It is odd that the definitive version of this song is recorded on a chat show with Britain's favorite gardener. However, I've watched many versions on youtube and this is by far the greatest. The sheer emotion you can see and hear is astonishing. It breathes life in to a much maligned song. Every phrase and expression shows what Sondheim meant when he wrote the music and verse. There truly is no better performance. Now pass the bloody tissues my eyes are soaking wet.
Dame Judi sings this and real tears flow. I don't believe those tears are faked or acted...NO...I tend to believe that they are real emotional tears. I just finished watching LADIES IN LAVENDER in which she has two scenes where she must shed tears, and again, I really believe those tears...rolling down her face...I believe that one of the many reasons Dame Judi is so well loved is because she actually allows her own emotions to be revealed...a great human being is she! BRAVAAAAA Dame Judi!
@mrmcel Agree with the "very difficult". It seems easy because it's a "spoken song" but the bitterness and the angst one must convey... SO difficult. Siiiiiigh. This is PERFECTION.
@TheKristobald Sian Phillips played Madame Armfeldt, the mother of Desiree (Judi Dench's character). Actually Sian Phillips also played Desiree (very good too) in an earlier London production.
@mjmacmtenor Thanks for the information :) Somehow, I thought she would play Charlotte. She must have been really good as Mme Armfeldt and Desiree ! I'll look for clips of the productions.
I have said it before, finally a singer who sings this song as the dark, bitter, angry and self pitying song it was written as. Bravo to Dame Judi Dench. She got it exactly right. Gives me chills..
@rebeccajoh It was written as a non "singing"performance. One of short breaths and a more spoken style of singing. I think the fact that Sondheim himself says its THE performance of his song might give you a clue to its beauty!
@bicobotscho Amazing words. One of my my all time favourite lines along with Jimmy Webb's "I need you more than want you and I want you for all time" from Wichita Lineman.
So very moving, yes I started to be moved as soon as Dame Judi started singing. Then I wept. Profusely. Than I was in a half-ecstasy of joy at the beauty of her performance (before watching this "Clowns" wasn't really a favourite of mine.
Ultimately I was left in awe of how immediate it is in these days to suspect you might like to check something up and then doing it and being overwhelmed.
Great times? Perhaps. Certainly a superb interpretation :-)
There is no greater actress (actor) alive today! I can say that I have enjoyed her in everything I have seen her do, and she still amazes me with the breadth of her performances!
THis video makes me want to bawl my eyes out like a baby. My heart feels like its breaking with hers when she sheds that tear. God Judi is amazing!!!! I wish i had her skills.
That left me speechless, I was introduced to this song yesterday , and i had to search for better covers Judi Dench made this song with emotion , Thank you
Brilliant rendition. She knows she is more of an actress than a singer and uses this to the advantage of both herself and the song. You can hear it sung any place, but she actually acted it...
my mother worked in service back to back with dr dench`s house in tyldesley and sometimes minded judi,she told us the family were lovely and mrs.dench was good to my mother, who sadly died 3 years ago
@claretrippier upper george st, a large detached house, facing chapel st,her dad was an irish doctor,think her mother may have been irish, not sure, my mother used to knit with mrs dench
@LimaSierra114 she was born in york and moved to tyldesley a few months later,her father was a doctor in tyldesley for 2 or three years, not sure how long
@Locutusofborg789, she is referring to all the "doors" she opened in her life, and realizing it was his metaphorical door that she really wanted to walk through.
@Locutusofborg789 She does want the man. The character is an actress, and she's using theatrical allusions. "Opening doors" (a lot of door opening and slamming in a farce); "don't you love farce;" "losing my timing;" "sure of my lines." That's the genius of the song--the theatrical language also has double meanings. It also means the doors she opened to different men in her life. "Send in the clowns" itself is a theatrical expression for "the show is bombing--get some comic relief onstage!"
An acting coach once said to me, you have to earn those tears. I know now what she meant: Dame Jsdi earns every one of her tears; her reading of this great song is rooted in authentic feeling, not simply performing a great song, but meaning every word she sings. I love baustiful vioces, but this song/ role requires authenticity more than just a beautiful singing voice. Baro Sam Judi.
she sings this song with the most precise level of emotion! I now understand why everyone hated Catherine's performance (I still love you Catherine, but the part probably wasn't for you).
Ummmm, AMAZING! See, when Bernadette sings it, it's Bernadette singing, it's what she does. And I do love Bernadette, don't get me wrong, but this...this is an Actress with a capitol A performing this song. Exquisite.
@kkay2605 Yep, i know exactly what you mean. This is not simply a great actor taking on a great role and song, but one artist who knows the goal is to move people with the authenticity of real feeling. Bravo Dame Judi!
@blondbear2 To be honest, all actors trained in the UK are taught to sing and dance. Although they may not be great 'singers', they generally know how to 'sing' a song and do a wonderful job when it comes to 'feeling' as this version of 'Send in the clowns' proves.
There are so many great singers for this piece, Dame JDench I rate in the top of my list.... such emotions in her voice... not mentioning her protrayal of the part... just love JUDI DENCH....
