Summertime, Audra McDonald

[@manuelorozco7760]

Now this my fellow Broadway fanatics is why Audra won her 5th out of 6 Tonys for her performance in Porgy and Bess.

[@dmallett2380]

*cries a river of alto tears*

[@laurelsperanza9380]

Oh, how I wish my mother could have heard you sing this song. She taught it to me 60 plus years ago, and I ended up singing it on stage at my high-school in 11th grade. She would have LOVED your voice. It's magical.

[@iamtonyoutcast]

One of the best singers in the entire world.

[@mannya.1681]

Angels exist !!! And angels are in the voice of Audra!! Just amazing !!! Audra McDonalds 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@idodeclaire]

I believe this is what Gershwin imagined 100%

[@GypsyFairy85]

Anne Brown, she was Gershwin's pick. The original Bess.

[@BlazeKennedy100]

He actually wrote Bess with Emma Moten in mind. She played Bess in one of the countless revivals and it became her signature role.

[@GuapoJhimi]

Absolutely

[@amandapiccirillo762]

Every time this woman sings i get full body chills ❤

[@mariagloriavines8461]

Tiene una voz increíble ❤❤

[@avengedpoisonromance]

per.fect (adj) 1. audra mcdonald 2. audra mcdonald's rendition of summertime

[@Amanda-ex6em]

I heard her sing it live and I can die now

[@creativelife9871]

💯

[@ashaymathieu884]

I never get tired of listening to this gorgeous voice.

[@katetoldness4220]

I love listening to this one. Then the Janis Joplin version. So different and both so GOOD!!!

[@cheri6360]

Yes!!!! 😊

[@floetic_station6238]

This woman is phenomenal, my word she SANG that song

[@lisaortuno8639]

Audra: Sings like three notes on one word Audience: clapping automatically

[@HadashaGrace]

Lisa Ortuno it’s custom to clap because this is the opener of the Opera right after the overture. It’s just proper etiquette.

[@decadencewhimsyandsarcasm]

Esther Okuro also, can you blame them? It’s fucking Audra

[@axucaroso]

I want to give her flowers and have her sing at my funeral

[@jerrysumner4923]

It’s Audra, for goodness sakes!

[@tandrah.978]

Absolutely beautiful artistry.

[@manuelorozco7760]

+Tandra Haynes Very rare to find these days

[@tandrah.978]

+Manuel Orozco Rare indeed.

[@manuelorozco7760]

Tandra Haynes It's a tough pop culture world out there. I love Audra

[@selamgetu6564]

I got to see her perform this and it put me in a trance. Her voice is just out of this world

[@tomcarr8995]

Every note she sings I'm like "f***, she's good!"

[@sharonhoyt2133]

Beautiful song and beautiful singer.

[@noahhutchins5164]

2:35 is just so fucking good and effortless. Love how she never sounds strained when she sings and you can tell she's been well trained and knows what's she's doing

[@roynorth4137]

What's even more amazing is the seamless transition from head to chest at 2:38.

[@johaythornthwaite3850]

My favourite song sung by my favourite soprano, perfection

[@pablosantander5739]

Her performances gives me chills always

[@williamlrobinson6293]

I always feel recharged after listening an Audra vocal!

[@SummersOfficialPage]

STUNNING rendition!

[@toristmm47]

Every time I watch this video I never want it to end

[@edwardgerdemann2400]

A great singer singing a great song.

[@patricem.cooper9828]

Never heard that song sung quite like this. Audra’s voice was made by the Lord himself! ❤

[@anaguerra9522]

THe consummate master. The most beautiful voice ever!

[@richardwalker9826]

maybe the best of the best - beautiful vibrato - -----and feeling

[@paigealexis5]

I’ll never stop thinking about this performance. Beautiful

[@kailyntoussaint528]

I could listen to this on repeat forever

[@mewmew1640]

The voice of a Goddess!

[@pattimuse1]

She sings so beautifully!🥰🎶

[@bartman898]

Angelic voice.

[@yvetteboheme2789]

Beautiful! Awesome voice! I've just seen her Beauty and the Beast.

[@fairygmother1]

I wish I could send her applause!

[@tinakrise4188]

Absolutely perfect 😮

[@GG-yn6jw]

What an incredibly beautiful voice!😍

[@zyrover]

She's a dual threat: An amazing singer and a great actor.

[@thangvuong9196]

Thank you so much for uploading!

[@manuelorozco7760]

+Thang Vuong I saw her sing this in her concert at Lincoln Center on PBS.

[@thangvuong9196]

Manuel Orozco Lucky devil.

[@manuelorozco7760]

Thang Vuong Why thank you. Audra is such a beautiful singer. I actually never saw her in her stage work before but I saw her in a few little things.

