West Side Story Revival - Maria (02.25.09)

[@kdkevs]

That is a gorgeous Bb... I have seen this guy several times on stage now and let me tell you he has one of the most dynamic, charismatic presences and he is a hell of a singer. Thanks for a wonderful rendition of a beautiful song and thanks for posting!!

[@BROADWAYaddict1313]

Matt Cavenaugh is gorgeous, and as is his voice. He is one of my favorite tony's this far in any production of West Side Story. I can feel absolutely every emotion he portray's in this performance, and it's only the audio! Chills!

[@abdramaqueen15]

His voice is gorgeous. I would love to sing with him, or at least see him live. Stunning sound.

[@dannugentactorfilmmaker]

matt cavenaugh is something.....very delicate and cristal i must say. after all i toured with a great company of wss in the european tour and i heard this song every night and this matt is right there with the best of them......bravo to you matt. daniel nugent

[@AnastasioFranco]

Just GREAT!!!!

[@tggold]

I think Matt may be one of my favorite Tenors on broadway (mainly since he's a true tenor and not just screaming notes). His mix voice is pretty awesome, and the Bb was epic. Unfortunately, too pretty for the part in almost every way. (Who would have thought that could be held against you?!) Whatever, I still love him!

[@dunder2006]

I wish I saw this live......amazing in every way

[@ManhattanSonata]

Words cannot describe this... I need to see this show.

[@DeannaMarquez]

oh em gee...this is brilliant. its perfect! i need to see it live!!

[@megan132]

vibratto is GOOD. it means your voice is HEALTHY. if you have a straight tone throughout all of your singing, your stressing your voice too much. his throat is open and the notes are coming out clear and full, and beautifully. so many guys wish to have his voice. its perfect.

[@tomferretti1253]

One of the best versions. Go Matt!

[@fps727]

I like Matt Cavanaugh. He's a terrific actor and he posses a fine voice. This is not a bad rendition of the song and he nails the B-flat. The issue I and others have with him is that he has a very big vibrato. Yes, that vibrato is an indication of a voice singing freely but when it spins as fast as Cavanaugh's voice, it gilds the lily. He is similar in type to Gavin Creel but what Creel has that Cavanaugh does not is the ability to use straight tone, using vibrato more for dramatic effect.

[@Rosseroni88]

I love his voice!

[@JoshRossJRO]

@RSlug789 Not to be argumentative, but actually Berstein originally wrote Maria to climax on the B flat. He meant for Tony to be an operatic Tenor, but realized that it would be more marketable to make West Side Story more Pop-Musicaltheatre sounding. The Original Tony on Broadway, Larry Kert couldn't sustain the high B flat, so Berstein wrote in another line, which is the one you are referring to which climaxes on the "ree"

[@tpolivar]

This guy's amazing. Period

[@JeanVe]

@Helsad93 It's a matter of pure anatomy! For a bariton/baritenor/low tenor or however you want to call it hitting a powerful B flat IS special!!!

[@SexyHogwarts]

I think he is very good. He's singing sounds effortless and those are signs of a good singer. Also this musical is considered an opera-musical and, he's voice is very operatic which fits the character! I can't hear any other type of voice singing this without sounding forceful and like they're screaming. He does a great job and hey the boy is not bad to look at!

[@Davelandia]

I knew when I heard Matt was being considered for the role that it would be a great choice and I was right. Still, I hadn't yet pushed the "buy your ticket" button - till I heard this tonight. OHMYGOD is right. I've got my ticket now!!! Thanks!

[@alphaskank]

@RSlug789 check your facts. in the original score, bernstein wrote the B-flat, and made the part that you know from the original broadway recording an ossia, aka optional if you can't hit the b-flat. matt is brilliant, and bernstein would have been incredibly proud to hear him sing this. look up bernstein conducting jose carreras, kiri te kanawa, etc singing tonight. that's the sound he was going for.

[@punkjoes]

funny, i am new to West Side Story, but my 1957 recording is staying securely on my iPod after hearing this guy. loved the comparison though, i appreciate the original so much more now.

[@ohmagaod]

this guy is incredible. that Bb is wonderful, and that last note at a lovely pianissimo is breathtaking. maybe if you sing all my lectures to me i'd pay attention.

[@ConnorRhoades]

this is the most beautiful song ever written.