@colin24601 Have you heard Glynis Johns, Bernadette Peters and Sally-Ann Howes sing it? Have you heard Sondheim's commentary on the meaning of it? How can you claim she is patented to understand it.
This is an acting master class, acting through song, you can have the most technically beautiful voice but if you don't connect with the underlying emotional story of the song you will fail to touch your audience. Judi Dench does this so beautifully, she tackles a Sondheim lyric with the same commitment as she would a Shakespeare soliloquy, this is the definitive version for me.
Complete perfection. Interpretation is absolute perfection. Dench is one in a million, a true star. Magical, sheer excellence and quality. This is what performing is about.
Too angry for me, personally. A little scenery chewing, as well (for me).
"Anger" is the easy emotion in this song. Anger at ones' self, expressed in gracious irony, filled with a dollop of bitterness and desparation, while sugar coated in the manners of a "grande dame" of the theater - that's the harder task.
This song is meant to evoke all of that, but Dame Densch just seems a little two dimensional.
I love her version except for the "don't bother, they're here!" which I agree, she spits out with too much anger. I prefer when it's done with more dry, exasperated sarcasm.
I actually feel that way, too. Don't get me wrong -- I think Dench is one of the greatest actresses of all time. But you're right -- Sondheim himself has said that Desiree doesn't want to make a scene. She isn't extremely angry and bitter. Rather, she is disappointed, and bemused by the absurd irony of it all -- Almost so much that, if she didn't feel so deflated, she would be laughing at how foolish she and Fredrik are.
A great performance, I love Judi Dench, such an amazing actress.
I still however prefer Sinatra's version ~ That is probably because his was the version that made me hear the meaning in the lyrics and the emotion in the voice for the first time, so for me it will always be special.
The song is not about a great voice - it's about raw emotion; a real person in a situation of pain. Dame Judy Dench hits base with the character, she lives in the skin of a woman who is hurt. She is a great actor.
I agree. The most emotional performance of this song I have seen. Not the best singing voice but her eyes and the feeling in her voice and face are so powerful. She brings a humbleness to this song and I think many people will be able to relate to the emotions and the story she is telling. Encore!
when i first heard this song and listened to the lyrics, i knew it had so much potential. but i could just not find anyone who did it justice. after watching this video, i knew i found what i was looking for. she does such a beautiful and true rendition. everything i wanted in this performance she gave. her emotion is so believable, and i love how in to it she got. absolutely wonderful. best rendtion EVER.
Well, there you have it! No hystercal theatrics or innane head jerking, just pure emotional honesty and unadulterated humanity. And no "cold" to blame for the lack of singing ability or technique. Tony or no Tony - I don't think we'll be seeing CZJ on another musical stage any time soon. Or at least one can hope.
It was almost embarrassing watching Catherine Zeta Jones act the snot out of this song at the Tony's the other night. No one has performed this better than Judy Dench.
It was almost embarrassing watching Catherine Zeta Jones act the snot out of this song at the Tony's the other night. No one has performed this better than Judy Dench.
All her performances capture the intent of this song better than any other rendition I've heard, but this particular performance was especially poignant to me. She perfectly captured the frustrated irony in her voice. Love her!
Goosebumps, tears, admiration; and I'm not all together sure if it's for the character, the performance, for Judi herself. All I know is I keep watching this, over and over, and all those emotions wash over me again. If this perfoamce was a baseball player, they would retire the jersey because who could imagine someone outdoing this? Or even coming close.
Wow, this brought tears to my eyes. I can see now why everyone is giving Catherine Zeta Jones a hard time for her version, she had a lot to live up to!
One of the greatest musical perfomances of all time! I was lucky enough to be at the production at The National and I am now a professional actor due to that performance. I watched it....and immediately said that's what I want to do...move people like that. Not that anyone can ever compare to Judi.. Just stunning..she is utterly brilliant.
This truly is an extraordinary performance, the best "Send in the Clowns" I've ever heard. She expresses such a range of emotions - much more anger than other performers, and deeply felt pain. This powerful rendition of the song captures its essence and breaks your heart. Bravo!
I've never been satisfied with anyone's performance of this song...
Until I found this one. The *acting* is amazing. You can hear Desiree's whole life story in this song; and the pain of her self-awareness coming too late. She really has the sound of life experience to back it up; I don't know how else to characterise it, only that it seems so REAL, with that edge of bitterness and disappointment and how it HURTS to hope, but she can't stop herself from still hoping anyway.
From comedy in 'As time goes by' to 'M' in the Bond films, Dame Judi is amazing. I've never heard her sing before and this is more like a pleading from an anguished woman but this is sung with such feeling you want it to just finish into silence, no clapping (although hugely deserved) as that breaks the moment. Glynis Johns also gives a great performance, such wonderful women.
Absolutely Brilliant Dame Judy Dench absolutly Brilliant. You can save me any time. Wonderful performance. I almost feel your tears. Nothing less than Fantastic, Fabulous and finally Heart Felt performance. Thank you, you seem to have made sense of the song and for years I struggled to know it's meaning. I was always paying attention to the music and not the words. However Yours were Clear my Dear.