[@manuelorozco7760]

Thang Vuong I've seen her in the TV movie versions of A Raisin in the Sun and Annie which were both executive produced by Neil Meron & Craig Zaden. I've seen her in a few TV appearances as well as The Sound of Music Live starring Carrie Underwood.

[@thangvuong9196]

+Manuel Orozco Did you see her performance as Billie Holiday singing music from the musical Hamilton. It is SO good!

[@Briael]

It's not often I get chills, but wow I'm all goosebumps.

[@ninamadzarevic3926]

Fantastic singer, amazing

[@geraldjohnson848]

July 3rd: Happy birthday Actress-Singer Audra McDonald; 6 x Tony Award winner, Drama Desk Award. Tony Award: Best Actress in a Musical; Tony Award: Best Actress in a Play. Thank you and God bless. Thanks for the upload, Euloize Chamot. Blessings

[@GracieBeardsley3]

Gerald Johnson we have the same birthday. i still can’t believe i have the same birthday as an actual queen.

[@markcuffe4610]

I love her!

[@mauriziotestino9998]

6 year ago and only knew I heard ! However : fantastic !

[@EdInABook]

That voice is like a gift of God. She's remarkable.

[@zacharylavender1568]

I like that she added her own Gershwin flair! I loved it!

[@GoneWhenAutumnCame]

Stunning.

[@harrisonwilliams4962]

TBH I'm not sure anyone else should bother singing this. Ultimate version.

[@DesiderataTruth]

Harrison Williams The ultimate is Ella. Audra's rendition is stunning, but her soprano lacks Ella's darkness.

[@pisceanqueen1]

I prefer Janis Joplin's version, but I'm admittedly not a fan of the opera...

[@brandonburrell8517]

DesiderataTruth I love Ella. However this is the proper key, sung in character from the opera Porgy and Bess by George and Ira Gershwin.

[@richardjones4080]

@@brandonburrell8517 her vocal nuances how she slides some of the notes etc, yeah totally absolutely beautiful

[@jonathanreed5509]

Harrison Williams Leotyne Price

[@user36able]

must be rad to be the xylophone player and have two notes to play every so often (admittedly they are pretty magical sounding notes and holy shit imagine being part of this calibre of performance in any capacity)

[@willnorris3823]

Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the cotton is high Your daddy's rich And your mamma's good lookin' So hush little baby Don't you cry One of these mornings You're going to rise up singing Then you'll spread your wings And you'll take to the sky But till that morning There's a'nothing can harm you With daddy and mamma standing by

[@orion8835]

This is a rather cinematic low key version. Much of the melody is parlando versus actually being sung. The quality is more jazz riffed, intimate versus operatic. The effect is personal, simple, moving and calm. It’s also very evocative. There are a few ways and keys to play with this song.

[@GuapoJhimi]

Uh, yeah. And it really sounded good too.

[@melissafranca1180]

The perfect voice, the beautiful woman

[@analpalbantra1468]

Simply fascinating!

[@williambondar9195]

This was really great, thank you!

[@jonassteinberg3779]

Wow. Uh... this woman is incredible.

[@Aussieroth7]

... No disrespect to Emma Thompson, she's one of the great actresses of any time, but why... WHY was Audra McDonald NOT cast as Mrs. Potts in the Beauty and the Beast remake!? It could have worked!

[@MeowyMakes]

Aussieroth7 she fits as the wardrobe though because the wardrobe is an opera singer.

[@user36able]

funnily enough, the two had actually worked together in another musical before Beauty and the Beast- a production of Sweeney Todd, where Audra McDonald played Lucy, and Emma Thompson played Mrs Lovett. (I just realised that original Mrs Lovett - Angela Lansbury - was also the original Mrs Potts, aka the magical teapot that Emma Thompson played. Maybe that was the logic?) I agree with you - Audra's singing makes me believe that humans are capable of working magic. I can't think of a more fitting place for her voice than the title song of a remake of one of Disney's greatest films. (I should say that I am genuinely a huge Emma Thompson fan, she is an incredibly funny, witty, talented lady - y'all should look up her version of Worst Pies in London, or like, any interview with her, or Sense and Sensibility. She is a genuinely fabulous actress - but Audra's singing voice is one of a kind. )

[@Aussieroth7]

@@user36able ... Wow... Incredible meta. Also, one thing I perhaps should have made clear, Thompson is a good singer too... They just didn't let her sing well for some reason. But Audra... I want to hear her sing Beauty and the Beast at least ONCE!

[@l.a.3479]

IMO, that live-action B&TB prioritized the acting over the singing. They got great actors who could minimally sing instead of great singers who could act.

[@Tatopotatoo]

Mrs. Potts is fkn old lmao

[@romainlefranc3760]

La classe absolue ❤

[@MsDreamscaper]

Thank you.

