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From: xelifay
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  • I like the music and the lady

  • Glenn Close is great the greatest actress in broadway, tv and films, she can do a tv comercial and be great, i love her!

  • I LOVE THIS WOMAN GLENN MY WIFE CAROLYNN IS IN HEAVEN SHE LOVE YOU TOO WHEN WE SAW THIS SHOW,,, MANY YEARS AGO LADY-C KISS KATIE,, ROGER

  • totally amaszing, this is great!

  • Glenn is sensational. when watching her in 101 dalmations you don't expect her to have such an amazing vocal range.

  • I sang this for my college recital. Did at least this well. Although, I don't think the crowd was ready for me. They sat stunned, then I got a standing ovation. Fun times.

  • lupone does it better

    read her biography and you will learn the true story

  • Her voice made my jaw drop. I would have never imagined.

  • Although I still prefer to the origin version of the play (the voice), I must admit that Glenn Close really acted the song, which is not easy to achieve.

  • I never knew that Close could sing; it's too bad musical films are so out of style.

    Gloria Swanson was also an excellent singer.

  • I saw her last performance in L.A. before the show moved to New York. The Hollywood people were out in droves to give her a good send-off. When she first utters, "You there," the house went crazy...a standing O that never seemed to end. Love Glenn, LovePatti and like Elaine. Betty Buckley was probably the best singer, but she comes across (at least to me) as an ice princess. Naw, Glenn was by far the best.

  • SHE IS NOT A SINGER!! Saw her do this in LA twice. She got bigger and bigger as the run went on. However, she is a brilliant actress.

  • Glenn WORKED this to the ground!!!! I love patti lupone,and yes,shes a better singer than Glenn technically,but she NEVER has had half the sheer presence of glenn,IMO.

  • the BEST norma desmond EVER... I.M.O

  • This is from Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th b-day celebration. It was on PBS- I have it taped. lol

  • OMG....I knew she sings, but this is AMAZING!!!!!! Thank you so much for posting this

  • Not a patch on Patti Lupone. Sorry, Glenn Close is a fine actor but she does not have the pipes for this role.

  • @SuzieMerch789 true but the acting is so crucial, while patti may have had the right voice, she just didnt get the character which glen totally does.

  • One of few "great performances"-Thanks!

  • Incredible. She, Betty Buckley and Petula Clark were the BEST Normas. I've seen the show more than 30 times (best Joes - John Barrowman, Alexander Hanson, Rex Smith. Best Max - Michael Bauer). Sunset Boulevard is the best musical EVER.

  • Magnificent performance. Captured the essence of the story .Truly awesome.

  • I still can't believe that there are 11 people who disliked it. I'm all for different opinions, but did these people hear that crowd roar? I mean seriously, she got a standing ovation from many on the first song. Am sure they did on the 2nd one as well, it's just the camera wasn't showing them

  • This is beyond brilliant. I too, never knew Glen Close could sing. Someone stated that she is pure art in the performance, and that's extremely accurate. You actually get drawn into the character, especially when she's got her arms above her head with that glazed look in her eyes telling you that she's looking for the people in the dark.

  • Marvelous. I didn't know she SANG!!!!!

  • To everyone saying Patti LuPone got ripped off, since she "created the role": Gloria Swanson created the role. Glenn Close perfectly recreates the tormented Norma Desmond that Gloria Swanson created.

  • Sunset Boulevard is the greatest musical ever written and performed. Wonderful music, drama, emotion, love, tragedy - and THEATRE. Utterly perfect on every conceivable level.

  • truly magnificent Glenn Close!

  • Is that Cruella De vil or are they just identical?

  • @Thelittlecutie its cruella, i think in many ways glen based her cruella off of norma desmond

  • @sweeney60 look Cruella wasnt based on norma niether was norma based oh her fatal attraction but they were all based on GLENN CLOSE herself! so what if she brings that touch of power of hers that us fans like about her? I pray for she keeps doing that coz for norma I really do believe it fit exactly as an imposing and impressive woman "BIG"... very credible and incredible! :)

  • @FaceTune with actors, they do not have to identify entirely with a character, but they need to find a piece of themselves within that character from which to develope that character for performance. What I meant to imply is that Glenn found peices to build Norma, but those peices may have very well carried on to Cruella. You are right that the characters are not the same, but having played one before the other may have given her tools for the next.

  • Glenn Close always played a great crazy!