Beautifully brilliant, raw pain and self regret and self slapping.. Proves one doesn't have to be a brilliant vocalist to get something across. I've heard several versions of this that I love. This one made tears come to my own eyes... and remember..
@Domblick if you are saying anything against this amazing performance that goblinonacloud liked, you are making all the world laugh. It is incredible how people like you can be so dumb and stupid.
This is for TezQuetz: I agree with you Desiree is saying that even with this disappointment, lasting love that has eluded me for so long just might present its self next year.
you know I was wondering if whether at the very end (when she says "maybe next year"), she's actually saying she'll try again next year? what do you think?
There's a video of Sondheim where he explains that the "maybe next year" means something along the lines of "I screwed up, maybe next year I'll have done something right". It's right there on the "related videos" bar. ;)
Yes, he did say that, after saying that "maybe next year" has a "resigned" feeling. What I see in Dame Dench's interpretation is pure resignation--she may be saying "maybe next year," the way, as an actress, she might look forward to "next season," but her expression tells you she doesn't really believe it herself. After all, she has just seen the love of her life walk away, and he's not coming back. Sondheim has spoken of actors as collaborators, and Dame Dench found unexpected depth here.
This piece of music can have a lyrical or dramatic interpretation. Of all the renditions I have heard this one, to me, seem to be closest to the composers intent and Dame Judith Dench nails it. She is simply Great.
In the late 90s the South Bank Show did a Judi Dench special during which it showed her rehearsing for A little Night Music. It showed her singing Send in the Clowns for the 1st time,It was even better than this! it brought tears to my eyes[and I'm a 58yo cynical git] The moment she finnished, with tears streaming down her face she shook her head and said" I won't do it like that".
the thing is she is such a brilliant actress and you can just feel her pain.
I watched Hayley Westenera singing "I dreamed a dream" from Les Mis and while she was technically very good, she wasn't mature enough to sing such a song.
im kvelling. i think this is the finest version of the song ever recorded. She gets that it is not so much a song, something to show off your pretty voice, but a strong acting peice, since it was written that way to begin with for glynnis johns , who was never really a singer either. Brava! How I wish i could have seen this production
it is BLISS - what an actress! not many around like her, if any ....
yes, there is redgrave
smith
mirren -
however, the "crackled" voice works extremely well - taking it out of the realm of perfection - giving it THAT human touch, needed - plus she produces the emotion to back it all up
Well being 56 and having experienced my own fair share of heartache and a lost love, I can certainly empathise and sympathise with the sentiments expressed in this song. You have to have LIVED and truly LOVED, as well as to have LOST, to really portray effectively the real true, raw emotion that she conveys. A consummate actress and professional, she clearly draws not only on her acting prowess - but from life itself, and the combination provides the viewer with a truly outstanding performance.
To bring so much real emotion to a 3 minute song is pure genius. I can only pray that one day I might acquire half her talent with a lot of hard work and commitment.
This is the only song that makes me feel real pain. Gawd. This cuts so thinly and deeply. :'( Judi Dench is beyond amazing.
jamesthephotophile 6 days ago
Dame Judi Dench doesn't have a great singing voice..but oh boy..this performance just tears my heart into a million pieces!!!
HalfPinoy100 2 months ago 2
It is odd that the definitive version of this song is recorded on a chat show with Britain's favorite gardener. However, I've watched many versions on youtube and this is by far the greatest. The sheer emotion you can see and hear is astonishing. It breathes life in to a much maligned song. Every phrase and expression shows what Sondheim meant when he wrote the music and verse. There truly is no better performance. Now pass the bloody tissues my eyes are soaking wet.
TheCressyboy 3 months ago 4
Barbra Striesand has the voice when she sings it, Elizabeth Taylor the face but Dame Judi Dench makes me cry. Say no more.
aj1373 3 months ago 3
Dame Judi sings this and real tears flow. I don't believe those tears are faked or acted...NO...I tend to believe that they are real emotional tears. I just finished watching LADIES IN LAVENDER in which she has two scenes where she must shed tears, and again, I really believe those tears...rolling down her face...I believe that one of the many reasons Dame Judi is so well loved is because she actually allows her own emotions to be revealed...a great human being is she! BRAVAAAAA Dame Judi!
kasha1932 5 months ago 2
I never understood the song.. had to sing it many times. Now i understand... and i will never sing it again.. THIS is perfection. Bravo!!!!
erikakarst 5 months ago 5
Maybe the best interpretation of this (very difficult) song to perform
mrmcel 5 months ago 4
@mrmcel Agree with the "very difficult". It seems easy because it's a "spoken song" but the bitterness and the angst one must convey... SO difficult. Siiiiiigh. This is PERFECTION.
NicoleTirona 1 week ago
I love how marvelous she is...just amazing. She is proof that there are talented people in the world.
theatregeek58 5 months ago
Amazing. From Bond's "M" to this wonderful performance. What a wonderfully gifted actor. Simply beautiful.
