Finishing The Hat - Julian Ovenden

Sunday in the Park with George at the Théâtre du Châtelet

[@scotverdin9401]

This man's voice just takes me away. just breathtakingly beautiful...and why hasn't he been on Broadway!!??

[@organboi]

That's his own doing. Broadway would have loved him.

[@ChandraQP]

This is my favorite version! His voice is so evocative--you can feel the emotion without even looking at him, and his voice is so full. I love his interpretation of George.

[@organboi]

Incredible. Bravo. Not surprised he does this so well. A magnificently SUNG performance, the way it should be. Can't be better.

[@sexgod1001]

Julian's performance gets compared to Mandy's, almost automatically, it seems. Mandy is supposedly more emotional in the role, and in this song. Fine. Julian's performance affects me just as much, even if his emphasis on the emotional state of the character is somewhat lighter. It is the music that Julian serves, and it is the musicality of his voice that perfectly delivers the emotional quality in it. And he is strikingly handsome as well. Which is not a negligible quality, in a musical star/matinee idol. I'm so grateful that his performance is on KZbin.

[@stefanobudicin]

Stunning and enchanting.

[@peoniesido337]

great singing from Julian as usual!!!

[@sallycoleman5665]

I rather like Julian's version. Maybe it's his British accent--the way he enunciates each word and says the word grass--it's great!

[@alexanderzamora5930]

Gorgeous voice ❤

[@bcdside]

Musically he sounds great, but emotionally, I think he misses the mark. This song is about George being hurt by Dot, deeply. George is hurt by Dot’s actions as well as his own faults. He despairs because he cannot ever fully commit to her as his art will always take precedence. He also cannot truly tell her how he feels; it is cruel irony that George can only seem to reveal his true colors when he is alone.

[@richardmayora5310]

He is a great singer but I am not feeling much emotion. And having heard and seen Mandy Patinkin's heartbreaking rendition .....

[@organboi]

@@richardmayora5310 Funny, all I get is emotion here. That gorgeous perfect voice. He makes it his own.

[@jc22358]

Many comments are missing the point of him performing for the audience, not the camera or mic. This is a fairly large hall - most performers are going to go for the people in the room. Well done, sir.

[@user-cc9vz3ud9e]

His dramatic interpretation of this song seems a little shallow, but I have to say I've never heard it sung so precisely - and that's not an insult, it's lovely to hear.

[@paulonperez]

beautiful

[@corvus1374]

Is he channeling Mandy Patinkin in this rendition? I know how Julian Ovenden sings, and it isn't like this, normally.

[@organboi]

No he is not channeling Mandy. Mandy has nothing but a nasal imitation of a voice. Julian really sings.

[@ngoctbui6061]

Thank you to you, organboi, for defending Julian. He sure is more than capable of performing these numbers in his own way rather than channeling anyone.

[@jrobertsapp]

Countless awards, accolades and sales to the contrary. You are entitled to your opinion but it's well in the minority. Patinkin is the Broadway Musical Star of his generation.

[@Nathaniel12321]

Perhaps a bit, he almost certainly listened to recording of Patinkin. He did originate the role. but I think if he is using anything its Mandy's phrasing and quasi-nasality as influence. Not a bad thing, just a character choice.

[@antmagor]

were can you buy this on dvd?

[@emilyefseaff6008]

Do you know where the full performance is available?

[@evansmith1237]

Don't get me wrong, this is a wonderful performance and Julian is extremely talented, I adore his "Soliloquy" performance, among others, but he's singing too much. He is missing the pedestrian aspect that Sondheim incorporates into his scores, and especially songs like these. Michael Cerveris, although he has not played the role, does a very accurate and seamless rendition. Like I said, much respect for Mr. Ovendon, just not my favorite version of "Finishing the Hat"

[@francescoroberts3841]

+Evan Smith I reckon it's purely because of what's written in the score. Patinking, although he is an will ever be the best George, took a lot a liberty singing wise. Ovenden's version is perfectly faithful to what Sondheim wrote on the sheet music.

[@fountainchain126]

Cerveris played the role in 2004 at Ravinia in Chicago!

[@lisasalmonn]

it's a picky thing, but it is "finishing THE hat." To George, there isn't "a" hat. Every hat is "the" hat.

[@rafajimenez7237]

"Finishing a hat... Starting on a hat.. Finishing a hat... Look, I made a hat... Where there never was a hat" Actually, George does say "a" hat

[@fountainchain126]

You need to study the lyrics beside correcting the actor, you fucktard.

[@michaelisennock8391]

Can "too young" and "disconnected" be a "review"?

[@dommitchell4319]

Julian was 38 when he performed this. Hardly "Too Young". Also I hate when people say that others are "too young" to sing a song. You don't know their life, maybe they've had enough experience in life to be able to understand the song.

[@Pww642]

Leaves me cold. He’s got a great voice, but he knows it and skates by on his vocal strength without risking anything as an actor or showing any real vulnerability. This is just kind of a flowery performance of the song, not an embodiment of it. Watch Mandy or Raul do it and you’ll see the difference.

[@olgil]

Art is subjective and every production of this show is very different from one another. I know what you mean about this performance leaning more on the side of a great music performance than a great acting performance, but I'm okay with that. I love what he did with the song and his version of George. It helps that it's beautifully backed up by the best orchestral accompaniment I've heard for this score. I actually enjoy what he does with his hands and body, holding his book and gracefully swaying his pencil in the air while singing. I'm also glad he didn't try to just copy and replicate what Mandy did. From what I've seen, that's what Jake Gyllenhaal seemed to do and I find that less interesting than this.

[@johnpower6431]

No one beats Josh Groban sinking this song he is in a class of his own.Well that's only my opinion.

[@jrobertsapp]

Lovely voice but he may as well be singing for a recording and not a role. There is no sense of "George," here.

[@Nathaniel12321]

If I may ask, what constitutes "George"

[@JF-ml1jg]

Wow. He can sing. Unlike Mandy Patinkin.

[@evans54]

Mandy can sing -ridiculous

[@dommitchell4319]

As soon as it got to "Yes she looks for me, good." i stopped it. Completely misses the dramatic beat on the word "Good". You don't sing it, you say it. How can you miss this obvious dramatic moment?

[@Nathaniel12321]

Dude, it's a choice not a requirement.

[@boundary2580]

Nathaniel12321 yes, it’s a musical choice, but in order to capture what makes the original incredible it is required. The issue is that Sondheim musicals are so often niche in their characterization and tone that any variance in this throws off the entire show for most people. It’s for this reason why I would not say any modern Sondheim cast has surpassed the original show besides something like Company, which has actually had its tone improved a bit. This is not a bad performance by any sense, but it is just inferior to the acting and staging of the original. It doesn’t help that the staging in this recording looks awful. Again, this does not mean he is not a fantastic singer, he just isn’t fit for the role in the same way Ramin Karimloo is not fit for the role.

[@ethanledina8176]

@@boundary2580 I own the official score and the word "good" is actually notated as a pitched Eb on a dotted half note sorry 😕. My guess is it was likely intended to be held as written but the decision happened in translation from score to stage.