 Fran Drescher.jpg)
.JPG)
| Name | Camelot |
|---|---|
| Caption | Original Cast Recording |
| Music | Frederick Loewe |
| Lyrics | Alan Jay Lerner |
| Book | Alan Jay Lerner |
| Basis | The Once and Future King by T. H. White |
| Productions | 1960 Broadway 1963 U.S. tour 1964 West End 1967 Film version 1980 Broadway revival 1981 Broadway revival 1982 Live HBO telecast 1993 Broadway revival 2007 U.S. tour 2008 NY Philharmonic |
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King.
The original 1960 production, directed by Moss Hart and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang, ran on Broadway for 873 performances, winning four Tony Awards and spawning several revivals, foreign productions and a 1967 film version. The original cast album was America's top-selling LP for 60 weeks. The musical has become associated with the Kennedy Administration.
The show's first tryout was in Toronto, at the O'Keefe Centre in 1960. The curtain came down at twenty minutes to one in the morning; Lerner later noted that "Only Tristan and Isolde equaled it as a bladder endurance contest." The morning papers, though kind, hinted that the show needed much work in order to succeed. Lerner was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer and had to withdraw from preparations for a time. Hart then suffered a heart attack, and Lerner stepped in as temporary director for the rest of the out-of-town run at the behest of Kitty Carlisle Hart. Camelot then moved to Boston, nearly an hour and a half shorter, but still running very long. The production team tried to find another director, even phoning Jose Ferrer, who could not undertake the job. Lerner and Loewe disagreed on how to proceed with the show, as Loewe did not want to make any major changes without Hart's guidance. Lerner wrote: "God knows what would have happened had it not been for Richard Burton." Accepting cuts and changes, he radiated a "faith and geniality" and calmed the fears of the cast. Guenevere's song "Before I Gaze at You Again" was given to Andrews at the last minute before the first New York preview, which provoked her famous quote, "Of course darling, but do try to get it to me the night before." After the show opened on Broadway, Hart was released from the hospital, and he and Lerner began cutting the play even further. Two songs, "Then You May Take Me To the Fair" and "Fie on Goodness," were cut.
The advance sale for the show was the largest in Broadway history. The New York critics' reviews of the original production were mixed. Fortunately for the show, Ed Sullivan approached Lerner and Loewe to create a segment for his TV show "Toast of the Town," celebrating the fifth anniversary of My Fair Lady. They decided to do very little from their previous hit and instead to perform four highlights from Camelot. The show stimulated ticket sales, and Camelot achieved an unprecedented advance sale of three and a half million dollars. It was also publicized, just after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (a classmate of Lerner at Harvard), that the show's original cast recording had been favorite bedtime listening in the White House, and that Kennedy's favorite lines were in the final number (in which Arthur knights a young boy and tells him to pass on the story of Camelot to future generations):
Since then, Camelot has been associated with the Kennedy Administration.
The obstacles encountered in producing Camelot were hard on the creative partnership of Lerner and Loewe, and the show turned out to be one of their last collaborations (although they did work together to adapt their 1958 award-winning movie "Gigi" to the stage in 1973, and collaborated again the following year on the movie musical "The Little Prince").
Camelot was Hart's last Broadway show. He died of a heart attack in Palm Springs, California on December 20, 1961.
It won four Tony Awards. The original cast album was America's top-selling LP for 60 weeks.
A two-year U.S. tour followed the Broadway closing, starring Kathryn Grayson and William Squire, who was succeeded by Louis Hayward. There was also a 1963–64 bus-and-truck tour starring Biff McGuire as Arthur, Jeannie Carson as Guenevere, and Sean Garrison as Lancelot. Yet another company toured with the show in 1964, starring Howard Keel as Arthur, Constance Towers as Guenevere, and Bob Holiday as Lancelot. An Australian production opened in Adelaide in October 1963 produced by the J. C. Williamson company and ran for two years. From June 27–30, 2007, the tour played at Toronto's Hummingbird Centre, formerly the O'Keefe, where the musical had premiered in 1960.