Vaughnlv 5 months ago 2
Beautiful....Simply captivating.
lakeside1don 5 months ago
Wow...she surely could sing it. I'm a huge fan of Glynis Johns but Judi Dench is at least the second best!
And at the end titles they say Sîan Philips played a part in the show! George's Smiley's wife! It's a small world, isn't it...
TheKristobald 5 months ago
@TheKristobald Sian Phillips played Madame Armfeldt, the mother of Desiree (Judi Dench's character). Actually Sian Phillips also played Desiree (very good too) in an earlier London production.
mjmacmtenor 3 months ago
@mjmacmtenor Thanks for the information :) Somehow, I thought she would play Charlotte. She must have been really good as Mme Armfeldt and Desiree ! I'll look for clips of the productions.
TheKristobald 3 months ago
THIS is how you do Send in the Clowns.
TheBelleJar 5 months ago
I have said it before, finally a singer who sings this song as the dark, bitter, angry and self pitying song it was written as. Bravo to Dame Judi Dench. She got it exactly right. Gives me chills..
goblinonacloud 6 months ago 10
it is...THE best version isn't it?
rhylmark 6 months ago
No one said life is fair! Love deeply the pain is worth it!=}
kelimad66 6 months ago
Know one said life is fair! Love deeply the pain is worth it!=}
kelimad66 6 months ago
Oh God. What she just did to me.
fireblossom2u 6 months ago
Wow, wow, wow and Wow!
PoseidonRM 6 months ago
One of the most captivating artists of all times. Why do we fall in love with her over and over again? :)
memberm 6 months ago
I am completely heartless, I guess - but - Where is the Singing? lol. Good acting - but this is a song.
rebeccajoh 6 months ago
@rebeccajoh It was written as a non "singing"performance. One of short breaths and a more spoken style of singing. I think the fact that Sondheim himself says its THE performance of his song might give you a clue to its beauty!
paulbmusic 6 months ago 2
I think it should be illegal to be THAT AMAZING!!!! God she's soooo good :D
randomass20 6 months ago 4
Absolutely amazing!
MrJakeB69 6 months ago 3
There is NOONE who can sing this like Judi. She adds the emotion that is seldom seen in any other performance. She is REMARKABLE.
1judifan 7 months ago 2
"to flirt with rescue when one has no intention of being saved". what a sentence!
bicobotscho 7 months ago 2
@bicobotscho Amazing words. One of my my all time favourite lines along with Jimmy Webb's "I need you more than want you and I want you for all time" from Wichita Lineman.
paulbmusic 6 months ago
The best interpretation of this song .. ever!
Beaulechat 8 months ago
So very moving, yes I started to be moved as soon as Dame Judi started singing. Then I wept. Profusely. Than I was in a half-ecstasy of joy at the beauty of her performance (before watching this "Clowns" wasn't really a favourite of mine.
Ultimately I was left in awe of how immediate it is in these days to suspect you might like to check something up and then doing it and being overwhelmed.
Great times? Perhaps. Certainly a superb interpretation :-)
portugasque 8 months ago
There is no greater actress (actor) alive today! I can say that I have enjoyed her in everything I have seen her do, and she still amazes me with the breadth of her performances!
zowar1363 8 months ago 2
I absolutely LOVE Frank Sinatra. But this is the best version of this song ive ever heard. Full of emotion. I adore it!
fragranceman88 9 months ago
She's not just M i mean she's not the greatest singer but she makes u feel her pain which is more important
aritus33 9 months ago
Don't really like Judi's version of this song. Love her as an actress. Her performance in Midsummernight's Dream was stellar...
masercot 10 months ago
Can't believe this was 14 years ago and she hasn't aged a day.
sweeney60 10 months ago
THis video makes me want to bawl my eyes out like a baby. My heart feels like its breaking with hers when she sheds that tear. God Judi is amazing!!!! I wish i had her skills.
debbieorah7 10 months ago
That left me speechless, I was introduced to this song yesterday , and i had to search for better covers Judi Dench made this song with emotion , Thank you
SpongygurlPGS 10 months ago
Brilliantly done. BRAVO
dclowe 10 months ago
Brilliant rendition. She knows she is more of an actress than a singer and uses this to the advantage of both herself and the song. You can hear it sung any place, but she actually acted it...
guitarsquiddy 11 months ago 2
my mother worked in service back to back with dr dench`s house in tyldesley and sometimes minded judi,she told us the family were lovely and mrs.dench was good to my mother, who sadly died 3 years ago
haybee12 11 months ago
@haybee12 I live in tyldseley and would love to know where the dench family lived, could you please shed any light on this. Thanks in advance
claretrippier 10 months ago
@claretrippier upper george st, a large detached house, facing chapel st,her dad was an irish doctor,think her mother may have been irish, not sure, my mother used to knit with mrs dench
haybee12 10 months ago
@haybee12 Aren't they from York originally? There's a "Dame Judi Dench Walk" by the river :)
LimaSierra114 9 months ago
@LimaSierra114 she was born in york and moved to tyldesley a few months later,her father was a doctor in tyldesley for 2 or three years, not sure how long
haybee12 9 months ago
sad.
