surprised to read that Elizabeth Taylor was chosen for Nellie in South Pacific. She chickened out during the singing audition or maybe she didn't like singing "I'll wash that man right out of my hair!" It is a bit ribald as after all it is about sailors and servicemen on rest and relaxation. Maybe being in her mid twenties this rough stuff didn't appeal to her as the movie she did was "The last time I saw Paris" done with Van Johnson, Donna Reed, Roger Moore, Eva Gabor and Walter Pidgeon. I remember seeing her singing in one of her old movies on TV. She can sing. Her career would have taken a very different turn and she would have been a shoe-in for My Fair Lady which she later on wanted desperately.
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talk72000
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Sun 14 Jun, 2009 05:56 pm
@Setanta,
Sorry, I posted it just before going to bed and I have just been exploring at youtube for more treasures. I don't know much about music just love to listen to songs whether it be in English, Hindi or Italian (it is sweeter if I know what they are singing about).
I read that Paul Potts entered a talent contest and won 8,000 British pounds. With that prize money he went to Italy and got voice training. He so impressed those trainers that he got an audience with Pavassrotti who even gave him some professional tips. He went back to Britain and got involved with some amateur opera shows and married a girl thru an Internat chat room. He got into in a serious car accident and had throat surgery to remove a cyst. He didn't sing for 4 years and was desperate for money as a result of the accident and surgery. His entry into the Britain's Got Talent was an act of desperation. You could see the pain and fear in his eyes as he stepped on the stage before the judges - Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan.
The content of the aria is exactly as it is sung in the opera Turandot, with only the gender changed since it is usually sung by a male about a female .
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