[@spencerstephens12]

lol, I know that comment was posted forever ago, but I'm personally struggling with my Bb at the moment and I felt that I should attest to the truth of those words. Because i envy Mr. Cavanaugh so very much.

[@SamSkii14]

I made a mistake** It was actually Jimmy Bryant who did the singing voice for Richard Beymer in the movie

[@gibraltarrr]

lots of vibrato= healthy, well supported, free, on-pitch tone. Nothing wrong with that!

[@GuitarSussMatt]

@oneblazeof yeah its a mix but hes a real tenor and he belted that note in his chest voice

[@linalamont2310]

i like him. hes a good tony. he makes this song proud.

[@xtracheeez]

@RSlug789 I can see what you mean...but singing a high Bb on an "ah" is much more practical than an "ee"

[@indyfan210]

God, I wish I could sing like that.

[@anonymousarecool]

@xtracheeez SO true. I can sing a high A, but I can only sing the "ee" vowel to an F. but Im 17 so my range is still developing..

[@kris7krazy]

really? i think he's fabulous--especially for not even getting to see what he's physically doing, you can hear the passion and emotion in his voice, and he still retains this innocent sound. i can't believe anyone would think he sucks!

[@tggold]

I think his voice is gorgeous. I don't know what all the vibrato haters are after. Such consistent vibrato is rare (and beautiful) especially coming from this generation of broadway belters. I was a little nervous when he was coming down from the Bb but he totally nailed it. I'm jealous.

[@TrevorSanderson816]

LMAO, Matthew. I was reading this comment and agreeing with everything it said and then I realized it was YOU! :-)

[@viniciusbfonseca]

well said

[@WEEZERman1212]

@iamsteelee24 straight tone is not more authentic than vibrato. vibrato is what naturally occurs when proper vocal technique is implemented. by definition, vibrato is the more "authentic" sound. though i do understand what you mean about straight tone sometimes sounding a bit sweeter.

[@ohmagaod]

and there's no comparing him to the tony in the movie, it's a totally different style. the movie had the classic crooner jazzy sound of the 50's and early 60's. cavenaugh clearly has a classical sound, as oneblazeof already stated.

[@TrevorLeaderbrandNYC]

oh. my. god.

[@colino72]

@BroadwayVBtime Yep, mix. Pretty well impossible to sing a Bb in full chest voice, and further, the songing in Westside Story is supposed to be closer to classical/opera, at leat for Maria and Tony. As for this guy, great voice, great high notes, but I do agree with some of the comments about his 'speak singing'.

[@iamsteelee24]

@megan132 I'm not vocal genius, but sometimes vibrato makes me cringe. I think pure tones are so much sweeter and more authentic. If I heard him sing "Maria" without vibrato (or without so much), I would LOVE IT!!!

[@keenoled]

His voice. Those notes, are they even real? I can't even. *flail*

[@bethnor]

well, in this day and age of youtube, might as well own up. let's hear it, and see if you are better.

[@bustaload714]

His timbre could have been richer, but otherwise good technique. Besides, Tony is supposed to be like a teen or late teen

[@SamSkii14]

@hellomynameiscory I konw that, lol, if you look i corrected myself with Jimmy Bryant! lol, and Matt absolutely does not!

[@TerribleGreenBlizzrd]

I think that mixing is fine.... I mean if your trained well you can go from chest to mix to head with no break...... if a person can do that and get to a B I will call them a tenor. No matter what voice they use.

[@azwrathfrost]

The original have minimal vibrato, the film has fake vibrato, and this has full vibrato. I like all three, but wish this has faster pace.

[@cheech6971]

@slickqfoo22 Amen!!!!

[@ErnieFairchild1]

@slickqfoo22 Certainly not to take away from this guys talent cuz I think he sounds great, but I'm pretty sure it would be HARDER to hit a Bb on a full belt rather than the mix voice that he seems to be using here. Again, not to take away from his obvious immense talent, but I've never had any formal training training and I can hit a Bb using my mix, but full belt is another story lol. Regardless, although his style may not suit everyone, he's rockin!

[@TheMaestroBrad]

@tggold How long do you think this Matt Cavenaugh fellow has been singing this song? I would wager quite a while. Every tenor in Musical Theatre has to have this in their repertoire. He had to have gone into the audition expecting that they'd want to hear a few bars. While he does sing this quite well (I'll give you that), yes, the rest of his performance vocally and dramatically was quite flaccid. Sadly, everywhere you go, it's all about "the look" these days. He's just eye candy.