Jamy729 1 year ago
Dame Judi made me cry two or three times with this version...
brozzerb 1 year ago
this is how you fu&*ing sing this song!!! Judi Dench is amazing!!!!! absolutely breathtaking!!!
Markie27 1 year ago 2
I don't usually get too emotional, but I have to admit, this version put tears in my eyes.
LailStark 1 year ago 4
Most amazing thing I have ever seen or heard acted. Judi is a true insiration for actors everywhere!!!!
debbieorah7 1 year ago
Stunning. Just stunning.
Erictheeviltwin 1 year ago
Judy Dench is much better than Richard Burton was
92af 1 year ago
I love her one line,"I thought that youd want what I want.Sorry,my dear ".Had I been in an audience hearing her live,Id be bawling like a babe.
newrochellephoenix 1 year ago 21
This is how you get it right.
TheBelleJar 1 year ago
Great method acting.
jaspernyc007 1 year ago
@Locutusofborg789, she is referring to all the "doors" she opened in her life, and realizing it was his metaphorical door that she really wanted to walk through.
grml4zio 1 year ago
Could someone please explain the "finally knowing that the one I wanted was yours" part? I thought she wanted the man? Thank you!
Locutusofborg789 1 year ago
@Locutusofborg789 She does want the man. The character is an actress, and she's using theatrical allusions. "Opening doors" (a lot of door opening and slamming in a farce); "don't you love farce;" "losing my timing;" "sure of my lines." That's the genius of the song--the theatrical language also has double meanings. It also means the doors she opened to different men in her life. "Send in the clowns" itself is a theatrical expression for "the show is bombing--get some comic relief onstage!"
noahsdad61 1 year ago 3
This is so where I am now
JETsop2 1 year ago
omg, I can really feel her pain and her performance was so real, I cried along. I just love Judi Dench!
wineloveable 1 year ago
Exemplary actress, putting out a fine version of a fine song. Emotional depths of this hit you like a kick in the knee.
SouthCoastMackem 1 year ago
An acting coach once said to me, you have to earn those tears. I know now what she meant: Dame Jsdi earns every one of her tears; her reading of this great song is rooted in authentic feeling, not simply performing a great song, but meaning every word she sings. I love baustiful vioces, but this song/ role requires authenticity more than just a beautiful singing voice. Baro Sam Judi.
tenorbear60 1 year ago
she sings this song so beautifully! My favorite version of this song out there!
missjackson9191 1 year ago
she sings this song with the most precise level of emotion! I now understand why everyone hated Catherine's performance (I still love you Catherine, but the part probably wasn't for you).
TheBriguy04 1 year ago 2
Ummmm, AMAZING! See, when Bernadette sings it, it's Bernadette singing, it's what she does. And I do love Bernadette, don't get me wrong, but this...this is an Actress with a capitol A performing this song. Exquisite.
kkay2605 1 year ago
@kkay2605 Yep, i know exactly what you mean. This is not simply a great actor taking on a great role and song, but one artist who knows the goal is to move people with the authenticity of real feeling. Bravo Dame Judi!
tenorbear60 1 year ago 3
maybe the fact that she is not a trained singer
is what makes this so good
blondbear2 1 year ago
@blondbear2 To be honest, all actors trained in the UK are taught to sing and dance. Although they may not be great 'singers', they generally know how to 'sing' a song and do a wonderful job when it comes to 'feeling' as this version of 'Send in the clowns' proves.
execelsior 1 year ago
This performance just broke me....
Tchappz 1 year ago
what a dame <3
XxX14kXxX 1 year ago
Not trying to sound tacky but is she dead?
sluggo06 1 year ago
@sluggo06
No, Still alive and kicking
abracadabram 1 year ago
@abracadabram really? i thought for sure she was dead
sluggo06 1 year ago
@sluggo06 defo not dead! :D shes down on the cast for the nest james bond 2012
coolchris12345 1 year ago
@coolchris12345 sweet! just in time for the end of the world.
sluggo06 1 year ago
@sluggo06
she's only 75... :)
ScienceReasonBelief 1 year ago
@ScienceReasonBelief i thouhgt i read something on yahoo about her death a while back
sluggo06 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@sluggo06
you are mistaken.
ScienceReasonBelief 1 year ago
@sluggo06 Judi Dench is alive and kicking :)
thereallyquitesimple 1 year ago
@thereallyquitesimple i thought she kicked the bucket. oh well, glad to hear she is alive
sluggo06 1 year ago
This brought tears to my eyes..what else can I say.
suepal25 1 year ago
What an experience! Very emotive. Still crying.
smudgelet1001 1 year ago
OMG.....BRAVO......BRAVO, What a super performance.A remarkable woman and as daft as it sounds it makes you very proud of her.Thank-you.
