I was recently reading a book about the history of musicals and the author took for granted that EVERYONE knew that the best overture in musicals was Gypsy’s.
That got me to thinking about overtures and I decided: Gypsy for me, isn’t even in the top 5. It’s a good, solid “collage of songs you’ll be hearing later” type overture and the brassy-ness is cool, but it’s not all that stunning.
For me, the top 5 would probably be:
Candide–Bernstein’s classical background shines through here.
Guys and Dolls–you’ll have to listen to the movie’s soundtrack here as the cast album cuts it–but before the fanfare and “Fugue for Tinhorns” is an overture called “Runyonland music”–it’s a great piece by my favorite musical composer.
Carousel–the way the hurdy-gurdy-esque instrument at the beginning starts (in good recordings at least) slowly and with kind of a wheeze as the carousel is “booting up”, but as it picks up speed it gets more energetic and the rest of the orchestra comes in with the rest of the Carousel Waltz is just magic.
West Side Story–the MOVIE version that has the extended overture. Wonderful, creepy, tense music…it’s as though Bernstein had channeled–whatshisname–the guy who did a couple of Hitchcock’s scores…Bernard Herrmann.
My Fair Lady-this is another “Collage” type overture, but to me, it’s so much better than Gypsy*'s.
A couple of “honorable mentions”–they’re not actually overtures (if someone sings, it’s an opening number) but…
A) Oklahoma! (ignore the movie version which I otherwise more-or-less enjoyed) has an anti-overture. There’s a simple stage curtain, it goes up with NO fanfare, Aunt Eller is rocking on the front porch and off stage left (or right or where-ever) you hear Curly, singing “Oh What A Beautiful Morning” acapella…in an era where you HAD to open with a big choral number, this was a breakthrough.
B) Music Man-also no real overture, but I love the “Rock Island” number (“Waddaya talk? Waddaya talk? Where’dja geddit? But he doesn’t know the territory!”)–Wilson perfectly captures the feel of a train with that proto-rap number.
C) An obscure one: Blondel. It opens with four monks doing a Gregorian chant ("Come back with us to the Middle Ages/And hear the story we’ve rehearsed/A hearwarming tale of a minstrel named Blondel/and the monarch he served so faithfully/King Richard The First/(In French “Couer De Leon”/etc.)…that part’s cool, but at the end of the narrative, they seamlessly switch from Gregorian Chants to perfect 4-part barbershop harmony and start doing a “Benedictus” patterned on the Beach Boy’s “Barbara Ann” (“Buh-buh-buh/Buh-Benedictus”). Hysterical and catchy.
D) Best closing musical moment for me, is, without a doubt, Camelot (“Don’t let it be forgot/That once there was a spot/For one brief, shining moment/that was known as Camelot.”)
I’m not a big musicals fan, and I don’t really have reasoned arguments, but here are three overtures that stick out to me.
Man of la mancha. The first one that I thought of. Like you said, it’s a ‘collage’, or maybe more properly a medley, of four of the big numbers, but it’s pretty impressive arrangement, and there are some good show tunes in there
impossible dream, way overexposed by now, but still, what a number.
Dulcinea… not my favorite admittedly
I Don Quixote - definitely a great song. I can’t remember offhand if the overture actually plays both lines of the chorus - Quixote’s and Sancho’s - which are probably the best part. I love show tunes like that - is counterpoint the correct term?
‘Aldonza’ is a bit of a dark horse in comparison, it doesn’t seem as much of an obvious hit as the others, but definitely a powerful number.
Once more with feeling. Definitely one of the shorter overtures that I’ve heard, but it’s great in the context of the episode, especially for signalling to a musical-savvy viewer exactly what’s coming up.
I love the taste of the whole that they give. And I only gradually came to appreciate them. They offer a clue to the whole feel the musical offers – be it carefree or romantic or poignant or epic or melancholy. Overtures usher us into the world we are about to enter.
My contribution: Jesus Christ, Superstar
I can run it in my head beginning to end. Probably because I’ve listened to it so many times. Like all great overtures, it not only summarizes the songs to come, it sets the emotional tone for the whole show.
Actually the JCS overture isn’t really a summary of the songs to come – it’s basically an instrumental version of the final Trial Before Pilate scene. That said, it’s an excellent choice, Proudest Monkey. Like you, I know it backwards and forwards, along with the rest of the score.
But I have to applaud Fenris’s OP – every single one of your choices* would be on my top list as well. That really surprised me; usually, when I’m reading one of these lists, I think, "oh, almost perfect, but how on earth could they leave out ____? Here, you hit all my favorites. Though I’d place WSS higher, probably at #1.
With the exception of Gypsy, the score of which I really don’t like. The musical as a whole leaves me flat.
Hey I’m going to add another to my list (thanks to my sister’s nudging) – The King and I is absolutely stunning; a great example of the ‘medley’ type of overture.
Okay I just looked on Amazon and on the original Broadway cast recording (which is not the recording I have) they list the first number as “Overture/Work Song”, but I have to say that is VERY incorrect. There’s no way that can be considered an overture. It’s clearly “Look Down” right from the very beginning, not the usual medley that an overture traditionally is, and the vocals start less than a minute into it. I agree it’s a great opening (and a great show) but it’s not an overture.
Definitely one of the shorter overtures that I’ve heard, but it’s great in the context of the episode, especially for signalling to a musical-savvy viewer exactly what’s coming up.