The Little Mermaid

On November 11th, I saw “The Little Mermaid” at St. Ignatius College Prep. The musical was composed by Alan Menken and directed by Kevin Bellie. There was an array of songs however, I chose to review the pieces “Part of Your World,” “She’s in Love,” “Her Voice,” “Under the Sea,” and “Kiss the Girl.” Although there was no live pit orchestra however, I was thoroughly impressed by the musicianship and creative liberties the cast took on the songs.
The first solo, “Part of Your World,” was performed by Maddie Mazzella who played Ariel. The piece was a traditional broadway ballad with a major tonality. This meant the song was very uplifting and almost In the beginning, Maddie had a very reedy and nasal timbre because she focused her voice …show more content…
This was also a ballad but different in many ways from the previous solo. For example, the piece had a very free and yearning feeling to it. This is due a rubato tempo to show quickening excitement in the lyrics or easing in thought. In the beginning of the ballad, the rhythmic pattern of an ascending triplet then a whole note was repeated many times. Billy had great diction which allowed him to have a bright timbre with very forward vowels that resonated near the nose. This sound reflected a broadway type voice and also added another layer of the freeness of the piece. In the last refrain, the ascending triplet pattern was performed again, reflecting the beginning of the song. The last note was was held out for very long and gradually resonated with the accompaniment while it also showcased the soloist's use of vibrato. This proved he has air support and was able to continue his pleasant tone quality. This familiar pattern brought a satisfying and end to the …show more content…
This piece was a completely different tone and feel froms the previous. Right away, the song began with word painting. For example, when Sebastian says “strings,” the sopranos enter with high pitched piano “ee” vowels to imitate string instruments. Also, he introduces the “winds” which are the rest of the ensemble, and they join on a lower and piano “ah” vowel. This sounded like a breeze causing a tree to creak. The ensemble stayed piano but crescendoed to mezzo piano every time they sang the lyric “kiss the girl.” At the end of the song I assumed there would be an even louder crescendo into the final repetitive lyric however, instead of attacking the notes, the ensemble suddenly released the volume and the final notes lost momentum and strength. I don’t believe this was intentional, so that piece may have also needed a bit more focus on