Sumi Jo - Leonard Bernstein - Candide - Glitter and Be Gay

Leonard Bernstein
- Candide
- Cunegonde's Aria
- Glitter and Be Gay
Vocal - Sumi Jo (Coloratura Soprano)
Conductor - Alfredo Silipigni
1993, Soul, South Korea.

[@paulkim6692]

She turned this music into such an operatic piece better than anyone else.

[@smoothiw]

She's not Japanese but Korean.

[@phoneoperator]

sumi jo is such a wonderful singer. i saw her in carnegie hall and i never knew a voice could sound so controlled and be so endearing. sumi jo has such endurance. she owns every note.

[@elijahbryant7665]

this is the best vocal performance of this song ive ever heard. her riffs are the best ever

[@rockheadkengo]

I love the clarity and richness of her voice in this piece, and for as much as I agree that the acting is really important here, I think that all of the emotion the acting would add (the laughter at the end aside) can be heard clearly through her voice. Also, her r's are hysterical.

[@MaestraWashu]

I know others will disagree, but this is probably my favorite "Glitter and be Gay" on KZbin. Sumi Jo's technique is flawless, and she makes it look easy. I love Dessay and Chenoweth as well, but to me, Sumi brings an extra something to the performance.

[@princesskaguya2000]

She has such a rich, full, rounded tone that really brings a different flavor to this song. She manages to execute it flawlessly and make it her own. Really beautiful.

[@kenm.3512]

Gotta love Sumi Jo. This is from 1993. A marvelous Glitter and Be Gay and I think LB would have loved it. Passionately!

[@gmr2broadway]

she's freaking adorable. and what a gorgeous voice.

[@speedingclock]

I agree. I'm tired of comments under professional singers' performances saying they didn't understand the meaning of the song. A professional will practice a song hundreds of times before it's performed. How wouldn't they know what they're singing? Even if it's another language, they would know by the time they're performing. If they are bad actors, simply state so! gosh.

[@ecl411]

WORK IT OUT! She's one of the best coloratura voices since Sutherland. Love it!!!

[@dj12120]

Actually, Kristin Chenoweth is also a classically trained singer. She has a masters in Opera Performance. It's so obvious in her singing that she isn't just a Broadway singer. Someone who's voice is a 'typical' Broadway singer would be Lea Michele from Glee. However, I think Sumi Jo's timbre is more pleasant to listen to. Kristin's high notes grate my ears. She is a wonderful, wonderful actress though and a very good singer.

[@asaq5345]

사람이 아니라 기계가하는거같아요. 어쩜 음정도 흔들리지않고 퍼팩트피치. 존경합니다.

[@Jake-gy7qo]

막귀인 내가 들어도 박자, 음정, 피치 미스가 몇 개 들리는데ㅎㅎ 적어도 이 공연은 완벽과는 거리가 좀 있는 듯; 그래도 여전히 대단하지만...

[@Abcdefucku101]

jake 그래서 막귀소리 듣지

[@Jake-gy7qo]

@꽁이 최전성기와 공연 미스는 별개죠. 수백번 공연에서 하필 이 영상에만 미스가 담겼을지도 모르구요. 그런데 적어도 이 영상엔 미스가 좀 있네요. 지금 오랫만에 다시 들어봤는데도 똑같아요. 저만 그런 것도 아닌게 여기 댓글들에도 저랑 같은 이야기 하시는 분들 몇몇 있네요.

[@Jake-gy7qo]

@꽁이 3:00 5:02 비교해보세요. 1절은 살짝 빠르고 2절이 정상입니다. 차이가 들리실런지 모르겠네요.

[@Jake-gy7qo]

@꽁이 네, 가정이 아니라 확실히 빠르게 잡혔구요. 3:24 저 부분도 원래는 원포인트로 올라갑니다만 호흡 문제인지 스타카토로 끊었구요. 뭐... 제가 이런 말했다고 해서 조수미님 업적을 비하하거나 그런건 전혀 아니구요. 적어도 이 공연에선 그렇다는 겁니다. 또, 연기는 아쉽지만 동시에 음색 자체가 너무 좋기도 하구요. 개인적으로 음색만 제외하면 최근에 부르신 글리터 엔 게이가 완성도는 훨씬 높아 보입니다.

[@WerIstWieJesus]

With Sumi Jo everything gets class.

