I admit it: I am absolutely blown away by the superb score of “The Book of Mormon,” the CD of which I’ve almost worn out as I continue my 9 month car trip across the U.S. I’ll review it at a later date (and post a song from it) and note how it brings together the best of classic American musical theater scores with the 21st century.
But years before TBoM, before yours truly was born and a little baby screaming in his crib in New Haven, CT, a smash show called “South Pacific” debuted on Broadway with a plot many of The Greatest Generation could relate to. And in this World War II themed show one of the standout numbers by Rodgers and Hammerstein was “Some Enchanted Evening.”
It wasn’t just the song that sung. It was the artist: Ezio Pinza. His performance of it was sheer artistry.
Watch him below as he performs the number with co-start Mary Martin on TV, circa 1954. And listen to that voice — the voice of joy, the voice of a singer singing more than music and words written by others. If you’re an older person this will be nostalgia; if you’re a younger person interested in the arts this will be a revelation. Note that in this version Martin does an intro — and then Pinza takes over with the main melody.
Now listen to the same number on the original cast recording, recorded under better conditions — even greater musical art in performance:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.