[@Emily-tx5no]

Audra McDonald is a goddess

[@thomasgarbe8354]

lovely!

[@cavadecor01]

if she wasn't perfection itself... ❤️

[@kabe138]

Love her 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

[@BIGTODD250]

Sing it baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!

[@richardjones4080]

best ever version I have heard of this classic if there is such a thing as vocal perfection wow if this isn't it its seriously close

[@migajasbyaloima]

Breathtaking 😌

[@MarthalieThurstonSachemPiper]

Fantastic

[@ChaseWulff]

This needs to be about 5 minutes longer.

[@baderinwa1]

Wow!

[@boblowney]

spine tingling.

[@pacificoceantsunami8497]

Audra's voice makes me melt, she is so much better and classier than Beyonce or Cardi B, hands down!! I love this old school stuff and Audra has a voice that does not quit!

[@snunnery84]

Why would you compare this to Beyonce or Cardi B. I love Audra as well...however the others are great in their own right!

[@barryrosen405]

so good

[@Yuki_Yuyu27]

Meravigliosa 💓

[@rileysummers484]

Gershwin was a genius, and McDonald is a consummate performer.

[@sarai.ruiz06]

the fact that the guy is playing the thingy like that is killing me

[@sarai.ruiz06]

to: mrs berrywolf from: sarai ruiz

[@eliastato1106]

the life is wonderfull

[@richardwalker9826]

maybe the best of the best - beautiful vibrato - -----

[@multifandom5942]

2:34 reminds me of Kirsten chanoweth in her performance of glitter and be gay

[@iggyzorro2406]

incomparable

[@rat5800]

I’m learning this song with my vocal coach! 😆😊💖💖

[@sandy26m]

Wooooooooooooooooow

[@maracayg]

This woman is so beautiful and so HOT, this is totally unfair to the other women in this world

[@trelee5195]

Does anyone know where to watch her live preformance if of ILL BE HERE

[@thiagopasin1]

Looks like it was written for her.

[@susanllequis3832]

When is this song going to be sung as a lullaby?

[@BeckyOTC]

WoW

[@jacobmorris3664]

I prefer operatic Audra, as glimpsed in the old My Man's Gone Now video, to musical-theater Audra.

[@samuelking9497]

Yes! Especially cause she’s classically trained, sometimes I do wish she did more arias and less musical theatre 😫

[@jacobmorris3664]

@@samuelking9497 If you want the apotheosis of how to sing this aria, watch the Harolyn Blackwell version.

[@laurariccio1329]

😍❣👏👏👍💐💋

[@kabe138]

♥️🎶🎶🎶🎶🙏🏽

[@railehtdoe2907]

Holy shit

[@accordiontv1]

😢

[@MichelespignetAnnEspinet-ee3lu]

Suppose that very gifted jewelry had not understood, could these voices sing?

[@tenzinchoeklang5232]

Is it just me or I’m watching this because it me Hw

[@lstanleysteinberg5239]

p

[@michaeltutty1540]

That vibrato gave me a headache before "Sometime" was done. Impossible to tell if she is even on the note.

[@mmjhcb]

This is very good but not as good as Fleming or Price. They have voices beyond the norm of "very good."

[@samuelking9497]

Well for one, why are you comparing her to them? 😂

[@mmjhcb]

@samuelking9497 Because I can. Duh!

[@nondescript2892]

I don't think Audra would even think of comparing her voice to Price or Fleming...on the other hand many opera diva's cannot do what she does in musical theatre...many tried and often failed...bringing the over-dramatic acting and singing a peg down to colloquial Broadway is also a gift..and Audra masters it

[@mmjhcb]

@nondescript2892 That's just too humorous-- on a number of levels.. Thanks.

[@Masker91]

ummmm she`s no leontyne but she`s ok

[@thangvuong9196]

She's more than "ok" she's incredible. No one who has won 6 Tony Awards could ever be considered just ok .

[@Masker91]

+Thang Vuong yea but she just doesn't compare to leontyne price

[@eddiecat]

+MASKERTUBE I respectfully disagree.

[@thangvuong9196]

MASKERTUBE Perhaps you should listen to Ms. McDonald perform the aria"My Man Is Gone Now" or the clip from the musical Masterclass ( readily available on KZbin)which really displays her voice at it's full majesty.

[@Celtokee]

+MASKERTUBE No accounting for taste. Price is not in her league. Not even close.

[@graceongosi7199]

Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the cotton is high Your daddy's rich And your mamma's good lookin' So hush little baby Don't you cry One of these mornings You're going to rise up singing Then you'll spread your wings And you'll take to the sky But till that morning There's a'nothing can harm you With daddy and mamma standing by

[@MsDreamscaper]

Thank you.