[@BajcoTheSinger]

Compating to any other live performance of this song, especially in the final part with those high ha-ha-has, sumi was perfectly accurate, maybe a bit too fast but the best one i've heard but i agree with others, that this is supposed to be a comedy, not only an aria

[@chevrox]

the figaro operas are italian operas, one of which written by a german speaker, based on french plays, telling stories about spanish people; carmen is a french opera about spanish people; madama butterfly is an italian opera about american and japanese people; lakme is a french opera about english/indian people, etc etc. it's not the least bit uncommon.

[@user-jg1cl9gp5c]

성악곡들을 좋아하게 된 이유~ 조수미! 조수미의 목소리에 중독된 것 같다.

[@reclamantul]

Wow. Sumi Jo never stops to amaze me

[@franceseattle]

A wonderful role for Sumi of the beautiful voice!

[@topherv4229]

Marvelous!

[@miafarfalla9631]

I love Kirstin Chenoweth... but this? Took me by surprise!!!! Amazing!!!!

[@Gordrees]

Sumi Jo-Simply the BEST!

[@user-im4do2sn5z]

I dont know when this was recorded but as a reminder to foreigners, I want to say that Korea was a very, very rigid country.... 20 years ago, no one could imagine a soprano with a state as hers to perform with jewelry and pink dress.... I bet about 90% of the audience didnt know what this piece is about....

[@greygrey4908]

It was recorded during her concert in September 1993

[@jeok4134]

Very good point. Totally agree

[@thomaskortvelyessy]

Thank you for giving this very important context. Unless I am misreading at the end, the applause which to me sounds like it is virtually erupting in response, so warm and enthousiastic, suggests to me that she may have given the audience a most unusual and very cherished moment to at least for a moment be able to unashamedly Glitter & be Gay, in a way that would otherwise not even be possible when fully drunk ... ("God was I drunk last night ... ") Good wishes & better for all of us 2024!

[@voltape]

this girl is just amazing!

[@tarasshtonda7875]

The greatest forewer! Incredible Sumi Jo!!

[@elegie84]

My lovely Sumi! God bless her! :-)

[@sesshyssoulmate]

I never noticed short Sumi Jo was. she was an amazing voice. Beautiful.

[@Nightingal518]

Despite the (sadly) awful sound quality of this clip, that may well be the nicest, purest sounding E-flat that I've heard on this song. Now I have to go find other clips of her...

[@alexandraaugust172]

So beautiful. wow

[@yranowa6113]

와...대단해요 감동받았음

[@ivyshoots]

But she pronounces the "h" sound for ALL the "ha" syllables. This is very rare among sopranos; watch Chenoweth, Dessay, and the many other versions of this aria on youtube and you'll see all of them leave out some, or even all, of the h's. You need extraordinary breath control to do what Sumi Jo does. I agree others give more theatrical performances, but hers is unique technically.

[@UqbarTlon]

Amazing voice. I saw her sing this live in Oct 2008 and both her diction and acting were much better compared to this 1993 video.

[@Milylily4Ever]

amazing!! beautiful!! the best

[@김수현-g4c8g]

좀 시간이 지난건데~난 이누나가 왜이리 아름다운지 모르겠네요~노래 잘해서 그런가~자우간 수미냄이 하시면 참 쉬운 노래로 들려요

[@한애순-o3u]

끝내줍니다.~~^^.사랑합니다

[@AnanasZombie]

Beautiful woman has a beautiful voice.

[@eeli1]

Her english was much better than I was expecting, that isn't meant to be demeaning it's just that international singers often have a lot of difficulty. Great job Sumi-Jo!

[@odionsmailbox]

This is the best version YET!

[@hilltophouse101]

She does an amazing job with those runs... So does Natalie! Nobody's more fun to watch than Kristen, but her runs are a bit of a mess... more of a glissando at times.

[@rickardroach9075]

Wow!

[@Tiagoerg]

i also like natalie dessay version of the aria! she is very expressive! Sumi is also great!

[@rebbyjm64]

I believe that people are forgetting who wrote Glitter. Leonard Bernstein...BROADWAY composer. Yes, that's right, BROADWAY. However, not just any singer can sing it. It has to be someone with comedic acting skills and a coloratoura voice. Sumi Jo has the latter.

[@Ichichan0326]

I love her!! ♥!!

[@rebbyjm64]

Oh, one more thing. Kristin Chenoweth grew up studying opera and had originally planned to be an opera singer. She just decided for fun to try out for a Broadway musical and got a part. So, that's the path she took. She's not JUST a broadway singer by any means. She has a lot of range that many singers could only dream of. that being said, Sumi Jo is still a great singer.