LOVECOURTS7 1 year ago 5
I absolutely love this now and when I fist saw her in this role on the stage in London
Fulbear 1 year ago
@Fulbear Same here... LOVE her too. She sang this in the BBC Sondheim Proms this year, which a friend of mine conducted... she is just wonderful!
muscleboi4use 1 year ago
REALLY I RESPECT HER
SHE IS LOVELY AND TOO NICE IN MOVIES SPECIAL IN JAMES BOND FILMS
ALSO SHE IS CLEARLY FOCUS TOO MUCH IN HER ACTING ABOUT ALL HER
I HOPE WORK WITH HER IN NEW FILM ABOUT MY COUNTRY CASE- IRAQ
OR MAYBE SHE SHOULD ACTING WITH OUR IRAQIS FILM FOR IRAQI JAMES BOND. FILM
jmeeljonson 1 year ago
There are so many great singers for this piece, Dame JDench I rate in the top of my list.... such emotions in her voice... not mentioning her protrayal of the part... just love JUDI DENCH....
DennisOnshaw 1 year ago
I never knew she could sing, i have watched every episode of "As time goes by" and she never sang, WOW
dakinebud187 1 year ago
BRAVO
dakinebud187 1 year ago
Perfection. No one presents this song and mood like Judi. I remain in awe.
kamwrites 1 year ago 3
This, has just left me tingling
SJoynson 1 year ago 2
heartwrenching
steward2006 1 year ago 2
Outstanding
raybell52 1 year ago
Tremendous!
phlregg 1 year ago
this gave me the chills. . .
identikal 1 year ago 2
unbelievable - this woman is amazing - she is the only person who understands this song.
colin24601 1 year ago
@colin24601 Have you heard Glynis Johns, Bernadette Peters and Sally-Ann Howes sing it? Have you heard Sondheim's commentary on the meaning of it? How can you claim she is patented to understand it.
RickvanVeldhuizen 1 year ago
This is an acting master class, acting through song, you can have the most technically beautiful voice but if you don't connect with the underlying emotional story of the song you will fail to touch your audience. Judi Dench does this so beautifully, she tackles a Sondheim lyric with the same commitment as she would a Shakespeare soliloquy, this is the definitive version for me.
drees71 1 year ago
This is a brilliant performance by a brilliant actress! The best performance of this song I've ever seen by far.
missjackson9191 1 year ago
Pure magic!
UKMike2009 1 year ago
Complete perfection. Interpretation is absolute perfection. Dench is one in a million, a true star. Magical, sheer excellence and quality. This is what performing is about.
MUSICnCOFFEE247 1 year ago
Sondheim at the Proms on Saturday next.
neacht 1 year ago
Too angry for me, personally. A little scenery chewing, as well (for me).
"Anger" is the easy emotion in this song. Anger at ones' self, expressed in gracious irony, filled with a dollop of bitterness and desparation, while sugar coated in the manners of a "grande dame" of the theater - that's the harder task.
This song is meant to evoke all of that, but Dame Densch just seems a little two dimensional.
SteveO1029 1 year ago
@SteveO1029
I love her version except for the "don't bother, they're here!" which I agree, she spits out with too much anger. I prefer when it's done with more dry, exasperated sarcasm.
Bohonk212 1 year ago
@SteveO1029
I actually feel that way, too. Don't get me wrong -- I think Dench is one of the greatest actresses of all time. But you're right -- Sondheim himself has said that Desiree doesn't want to make a scene. She isn't extremely angry and bitter. Rather, she is disappointed, and bemused by the absurd irony of it all -- Almost so much that, if she didn't feel so deflated, she would be laughing at how foolish she and Fredrik are.
AtLastOnTheGround 1 year ago
Glorious. Just a gloriously human performance with amazing depth. I have never seen this song done this well. Wow.
lcowles 1 year ago 31
I really want to see this play now.
A great performance, I love Judi Dench, such an amazing actress.
I still however prefer Sinatra's version ~ That is probably because his was the version that made me hear the meaning in the lyrics and the emotion in the voice for the first time, so for me it will always be special.
MsSoliloquy 1 year ago
"I thought that you'd want what I want---Sorry--- my dear... But where are the clowns, quick send in the clowns..." 3:27
Incredibly performed... I got chills!
fanniemaeflippers 1 year ago 4
The song is not about a great voice - it's about raw emotion; a real person in a situation of pain. Dame Judy Dench hits base with the character, she lives in the skin of a woman who is hurt. She is a great actor.
amaraca 1 year ago 4
I agree. The most emotional performance of this song I have seen. Not the best singing voice but her eyes and the feeling in her voice and face are so powerful. She brings a humbleness to this song and I think many people will be able to relate to the emotions and the story she is telling. Encore!
paddyboom 1 year ago 3
when i first heard this song and listened to the lyrics, i knew it had so much potential. but i could just not find anyone who did it justice. after watching this video, i knew i found what i was looking for. she does such a beautiful and true rendition. everything i wanted in this performance she gave. her emotion is so believable, and i love how in to it she got. absolutely wonderful. best rendtion EVER.
stakemespike04 1 year ago 3
If your heart doesn't break at 3:27....
ieatglue44 1 year ago 2
i just melted into a huge puddle of dench. im weeping!
artmania1990 1 year ago 3
Well, there you have it! No hystercal theatrics or innane head jerking, just pure emotional honesty and unadulterated humanity. And no "cold" to blame for the lack of singing ability or technique. Tony or no Tony - I don't think we'll be seeing CZJ on another musical stage any time soon. Or at least one can hope.
sheltonrt 1 year ago
I needed this to wash CZJ performance out of my head, although CZJ obnoxious head-tossing still lingers...
