Unintelligible LuPone

[morosco]

I honestly can't understand most of what she is singing.  Her belting is thrilling but I wish she'd focus on her diction instead.

Back on Top

[TNick926]

The strange thing is, her diction is usually glorious.  I think she was so committed to the Eastern European accent of Rubinstein that she stuck to it, but I have listened to Back on Top over and over and over and finally think I've got most of what she was saying!  Still, the belting is fabulous, as always.....

[haterobics]

Yeah, I think Rubinstein is the one with the accent/diction problems here. Never had a problem understanding Patti as Patti.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Yeah, Patti has never been criticized for her diction before...

 

[Kad]

Her diction in Anything Goes was even a joke in Forbidden Broadway.

(And I found her genuinely incomprehensible for most of War Paint).

[TotallyEffed]

Just enjoy the glorious sounds.

[ggersten]

Did the public perception of Lupone with "diction issues" start with Anything Goes?  Or was it the Forbidden Broadway bit?  

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

When Patti decides to do a thick accent, she really wants it carried over to her singing and everything else. I first noticed it in the Lincoln Center concert version of Candide and the accent she used during "I am Easily Assimilated" was particularly thick and put on. Add that to her noted diction issues (which is some times accurate and other times exaggerated) then you get this video. I really try to listen hard and I usually don't find myself having a hard time understanding actors/characters when they have an accent (like Matilda or even Katrina Lenk's Tony performance where I know somebody who kept complaining they could not understand a word she said which surprised me because I did not find that difficult at all) but Patti really was undecipherable here. Maybe it's the audio quality of the video and it's much better live. There's been a few bootleg videos out there of shows I've seen and the audio quality of that video really does not give an accurate depiction of how the show or actors sound.

[KFC1991]

I've never had any trouble understanding her on any recording; I've never seen her live. I don't know where her reputation for bad diction comes from.

[OKBroadwayFan]

If you are seeing her live, just put your cellphone up to your ear.   Make sure the light from the phone is clearly seen.   This will improve the sound of her diction

[JBC3]

I totally thought Unintelligible LuPone was the title of a new unauthorized biography.

[Demitri2]

Back in her EVITA days I saw at least four different actresses play the title role in the pre-Broadway run in Los Angeles. LuPone by far was the best Eva and got more out of the role than anyone else. Why? Because she had no problem being understood and found more humor in her line readings than anyone else. I'm not sure if she got lazy in her enunciation over the years but at one time she was spot on.

[SFCowboy]

Well this explains a lot. “Patti LuPone?” And all this time I thought she was saying “Pass me the phone.”

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Just because we were talking about it earlier.

[David10086]

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY needs to do a whole show dedicated to Patti Lupone's career. Their "Patti Class" from 20+ years ago is one of the funniest parodies ever.  Too bad they never did anything with her "Sunset Boulevard", and that whole fiasco (except for the references in 'Patti Class'. 

[karen24]

I saw her live here in Rochester recently, and her diction was perfect! I especially enjoyed her version of “If you hadn’t but you did” from “Two on the Aisle.” I’d never heard that before, and if her diction hadn’t been good on that one, I would have been lost! Maybe it is an accent issue. 

[Soaring29]

Her consonants could be better here(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVsD0rltRr8) but her diction issues are exaggerated by people just like ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said earlier. 

 

It's actually not the best thing to always have perfect diction when singing - it can create tension that doesn't need to be there especially in the upper middle and upper registers where overly pronounced diction interferes with the quality of the sound. 

[Soaring29]

Here's a version of her doing it in the course of the actual show(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DauEYREddIQ) and her diction is fine, it's  in fact even better then her diction from the Tony Awards performance. 

[ABitOnTheSide]

I have always defended Patti against naysayers who mock her enunciatiatory woes. I've never had trouble understanding her...

BUT...

I couldn't understand a word of her's in War Paint. Her accent was too thick, and frankly, I was so uninterested in the show I didn't bother straining to listen.

[BroadwayConcierge]

She may be the only living singer I can forgive for my understanding less than 10% of what she's singing most of the time.

[starcatchers]

AEA AGMA SM said: "Yeah, Patti has never been criticized for her diction before...

 

"

This just made me H O W L with laughter. Too good. 

[Demitri2]

Curious here. Has Ariana Grande ever taken Patti LuPone's Master Class in Enunciation? When I watch her perform on TV, I always have to turn on the close captioning feature. She makes Patti sound like Professor Higgins.  

[GavestonPS]

AEA AGMA SM said: "Yeah, Patti has never been criticized for her diction before...

Funny, AEA, but not really fair. If the lyrics in "What's New, Buenos Aires?" aren't always clear, the blame lies less with the singer and more with Rice and Lloyd Webber. What they ask the singer to do in that number (and others) is frankly ridiculous. LuPone herself has cited the song as proof that Lloyd Webber "hates singers"--an exaggeration, no doubt, but it does make her point.

"

 

[gypsy101]

Patti sounds so fabulous it doesn’t really matter that the lyrics can’t be understood

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

gypsy101 said: "Patti sounds so fabulous it doesn’t really matter that the lyrics can’t be understood"

If I was the composer/lyricist/book writer/producer, I would think it mattered immensely. As someone who paid a ticket and wanted to follow the story, I would definitely think it mattered.