[@Tiagoerg]

Sumi is great in her way. She can hold the notes! Dessay likes to leave her personal "touch" on her singing with her vocal range. Sumi is more lighter more "serious". BUt i disagree with you. Sumi have fantastic high notes see for example 5:22 of this video. Plus, see the "Doll Song" aria of Sumi here on youtube. It´s like comparing Callas and Sutherland knowing that both are Dramatic Coloratura Sopranos! If you or everyone else like to discuss it in a more deeper way please do!

[@onlyatclonlara]

I see that there is a lot of debate about he mixture of acting and singing each of the performers use, but without a doubt, I am most impressed with Damrau. She really summed it all up in one nice package.

[@gmr2broadway]

Kristin is great, yes. But Sumi Jo is a worldwide respected opera singer. She sounds phenomenal doing Glitter. Her accent might get in the way slightly, but she's great.

[@hernytc]

grateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[@popetto88]

Brava, brava!!!!!!! Sumi Jo, the Asian diva!

[@dolcevoce]

Brilliant in a very demanding song. It seems almost easy!

[@Narmoriel42]

I might point out that Dessay also has an effortless-sounding high E, and F, for that matter. Sutherland can sound strident at times just like any other soprano.

[@LiliyaSholomey]

great

[@kngiht84]

Her colaratura technique is very much more advanced than Dessay's.

[@stripedman201]

OMG.... what was the highest note she sang?

[@e.cygnus5372]

stripedman201 Eb6

[@picardythirds]

sure, the rhythm's off in some places, but the voice! the voice! *sigh*

[@Jamesscalise]

fancy acting? really? this is opera. acting is a quintessential part of the performance.

[@tjden777]

음정 편ㅡ안

[@DJMcIver]

Thanks. I think Sumi has an ungodly voice. Her incision and control over the notes is unparalleled. No one else (even my favorites, Kristin and Diana) has such precision in executing those embellishments. I don't believe for a second that it's her fault since she is the vocalist. What's great is that even with the phasing she still demands control over the song and persists.

[@Narmoriel42]

True. But how can we really compare anyone to La Stupenda? Dame Joan really was a thing unto herself.

[@clarkrachelann]

Oh please!!! Why are people comparing Musical Theatre and Opera? Apples and Oranges. There are things an opera singer can do that a musical theatre performer cannot but the converse is also true. One style is not superior to the other. They are just plain different. Get over yourselves!!!!

[@onlyatclonlara]

I PERSONALLY enjoy Damrau singing this compared to all of the other versions. I felt she encompassed both Jo and Chenoweth not to mention her own drama. Maybe a bit over the top but she definitely was spot on. This doesn't mean that I don't like either Jo or Chenoweth I just think that Damrue needs to be recognized as much as they have been.

[@DJMcIver]

The problem isn't so much that no one's counting, but that Sumi is rushing (or has a faster idea of the vocalise) and the orchestra has a tough time catching up, but they do meet in the middle after establishing her pace (quicker the second time). A bit more rehearsal though, and it would have been solved. She's doing the standard embellishments. If there are any simpler performances, its only because those vocalists aren't capable of the flexiblity needed in that range.

[@DJMcIver]

Then please tell me what happens at the 3 and 5 minute mark? I'm very familiar with the bassoon part there, and it is not matching against Sumi. It comes back together in about 15 seconds, but it is quite off from each other in that span of time. It becomes really evident when it gets to the little canon with the oboe, not lining up properly.

[@user-rq7xk7px4e]

난 그녀의 매력속으로 침몰되어가네 이것이 Demolition인가 번뇌속 Restructure인가 격정이 해일처럼 밀려오네 어느날 나에게 마법같은 일이 일어났네 하루죙일 그녀의 노래에 빠지고 눈빛에 빠지고 입술에 빠지고 키스를 상상하며 카오스의 벽에 갖혀버렸네 저 가슴의 점은 운명의 예시일까 숙명적 예고일까 보헤미아 소녀의 대리석궁전 깊이 나는 갖혀버렸네

[@kngiht84]

It was only the technical problem with the clip's quality.

[@bwadykstra]

i thought her diction was pretty good. i could understand all the words. her english is easier to understand than renee fleming's is when she sings english arias, in my opinion. (yes i know, renee isn't a true coloratura and she doesn't perform this, that i know of. i was just comparing diction)

[@sourceland111]

역시 굿~

[@acitipo]

Y claro, con el publico que tiene frente, que se puede esperar.

[@antiphob]

no other than gonna do.