[@tggold]

You're....wrong. Men most certainly have chest voice, head voice, falsetto and mixed voice. Head voice, to most, is a connected system so it has depth, wheras falsetto is disconnected, giving it the shallow feel and color change from the chest/mixed/head. The Bb here sounds like a light mix to me, it clearly has chest in it but I've heard better from the greats (and I don't honestly believe that the Bb in this needs to be super dramatic). I prefer this Bb to the awkward belty Bbs of others

[@uknowwho889]

there's no doubt this guy is great, but check out David Habbin, his 'Maria' is phenomenal.

[@gabriellecorinne]

I like the fact he sings the Bb, but (I know it's not fair) Jose Carreras' Bb in this song is still my favorite, so... But hey Matt Cavenaugh is not that bad. Tho I'm not a fan of his last note.

[@isyou]

@jondavwal A guy posts his incredibly revelant and his own opinion, and it gets flagged as spam? Wow.

[@anjaliss]

I loved his performance live...sorry, ya haters :)

[@SamSkii14]

this song to me .. i cant even begin to describe how much i am in love with it ... he does an okay job, to me Richard Beymer was too amazing to desrcibe singing this song, and i konw many others that could do a far better job, but he wasnt terrrible, just didnt really impress me too much

[@donnalombardo1135]

He didn't sing it his voice was dubbed

[@fiendishlypop]

sounds kinda light and wimpy but its pretty!

[@theminutepast]

I enjoyed his voice. Wish Sondheim had written better lyrics, though.

[@UberWackyAmerican]

can no one appreciate good technique? just because he isn't belting it out that makes him bad? yes the vibrato is a bit much, but that could also be audio. is it a crime that he wants his vocal chords for the rest of his life? much of young Broadway sings unhealthily which is why their careers are so short lived.

[@alexd1121]

Bad Voice???? Ok. Deaf can people listen to music it seems. What does Bb mean?

[@alexd1121]

***** Seems like I wanted to post this comment for another video since I'm not fond of this version at all. No insult in any case.

[@JakeStorm]

Right look. Sounds too much like Chip Ziehn but with a runaway vibrato. Should have been the Baker in the next revival of ITW.

[@jmalgier]

the Bb is nice, but why does he speak through half the song? there are many notes and rhythms that he just leaves out or changes. come on already. i realize people do that sort of thing for interpretation and dramatic affect, but it's still music. sing what Bernstein wrote and if you do it well enough, the emotion will just happen.

[@Agorante]

He looks good (if that's him in the picture). And he phrases well but I can't say I care much for the basic sound. It's a nothing voice. I know I'm unfair and cruel but after Carreras this guy is pretty weak tea.

[@MichaelCH2007]

I hate to bring him down, but I don't really like the way he's singing this song. In a few places he's singing it too fast.

[@SuperStar2999]

I'm just saying he is NOT a leading man. I saw him in Grey Gardens and he was great in that...this is not good.

[@AtLastOnTheGround]

I absolutely adore singers with fast, powerful vibrato (Julia Murney and Raul Esparza, for instance). But for 90% this song, Cavenaugh's vibrato sounds unnatural and forced. Like he's a bleating sheep. Don't get me wrong, he wowed me with a few notes -- But he just sounds like a poorly trained high school student for most of the song : / Maybe it was just a bad vocal night?

[@thestainisgone485]

i think he's a really talented singer but not necessarily suited for the part

[@flicfan416]

Let's just face it. Cavanaugh didn't get the part because of his singing. He's very, very handsome, and a competent actor. As far as voice, I have to say he does nothing for me. Thin, bland timbre, hardly any volume below middle C (despite microphones), and generally breathy throughout the whole performance

[@Jeanninecomeau]

I hope he's not in the Las Vegas Smith Center version. He destroys this song....I don't like his voice in tonight either. Way too much vibrato...Good gawd.

[@mrelectric40]

horrible choice for tony

[@crazykidzsab]

he was awful, cody was awful, maria was fine, dont understand why they had fly her in from argentina, dancing was great, leads sucked, except karen olivia, she was the standout.

[@crazykidzsab]

he sucked in grey gardens. he is just terrible..

[@ptgunit]

Not good. Really, not good.

[@powerfulpowerzz]

TOO MUCH VIBRATO almost unpleasant to hear and he dosent project enuf.. .sorry i just prefer larry kert's version