Brava Ms. Dench!!!! Perfection.
AofA41 1 year ago 2
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It was almost embarrassing watching Catherine Zeta Jones act the snot out of this song at the Tony's the other night. No one has performed this better than Judy Dench.
jobermueller 1 year ago
It was almost embarrassing watching Catherine Zeta Jones act the snot out of this song at the Tony's the other night. No one has performed this better than Judy Dench.
jobermueller 1 year ago
All her performances capture the intent of this song better than any other rendition I've heard, but this particular performance was especially poignant to me. She perfectly captured the frustrated irony in her voice. Love her!
SuO2468 1 year ago
Goosebumps, tears, admiration; and I'm not all together sure if it's for the character, the performance, for Judi herself. All I know is I keep watching this, over and over, and all those emotions wash over me again. If this perfoamce was a baseball player, they would retire the jersey because who could imagine someone outdoing this? Or even coming close.
ckurtis 1 year ago 2
heartbreaking perfection. this is the way the song should be performed.
wjrfec41 1 year ago
Wow, this brought tears to my eyes. I can see now why everyone is giving Catherine Zeta Jones a hard time for her version, she had a lot to live up to!
purplefrf 1 year ago
Wonderful!!! Am in a situation like this of unrequited love. It really sucks!!!
morrus76 1 year ago
~Fabulous~
N01UtubeCritic 1 year ago
In one word: Perfect.
EusCamp 1 year ago
One of the greatest musical perfomances of all time! I was lucky enough to be at the production at The National and I am now a professional actor due to that performance. I watched it....and immediately said that's what I want to do...move people like that. Not that anyone can ever compare to Judi.. Just stunning..she is utterly brilliant.
andywatkins35 1 year ago
This truly is an extraordinary performance, the best "Send in the Clowns" I've ever heard. She expresses such a range of emotions - much more anger than other performers, and deeply felt pain. This powerful rendition of the song captures its essence and breaks your heart. Bravo!
lesliedrewh 1 year ago
fantastic......
terryga1 1 year ago
What an extraordinary actress; an elegant lady.
writingfool7734 1 year ago 3
doesn't matter how many different times i see her perform this- always exceptional- always makes me cry. she is pure genius
Lara025 1 year ago 2
perfect. she totally nails it. brava Dame Judi Dench.
DrScottMusic 1 year ago 2
Now this is what acting is about. Truly a moving performance and a master class
banjony 1 year ago 2
I've never been satisfied with anyone's performance of this song...
Until I found this one. The *acting* is amazing. You can hear Desiree's whole life story in this song; and the pain of her self-awareness coming too late. She really has the sound of life experience to back it up; I don't know how else to characterise it, only that it seems so REAL, with that edge of bitterness and disappointment and how it HURTS to hope, but she can't stop herself from still hoping anyway.
threescoreandten 1 year ago 33
@threescoreandten That's IT! "Self-awareness coming too late" and "how it hurts to hope"--well said.
noahsdad61 1 year ago
@threescoreandten i actually loved bernadette peter's rendition of it.
sweeney60 11 months ago
Oh my days! What an amazing performence!
NorthernFella 1 year ago
I feel that this is performed exactly as Sonheim had envisioned when he penned this song. Superb.
Stud1954 1 year ago 3
From comedy in 'As time goes by' to 'M' in the Bond films, Dame Judi is amazing. I've never heard her sing before and this is more like a pleading from an anguished woman but this is sung with such feeling you want it to just finish into silence, no clapping (although hugely deserved) as that breaks the moment. Glynis Johns also gives a great performance, such wonderful women.
JohnClarke101 1 year ago
Absolutely Brilliant Dame Judy Dench absolutly Brilliant. You can save me any time. Wonderful performance. I almost feel your tears. Nothing less than Fantastic, Fabulous and finally Heart Felt performance. Thank you, you seem to have made sense of the song and for years I struggled to know it's meaning. I was always paying attention to the music and not the words. However Yours were Clear my Dear.
Ron in Canada!
Rhawneld57 1 year ago 2
Hate to be the sole voice of dissent, but I'm not really feeling it. Her acting is very good, but her voice is terrible.
CallumJStewart 1 year ago
Dame Judi,Dame Judi, Dame Judi, You are phenomenal!!!!!!
cabamboo 1 year ago
Dame Judi,Dame Judi, Dame Judi, You are phenomenal!!!!!!
cabamboo 1 year ago
Every emotion.....outstanding!
lovestwilightxxx 1 year ago
Dame Judi rocks.