[@missflump]

I'm afraid we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. The colaratura sections you mention sound completely fine to me. There's no rhythmical inaccuracies or tempo discrepancies between soloist / orchestra to my ears. I have the music somewhere from my lighter soprano days, I'll have to dig it out. :-)

[@elroymanic]

Kristin is a broadway performer, that's why she sounds the way she does. I think they all do great, in their own interpretations of the song. Kristin adds great acting and does well for how she's been trained and all these other lovely ladies add in their own operatic flare

[@rebbyjm64]

My apologies...he wrote it for Broadway and therefore, whether he likes it or not, he was a braodway composer, a legendary one at that. Yes, he did other things, but what music person doesn't?

[@patebrisee]

You guys heard Renee Fleming? Cheno does really well with what she's got and she amplifies it to a really enjoyable and charming level. It takes tuned in ears to appreciate good stuff like Sumi Jo... but at least we have Cheno to give us a bridge, however much of a 'travesty' it is... from musical theatre to operetta... then to opera, if you're that game.

[@VivaLaMerman]

sumi jo has beautiful technique and amazing high notes, and granted her acting here isn't as good as chenoweth, but remember that chenoweth HAS to act it full out because if she didn't people would focus more on her vocals. cheno's high notes don't have a great sound to them, so she has to kind of work with what she's got. now i think the vocals in this are superb and i'm sure if sumi has to act it full out she could.

[@Loismustdie26]

I don't think Bernstein speaks French, which would make writing on operetta in French difficult. But it was also meant to open on Broadway, and you don't generally have supertitles on things other than operas. But this is just a guess, I don't actually know.

[@killerbunny123123]

she's absolutely WONDERFUL!!!( her mimic could get better though)

[@multimill]

.....but this song was written in English, in case you hadn't realised.

[@gustavoalejandro]

DIVA!!!!

[@robles146]

I agree with you, Damrau is as good as Chenoweth and Jo. The three versions are different, but I love each one the same way

[@genshitenson]

Don't get me wrong--I love Sumi Jo, adn there is no doubt in my mind she is a wonderful opera singer and a performer (I practically grew up with her recordings in the house). I just don't feel musicals are particularly her forte.

[@Tritano]

@baahoui I think this woman does a beautiful rendition, but I'm with you, Kristin blows it out the box!!!

[@BwayPianist391]

@a8738087 It's composed in a round. Bernstein made it that way.

[@elfinstone]

Lol..this recitle performed about 15years ago..

[@icemage156]

Fierce

[@SsteinwayS]

She's so adorable and modest at the end...but she doesn't do some randomly lascivious/creepy laugh like Dessay or Damrau! waaaaa...

[@Tritano]

@micromae kristin is broadway

[@smoothiw]

No, it's not. No one has right to blame your own taste. :)

[@한애순-o3u]

백만불.음향.~~.

[@kennethwan1120]

Is she going faster than the orchestra nearing the end? Or is the orchestra going slower than her? Hahaha

[@smoothiw]

That follows the original score.

[@profelimofficial]

Dear lareto, I know you are a big fan of Dame Joan Sutherland (and I'm, too). But sorry I have to say that Sumi's top notes are NOT painful to my ears.

[@wallish]

@jerely04 You hear her phrasing say that? lol

[@c.royon33]

6;11 cette note, mon dieu. quelle beauté

[@kalex94]

Well . . . shes Korean

[@Tiagoerg]

it´s not the problem making notes clearer but it´s a problem of simply reach them! and to be honest sumi don´t have voice to be dramatic soprano. a dramatic coloratura smashes the sound of a full orcestra when the coloratura notes reach their high point. When they do high notes they are in a full volume amazingly strong and with a amazing tone and timbre. Sumi when does a high note it came out in a very low volume...Sumi doesn´t fit in such difficult scale...

[@onlyatclonlara]

Apologies, "the" mixture of acting and singing each of the performers use.

[@sumimimi0]

you might think that this is bad but this is so long time ago! and last year i went to her concert and she sang this. her voice was much lighter, better english pronunciation and she is 1000 better than this one.

[@misspeckpeck]

What an excellent Japanese soprano!!! Brava!

[@user-vd5sm8lq2n]

노래를 가지고 노시네요.

[@Tiagoerg]

but i saw in saw in wikipedia that dessay tooked a acting course before she start singing...so we can "forgive" sumi for her expressivity in the aria...

[@succubusdiva]

You are all arguing about who did it better - Kristin or Sumi Jo. While both are legends in their own right, nobody can sing this aria better than Dessay.

[@VocalVerdade]

succubusdiva Damrau sings this much better

[@sonospiacente3334]

@@VocalVerdade damrau? Bleh