#ted sperling

[writersblock8]

sunday report

howdy,

i saw floyd collins last night. so many thoughts and feelings as i watched a piece that flirts with the concept of mortality and dreams and the media and poverty and so many things. what a gift it was to see this show live on broadway. younger me went crazy (and so did current me). it brought so many memories to the forefront of my mind. it reignited my love for the craft of acting. really spoke to me. and to get to see a show in the vivian beaumont theater! at lincoln center! what a gift. i grew up watching so many of the pbs great performances there. and to hear adam guettel's score live and in person with that orchestra conducted by the legendary ted sperling.

when it comes to the purpose of this blog and why i bring up floyd collins, i found that as i heard guettel's complex vocal writing, i felt like it was giving me permission to write things that people might consider strange or weird. guettel has always used neutral syllables in his work for very specific reasons. oftentimes, i find that it expresses the otherwise inexpressible. in the light in the piazza, the song "say it somehow" features quite a lot of neutral syllables – it's because clara and fabrizio can't communicate in the same language because he speaks little english and she speaks little italian, but their souls and bodies are calling out to each other and they transcend language. "awaiting you" in myths & hymns has a long section that is simply vocalise (a lot of myths & hymns is vocalise). floyd collins uses this neutral syllable in such a unique way – as he is a cave explorer, he yodels and calls to bounce his voice off of the cave walls and ceilings to figure out the area of the space he's in, but it's also used as a means of a much deeper expression. the man is trapped under a lot of debris; it's like his soul calling out. his sister, nellie, calls similarly from above ground to communicate with floyd / speak to his spirit.

in my composition for macbeth, i've been utilizing similar techniques. after hearing sequences like "the carnival" again, i almost feel like i have to put something out so people don't think i'm stealing from adam guettel! the sounds that floyd makes in that scene play with lots of vowel mixture and diphthong bending. there's a lot of ambiguity in what exact vowel or ipa symbol is being sung and i really, really love that. he sounds stuck and it sounds like he's trying to get out and find a way through. lady macbeth in "out, damned spot" is tortured deeply in her soul. she is plagued by the guilt of her actions and desires, and most importantly here, she is unable to express this while conscious or awake. it comes from deep within. i'm really inspired by how dame judi dench does the scene – when she reaches "o! o! o!" and she screams like a whistling tea kettle, exorcising her demons. it's the weeping and gnashing of teeth that is described in the king james version of the bible. she literally sees hell and describes it as "murky." "the dream" from floyd collins interweaves a lot of different melodic lines. it provides a beautiful effect. seeing the show confirmed a lot for me as a writer and gave me a lot of courage to follow my gut about my sound and not feel limited in what i can write. there are people out there who can sing the stuff i write! especially the more complicated stuff. it's when i need actors to also act it where i get a little nervous...

that's a problem for later.

[kdo-three]

Henry Mancini w/ The Henry Mancini Orchestra - Peter Gunn Theme (1959) Henry Mancini from: "The Music from Peter Gunn" (LP) "Peter Gunn Theme" / "The Brothers Go to Mother's" (Single)

Instrumental | Theme Music

@𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞 (left click = play) (320kbps)

Personnel: Henry Mancini: Conductor

The Henry Mancini Orchestra: Al Hendrickson: Guitar Bob Bain: Guitar

John Williams: Piano

Reeds: (Saxophones) Plas Johnson Ronnie Lang Ted Nash

French Horns: John Cave Vincent DeRosa John Graas Richard Perissi

Trombones: Milt Bernhart Kirk De Karske Jimmy Priddy

Trumpets: Frank Beach Pete Candoli Ray Linn Uan Rasey

Vibraphone: Victor Feldman

Rolly Bundock: Double Bass Jack Sperling: Drums

Arranged by Henry Mancini Produced by Simon Rady

Recorded: @ Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California USA August 26, 1958 - September 29, 1958

Album Released: January, 1959

Single Released: February, 1959

RCA Victor Records

[librinudi]

Ted Chiang RESPIRO 2021 Sperling&Kupfer

[citylifeorg]

MasterVoices presents Sondheim and Shevelove's musical "The Frogs"