While the 2007 "Michael York" tour was performing across the U.S., Candlewood International ran a separate, largely non-equity national tour that played to cities not visited by the union tour. Jeff Buchsbaum directed a cast headed by Robert Brown as Arthur, Matthew Posner as Lancelot, and Mollie Vogt-Welch as Guenevere (ironically, Vogt-Welch would go on to perform with James Barbour of the union tour in Broadway's A Tale of Two Cities). The cast also included Geoff Lutz as Mordred, Noah DeBias as Dinadan, Dave Howard as Lionel, Gregory Van Acker as Sir Sagramore, and Heather Faith Stricker as Lady Catherine. As in the union tour, for this production the Morgan Le Fey sub-plot was removed.
From May 7 to May 10, 2008, the New York Philharmonic presented five semi-staged concerts of Camelot directed by Lonny Price and produced by Thomas Z. Shepard. The cast starred Gabriel Byrne as King Arthur, Marin Mazzie as Guenevere, and opera singer Nathan Gunn as Lancelot. It also featured Christopher Lloyd as Pellinore, Marc Kudisch as Lionel, Bobby Steggert as Mordred, Will Swenson as Sagramore, Christopher Seiber as Dinadan and Fran Drescher as Morgan le Fey. The May 8 performance was broadcast nationally on Live from Lincoln Center on PBS.
Five years later, Arthur sits with Guenevere in his study, debating about what to do. He explains that he wishes to create a new kind of knight-one that does not pillage and fight, but tries to uphold honor and justice. He is eventually inspired, with Guenevere's help, to establish the Round Table to "fight for right, not might." Another five years further, Arthur's idea has led to his Knights being renowned all over the country, and their fame has even spread to France. A young, pretentious and over-religious Frenchman named Lancelot du Lac has heard of it, and is determined to come to Camelot and join Arthur's knights, confident that he is perfect for the post, ("C'est Moi"). King Pellinore, an elderly man who was a childhood friend of Arthur's, also comes to Camelot to witness Arthur's greatness for himself, and it is implied that he has become part of the family. Guenevere organises a May Day festival on the castle grounds ("The Lusty Month of May"), where Arthur introduces his wife to Lancelot. Guenevere takes an instant dislike to Lancelot. Time passes, and he makes an enemy of most of the knights. Guenevere incites three of them; Sir Dinadan, Sir Sagramore and the burly Sir Lionel, to engage him in jousting matches,("Then You May Take Me to the Fair"). Arthur (who has now become "best friends" with Lancelot), is dismayed by this; and at a loss to understand a woman's way ("How to Handle a Woman").
In the jousting match Lancelot easily defeats all three knights. He almost kills Sir Lionel, who fights him last. But the dismay of the crowd turns to awe and adoration, as he appears to resurrect a dead man- though in reality he was probably knocked unconscious. This adoration of the crowd extends to Guenevere, who, to her dismay, finds herself falling in love with him. She does not wish to violate her marriage vows, however, and wishes Lancelot would leave Camelot, ("Before I Gaze at You Again"). Unfortunately, Lancelot loves Guenevere in turn, and is similarly torn by the conflict between this love and his devotion to Arthur. Arthur makes Lancelot a Knight of the Round Table. As it happens, the shrewd King Arthur guesses that Lancelot and Guenevere have feelings for each other, but hopes it will blow over, as he does not wish to upset the tranquility of Camelot. He soliloquizes to his sword Excalibur, that they will rise to the challenges they will all face, together.
Mordred, Arthur's illegitimate son, comes to Camelot to dishonor the King and tries to gain the throne for himself. Arthur puts him in charge of the knights’ training program, not knowing that Mordred is there to destroy the Round Table in revenge against Arthur for abandoning him, and detests the idea of being a Knight, ("The Seven Deadly Virtues"). Arthur begins to feel the strain of ruling England, and both he and Guenevere wonder "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" without any such responsibilities. Mordred, meanwhile, has devised a plan to ruin Arthur and his kingdom permanently. He enters an enchanted glade where his aunt, the sorceress Morgan le Fay, dwells in an invisible castle. Morgan has a sweet tooth, and though she likes Arthur, Mordred manages to bribe her to build one of her invisible walls around Arthur for one night ("The Persuasion"). During this night, As it happens, the Knights are bored with chivalry, and long for a life of fighting and pillaging, ("Fie On Goodness!"). Mordred plays on this to turn them against Arthur. Meanwhile, Lancelot, unable to stop himself, visits Guenevere in her chambers, where they kiss passionately,("I Loved You Once in Silence"). Mordred and some of the Knights of the Round Table interrupt, accuse Lancelot of treason, and try to take him prisoner. Lancelot fights them off and escapes, but Guenevere is arrested, tried, found guilty of treason by reason of her infidelity, and sentenced to be burned at the stake ("Guenevere"). At the execution Arthur watches from a distance; he is torn between upholding his law and doing his duty as a king, or sparing Guenevere, whom he still loves in spite of everything, (as Mordred insincerely urges him to do). At the last moment, Lancelot rescues her and takes her off with him to France. But in the process, Lancelot has been forced to kill some of the other knights, leaving the survivors vowing revenge.
