mattbaume

Glitter and Be Gay with me

Added 2025-01-05 17:00:09 +0000 UTC

They say laughter is the best medicine and I sure could use some of that right now, which is why I invite you to enjoy some performances of "Glitter and Be Gay," the aria from Candide in which a singer chortles in high C while covering herself in jewels. Iconic!

Alas, my back troubles as mentioned in last week's bonus video have gotten a touch more disruptive (don't worry, I'm getting treatment, it's just a slow recovery process) and I'm not able to shoot a bonus video for this week. HOWEVER! I'd like to share some recommendations for delightsome diversions that have been keeping my mind off of my current corporeal concerns. This morning I took some muscle relaxers and watched as many Candide clips as I could find, starting with the above-embedded video of the great Kristin Chenoweth giving her all as Cunegonde. I hope you enjoy it -- she's marvelous -- and after watching that, please compare her performance with this 1968 audio of Madeline Kahn doing the same number. Then read this frankly astonishing story of Constance Hauman's cursed/blessed 1989 performance of "Glitter and be Gay," which involves consulting a psychic and hiding in a closet to evade a rival soprano. For a bonus, here's Barbara Cook telling a very funny story about auditioning for the show and pulling a real gutsy move with Leonard Bernstein.

Hopefully I'll be back on two feet and ready to shoot fresh videos for you by this time next week. Until then, if you can't be pure, then at least let your jewels be!