MrHarryblake 1 year ago
Beautifully brilliant, raw pain and self regret and self slapping.. Proves one doesn't have to be a brilliant vocalist to get something across. I've heard several versions of this that I love. This one made tears come to my own eyes... and remember..
goblinonacloud 1 year ago
@goblinonacloud you make me laugh
Domblick 1 year ago
@Domblick if you are saying anything against this amazing performance that goblinonacloud liked, you are making all the world laugh. It is incredible how people like you can be so dumb and stupid.
christopher242424 1 year ago
That's the Judy Dench , I love her,just love her integrity it cannot be faulted. What a human being what an actress. What a gift to the world she is.
bluewren2 1 year ago
Breathtakingly fantastic.
regb707 1 year ago
you have just seen a masterclass in acting and musical theatre total commitment to the part and so real
jhill74893 1 year ago 2
Wow!
When's the last time you saw a singer cry over the song she was singing?
Dame Judi Dench completely lives that song.
Best performance of "Send in the Clowns" I've ever experienced.
SeattleGrant 1 year ago 3
Increible en lo personal la mejor interprete para cantar a Sondhaim excelsa melancolica
NANY954 1 year ago
Oh my God. Oh my GOD.
Samjew 1 year ago
This is for TezQuetz: I agree with you Desiree is saying that even with this disappointment, lasting love that has eluded me for so long just might present its self next year.
Yaellfw 1 year ago
she looked and sang like her heart was actually breaking it brought tears to my eyes its one of the best versions i have ever heard
annejody1 1 year ago 32
you know I was wondering if whether at the very end (when she says "maybe next year"), she's actually saying she'll try again next year? what do you think?
nextlifearotti 1 year ago
There's a video of Sondheim where he explains that the "maybe next year" means something along the lines of "I screwed up, maybe next year I'll have done something right". It's right there on the "related videos" bar. ;)
TezQuetz 1 year ago
Yes, he did say that, after saying that "maybe next year" has a "resigned" feeling. What I see in Dame Dench's interpretation is pure resignation--she may be saying "maybe next year," the way, as an actress, she might look forward to "next season," but her expression tells you she doesn't really believe it herself. After all, she has just seen the love of her life walk away, and he's not coming back. Sondheim has spoken of actors as collaborators, and Dame Dench found unexpected depth here.
noahsdad61 1 year ago
This piece of music can have a lyrical or dramatic interpretation. Of all the renditions I have heard this one, to me, seem to be closest to the composers intent and Dame Judith Dench nails it. She is simply Great.
Yaellfw 1 year ago
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She's crap.
HectorBrainwash 1 year ago
omg...I really just cried. What amazing feeling in her voice and face. Unbelievable
MorningGloryDancer 1 year ago 10
In the late 90s the South Bank Show did a Judi Dench special during which it showed her rehearsing for A little Night Music. It showed her singing Send in the Clowns for the 1st time,It was even better than this! it brought tears to my eyes[and I'm a 58yo cynical git] The moment she finnished, with tears streaming down her face she shook her head and said" I won't do it like that".
Please ,please does anyone have it?
hales51 2 years ago
I say that too - I think I was about 12? It blew me away. I would love to see it again.
cardomonde 1 year ago
among one of the most beautiful songs ever written
Museleaders 2 years ago
She is incredible.
sootyVi 2 years ago 3
Yep. I bawled. Am I lame? :/
thesilvershining 2 years ago 2
nope...I can only watch once a year with a box of tissues handy...
nextlifearotti 2 years ago 2
"I thought that you'd want what I want, sorry my dear!"
I lost it.
SuperMonahan 2 years ago 3
the thing is she is such a brilliant actress and you can just feel her pain.
I watched Hayley Westenera singing "I dreamed a dream" from Les Mis and while she was technically very good, she wasn't mature enough to sing such a song.
nextlifearotti 2 years ago 2
im kvelling. i think this is the finest version of the song ever recorded. She gets that it is not so much a song, something to show off your pretty voice, but a strong acting peice, since it was written that way to begin with for glynnis johns , who was never really a singer either. Brava! How I wish i could have seen this production
afboyfw 2 years ago 5
Thats emotion pure - the best "Send in the clowns" I ever have seen.
eltropodd 2 years ago
The best rendition of this song by far. She is brilliant.
bemdafis 2 years ago 2
AMAZING. she brings me to tears every time. She has set the standard for this song
onlyalittlewicked 2 years ago
it is BLISS - what an actress! not many around like her, if any ....
yes, there is redgrave
smith
mirren -
however, the "crackled" voice works extremely well - taking it out of the realm of perfection - giving it THAT human touch, needed - plus she produces the emotion to back it all up
super job
fourdominus 2 years ago 4
Well being 56 and having experienced my own fair share of heartache and a lost love, I can certainly empathise and sympathise with the sentiments expressed in this song. You have to have LIVED and truly LOVED, as well as to have LOST, to really portray effectively the real true, raw emotion that she conveys. A consummate actress and professional, she clearly draws not only on her acting prowess - but from life itself, and the combination provides the viewer with a truly outstanding performance.
adamcadell 2 years ago 5
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adamcadell 2 years ago
To bring so much real emotion to a 3 minute song is pure genius. I can only pray that one day I might acquire half her talent with a lot of hard work and commitment.
lifesavid 2 years ago 2