For the sake of his own honor and that of Camelot, Arthur must now wage war against Lancelot at his castle, Joyous Garde in France. Mordred has taken up his own army against Arthur, back in England. The war takes a terrible toll on Camelot, as more than half of the Knights of the Round Table are killed. Before the final battle, Arthur meets Lancelot and Guenevere. Lancelot and Guenevere's relationship has floundered. Guenevere has become a nun, and the Round Table is now broken. They offer to face up to justice in England, but Arthur will not see Guenevere burned or Lancelot beheaded. He forgives them both, and they depart separately. That night in camp, Arthur meets a young stowaway named Tom of Warwick, who has come to join the Round Table. His speech reminds Arthur of the idealism and hope that he had as a young king, and inspires him. Arthur knights Tom, and sends him back to England to grow up there, that he might pass on to future generations the ideals of chivalry and Camelot ("Camelot" (reprise)).
;Act II
1961 Theatre World Award
Category:1960 musicals Category:Arthurian musical theatre Category:Broadway musicals Category:Musicals based on secular traditions Category:Musicals based on novels Category:Fantasy theatre
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
He has appeared in many of world's well-known opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival, Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Paris Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne Festival, and the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels.
While he is justly famous for his vocal prowess and acting, Nathan Gunn has received almost more fame for his physique, a peculiar feat for an opera singer. In 2008, he was featured in People magazine's list of "The Sexiest Men Alive."
He was also appointed a tenured professor of voice at University of Illinois, beginning in the Fall semester of 2007. His wife, Julie Jordan Gunn, who holds a doctorate in accompaniment from University of Illinois, was also appointed an associate professor in accompaniment at the University of Illinois.
Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Date of birth missing (living people) Category:Musicians from Indiana Category:American opera singers Category:Operatic baritones Category:University of Illinois faculty Category:People from South Bend, Indiana
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Franco Nero |
|---|---|
| Caption | Franco Nero, August 2008 |
| Birth name | Francesco Sparanero |
| Birth date | November 23, 1941 |
| Birth place | Parma, Italy |
| Spouse | Vanessa Redgrave (2006 - ) |
In 1967, he appeared in Camelot as Lancelot, where he met his long time romantic partner, and later on in life his wife, Vanessa Redgrave. Following this he appeared in the mafia film Il giorno della civetta opposite Claudia Cardinale released in 1968.
The Battle of the Neretva (1969)
A lack of proficiency in English tended to limit these roles, although he also appeared in other English language films including The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Enter the Ninja (1981) and Die Hard 2 (1990).
Although often typecast in films like Los amigos (1972) or Keoma (1976) he has attempted an impressive range of characters, such as Abel in John Huston's epic (1966), the humiliated engineer out for revenge in Street Law, and the gay lieutenant in Querelle (1982). He has appeared in over 150 films, and has written, produced and starred in one: Jonathan degli orsi (1993).
More recently, he starred in Hungarian director Gábor Koltay's Honfoglalás (Conquest) in 1996, and subsequently in Koltay's Sacra Corona (Holy Crown) in 2001.
In 2010, Nero appeared in the film Letters to Juliet with Redgrave.
Nero walked his future stepdaughter Natasha Richardson down the aisle when she married actor Liam Neeson. Richardson died on March 18, 2009, due to a skiing-related head injury.
In 1987, while filming in Cartagena, Colombia, he was involved in an affair with Mauricia Mena and fathered a son named Franquito.
Category:1941 births Category:Italian film actors Category:Living people Category:People from the Province of Modena Category:Spaghetti Western actors
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