Images from left to right: artwork created by Owen Gent, Nathan Lane, Douglas Sills, Kevin Chamberlin, Peter Bartlett, Dylan Baker, Chuck Cooper, Marc Kudisch, Jordan Donica, Candice Corbin, and Ted Sperling, courtesy of MasterVoices. INSPIRED BY ARISTOPHANES’ PLAY AS ADAPTED BY NATHAN LANE, ON NOVEMBER 3 AND 4 AT JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER’S ROSE THEATER Third Performance Added on Friday, November…

[fuckyeahstephensondheim]

March 10, 2022 at Carnegie Hall, starring Vanessa Williams, presented by MasterVoices

Tickets on sale December 12, 2021.

More info

[nonesuchrecords]

Composer Adam Guettel's song cycle Myths and Hymns, the recording of which Nonesuch released in 1999, is the central project of MasterVoices' new season. In an online staging conceived by Artist Director Ted Sperling—the music director of the 1999 recording—new short musical films illustrate the protagonist’s exploration of Flight, Work, Love, and Faith. The first chapter, featuring artists like Julia Bullock, Renée Fleming, Norm Lewis, Kelli O'Hara, Joshua Henry, and José Llana, premiered last night and can be seen above, with subsequent chapters to be released in the coming months.

You can hear the original album, which features Guettel, Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin, Kristin Chenoweth, Billy Porter, Theresa McCarthy, and Darius de Haas, among others, here.

[publictheater]

SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE (Original Cast Recording – Premiered at The Public in 2005)

By Michael John LaChiusa

Directed by Ted Sperling

Musical direction by Chris Fenwick

Featuring: Idina Menzel, Mary Testa

[scully-deserves-better]

yall...the king and i.....fucking slaps.....

[ladylizaelliott]

Victoria Clark as Liza Elliott with the Doug Varone Dancers in Lady in the Dark, Mastervoices 2019. Photo by Richard Termine.

[lauraosnessource]

Cheers to three enchanted evenings down at the @cafecarlyle with @tedsperling and @ryanbsilverman! Just three more performances of Rodgers & Hammerstein classics in this legendary, elegant, iconic New York space. 📸: @stephensorokoff, @davidandrako, & @abbydephilips. 👗:@dennisbasso

[juliaeffingmurney]

Flashing back to last year’s Everything’s Coming Up Ethel with Julia and Ted Sperling’s absolutely lovely rendition of They Say It’s Wonderful.

[binibinichangbini]

Seventeen as Guinness world records

Scoups : largest loop the loop in a car (Terry Grant)

Jeonghan : fastest time to drink a bottle of ketchup (Andre Ortolf)

Joshua : longest carrier as an ice-cream man (Allan Ganz )

Jun : fastest time to eat all chocolates from an Advent calendar (Kevin Strahle)

Hoshi : largest margarine sculpture ( Devwrat Anand Jategaonkar)

Wonwoo : largest collection of hamburger related items (Harry Sperl)

Woozi : highest altitude grand piano performance (Evelina de Lain)

The8 : most Smarties/M&Ms eaten in one minute blindfolded using chopsticks (Ashrita Furman)

Mingyu : tallest man living (Sultan Kosen)

DK : most blow torches extinguished with the tongue in one minute (Ashrita Furman)

Seungkwan : Most straws stuffed in the mouth (hands off) (Karate Nataraj)

Vernon : most skateboard 360 frontside spins in 30 seconds (Lunati Hamilton)

Dino : most T-shirts worn at once (Ted Hastings)

[librinudi]

Ted Chiang RESPIRO (pt. 2 di 2) 2021 Sperling&Kupfer

[stllimelight]

Revitalized 'Fiddler' on tour at The Fox

Revitalized ‘Fiddler’ on tour at The Fox

By Connie Bollinger Contributing Writer The Fabulous Fox Theatre’s lush, lively production of “Fiddler on the Roof” is stunning — a celebration of the human condition wrapped in song, with some of the most incredible dancing ever.

Now 55 years old, the musical tells the evergreen story of Tevye the Dairyman and his family as they struggle to eek out a living in 1905 Imperial Russia.

Director…