Despite receiving mixed reviews, the production won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 1980. Hal Prince gave it an epic sense, a sense that this was a man of some size instead of just a nut case. She is kept in her chamber at his estate like a prisoner, her only connection to the outside world being her window. And he gave her the key to the character, saying "I want Mrs. Lovett to have a music hall character." In the early 2000s, Sweeney Todd gained acceptance with opera companies throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Israel, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia. Once he has the Judge in his chair, Todd soothes him with another conversation on women, but this time he alludes to their "fellow tastes, in women at least". An expanded edition appeared in 1850, an American version in 1852, a new play in 1865. Tearing off their costumes, the company exits. [52][53], In June 2019, for the show's 40th anniversary, a limited run of the production was performed at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne and Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney. Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in The 1997 Finnish National Opera production premiered on September 19, 1997. It's the story of your [own] life."[2]. The Israeli National Opera has performed Sweeney Todd twice. Todd and Lovett soon arrive; as part of his plan to establish his new identity, Todd exposes the elixir as a sham, challenges Pirelli to a shaving competition and easily wins ("The Contest"), inviting the impressed Beadle for a free shave ("The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" – reprise 2). just before Todd slashes his throat and sends him hurtling down the chute ("The Judge's Return"). see all reviews, Green Finch and Linnet Bird (Sweeney Todd). In 1995, the Barcelona cast recorded a cast album sung in Catalan. Alone with Todd, Pirelli drops his Italian accent and reveals that he is Daniel O'Higgins, Benjamin Barker's former assistant; he knows Todd's true identity and demands half his income for life. Remembering Toby, Todd starts to leave, but, realizing he has left his razor behind, returns just as the disguised Johanna rises, horrified, from the trunk. Conducted by John DeMain, the production used scenic designs by Eugene Lee, costume designs by Franne Lee, and lighting designs by Ken Billington. However, Prince soon discovered a metaphor in which to set the show, making what Sondheim had originally envisioned as "a small horror piece" into a colossal portrait of the Industrial Revolution, and an examination of the general human condition of the time as it related to men like Sweeney Todd. [24] This marked the first time in nearly ten years that a Sondheim show had been presented in the commercial West End. "[7], With Prince absorbed in staging the mammoth production, Lansbury and Cariou were left largely to their own when it came to developing their characters. | The murderous barber's story proved instantly popular – it was turned into a play before the ending had even been revealed in print. Todd swears revenge on the Judge and Beadle, and Mrs. Lovett presents Todd with his old collection of sterling silver straight razors, which persuades Todd to take up his old profession ("My Friends" and "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" – reprise). I just figured hell, I've done everything else on Broadway, I might as well go with Mrs. Song lyrics from theatre show/film are property & copyright of their owners, provided for educational purposes The resulting program was televised on September 12, 1982, on The Entertainment Channel. It starred Paul Hegarty as Todd, Karen Mann as Mrs. Lovett, Rebecca Jackson as The Beggar Woman, Sam Kenyon as Tobias, Rebecca Jenkins as Johanna, David Ricardo-Pearce as Anthony and Colin Wakefield as Judge Turpin. The arrangement is straighforward and true to the original. [32] The opening night cast featured four members of the London cast: Jeremy Secomb as Sweeney Todd, Siobhan McCarthy as Mrs. Lovett, Duncan Smith as the Judge and, Joseph Taylor as Tobias, alongside Brad Oscar as the Beadle, Betsy Morgan as Pirelli and the Beggar Woman, Matt Doyle as Anthony and Alex Finke as Johanna. Suddenly, the judge enters; Todd quickly seats him and lulls him with a relaxing conversation ("Pretty Women"). The first London production opened on July 2, 1980, at the West End's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, starring Denis Quilley and Sheila Hancock along with Andrew C. Wadsworth as Anthony, Mandy More as Johanna, Michael Staniforth as Tobias, Austin Kent as Judge Turpin, Dilys Watling as the Beggar Woman, David Wheldon-Williams as Beadle Bamford, Oz Clarke as Jonas Fogg, and John Aron as Pirelli. However, once Anthony has departed, Todd sends a letter informing the Judge that Anthony will bring Johanna to his shop just after dark, and that he will hand her over ("The Letter"). Bryn Terfel, the popular Welsh bass-baritone, performed the title role at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2002, with Judith Christian, David Cangelosi, Timothy Nolen, Bonaventura Bottone, Celena Shaffer and Nathan Gunn. Depending on how and where the show is presented, it is sometimes considered an opera. § This number was written for the original London production and first recorded for the 2000 New York Philharmonic concert performance. There would have been screams and yells but I wouldn't have given a damn. "[4], It is said that on opening night Harold Clurman, the doyen of American theatre critics, rushed up to Schuyler Chapin, former general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, demanding to know why he had not put it on at the Met. [39], Irish tenor David Shannon starred as Todd in a highly successful Dublin production of the show at the Gate Theatre, which ran from April 2007 through June 2007. The show receives three 2015 Helen Hayes Awards nominations for Best Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical (Melissa Baughman), and Outstanding Music Director (Charles W. Johnson). When the show transferred, Quilley replaced Armstrong in the title role. Elsewhere, Anthony spies a beautiful girl singing at her window ("Green Finch and Linnet Bird"), and the beggar woman tells him that her name is Johanna. . I had a feeling it would be a new animal. "That cuckoo style of playing Mrs. Lovett, that was pretty much Angela ... She invented that character", Cariou said. The production employed a minimalistic approach: the cast consisted of a small ensemble of 14 performers, and the orchestra was a seven-piece band. [42], The 2008 Gothenburg production premiered on May 15, 2008 at The Göteborg Opera. Other changes include Michael James Leslie as Judge Turpin. "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" – Company, Todd (full cast except Lovett), "No Place Like London" – Anthony, Todd, Beggar Woman, "Ballad (Reprise 1)" – Company, Judge, Beadle, "Ah, Miss" – Anthony, Johanna, Beggar Woman, "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" – Tobias, Todd, Mrs. Lovett, Crowd, "The Contest (Part 1): Shaving Scene" – Pirelli, "The Contest (Part 2): Tooth-Pulling Scene", "Ballad (Reprise 2)" – Company, Beggar Woman, "Kiss Me (Quartet)" – Johanna, Anthony, Beadle, Judge Turpin, "God, that's Good!" The play was translated into Hungarian by Tibor Miklós and György Dénes. The following month, Melbourne Theatre Company's version opened at the Playhouse in Melbourne, directed by Roger Hodgman with Peter Carroll as Sweeney Todd, Geraldine Turner as Mrs. Lovett and Jon Ewing as Judge Turpin. Said Sondheim, "Hal's metaphor is that the factory turns out Sweeney Todds. A corrupt judge who became obsessed with Lucy Barker, and later with her daughter Johanna. [72], In his essay for the 2005 cast album, Jeremy Sams finds it most relevant to compare Sondheim's work with operas that similarly explore the psyche of a mad murderer or social outcast, such as Alban Berg's Wozzeck (based on the play by Georg Büchner) and Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes (1945).
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