  • Better than Patti.

  • She sure ain't no Patti Lupone!!!! And hasn;t even had the grace or good manners to talk to Lupone since the Sunset Broadway debacle. Always liked Close but that really dimmed her in my eyes.

  • @TheTenorjohn - Lupone is a graceless, overbearing and bitter harridan. Whatever went down had nothing to do with Glenn - the rest is the overblown fantasy of LuPone's pungent ego.

  • @Messylin Sorry. Your petty comments do nothing for me. What else has Close done on Broadway, hmmm??? Whereas Lupone contiunes to THRIVE and reach greater heights. Despite little ankle biters like YOU! Bitch.

  • @TheTenorjohn - and yet Glenn's not the one bitching away about contemporaries she's never even met in a ridiculous memoir. Another project LuPone spent years on, because, as well all know, her favorite topic is herself.

  • @TheTenorjohn true but Glen Close has been also a successful screen star. She shines in all mediums.

  • Comment removed

  • @sweeney60 Uh..., no. Evita was more than twenty years before Sunset.

  • @TheTenorjohn well she didnt steal it from lapone, she replaced lupone, she was in no way obligated to acknowlege patti during the process, just like bernadette peters was no way obligated to acknowlege Betty Buckley when she replaced her in Into the Woods. Its a buisness move not a personal move, its between the actors on the producers not between the actors themselves.

  • Thank you for posting this outstanding performer and performance.

  • Marvallous! I love her!!!

  • wow this is a woman well toady i got a call from kathy this bitch ran off with 47000 and got with a crack head in south carolina okay today is her daughter b-day britt is a strong woman to deal with kathy she took all that money and share with crackheads why nice guys get last

  • What an under-appreciated musical, brilliant.

  • Comment removed

  • she so talented, so big, so great

  • she is MARVELOUS! WOW :D

  • Wow. Can I say it again? Wow!

  • Sublime.

  • I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE LOVE HER...........

    NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING FROM MERYL WHOM I LOVE AS WELL.... GLENN WOULD'VE BEEN AN AMAZING MIRANDA PRIESTLY AS WELL..................

  • Absolutely outstanding. My fav ALW musical

  • Without fail, every time I hear her sing the final song I always end up tearing up.

  • tis is the very first bway show i saw and my most fave bway of all...soundtrack cd is still moving me today. glenn won tony that year

  • WOW I act in that Musical in Germany its so beautiful

  • Beautiful voice.

  • Wow. She is amazing. I love this song. :)

  • now this is acting!

  • Gleen can do no wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Mi Dios, esta mujer es realmente una genia! Gracias Glenn por tanto arte.

  • FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • She's just great.

    What an actress.

  • This is as brilliant as the day she performed it for the first time! When she acts is with her soul. KUDOS Glenn!

  • I saw Sunset Boulevard twice. Patti LuPone and Betty Buckley may be technically better singers, but Glenn Close captured the absolute madess of Nora Desmond. She understood the part and acted it to perfection. To me,she is "The Greatest Star" of all!!!

  • @GeraldR5 i completely agree, she understood this character so well. It doesn't matter if you can sing its how you sing, and glen sings it with pristene emotion. She is definately in the top three actresses of today. The other two being meryl streep and judy dench. Personally I believe Glen Close is this generation's Bette Davis.

  • Glenn close is an amazingly good actress, she was great in the shield too it was probably my favourite series of the show because of her performance as captain rawling.

  • What a perfect actress/singer for the role!

  • Gosh, it sure was nice that some of "Maude's" costumes could be reused...I read here that someone thought Glenn captured Norma"s aging great...Except in the original ,Norma was just shy of 50, not quite the teetering halting thing you see here..

  • Haaaaa, I saw this musical 15 years ago in Toronto with Diahann Carroll and it was also fantastic, she is quite an actress and singer. I never had the chance to see Glenn Close but I have heard she was the best along with Patti LuPone. This is one of the most haunting musicals, in every sense of the word, I have ever seen, the music is beautiful, the staging, the story, everything. I look forward to see some revivals.

  • Well, if you saw Diahann, then you saw the definitive musical Norma..

  • You are probably right, I certainly enjoyed it. And by the way I did watch the movie a few weeks ago and it is also a work of art!

  • I am most fortunate because I saw Glenn create musical magic in this role both in LA and in New York. There are so many ways to portray Norma and she encircled them all. For example, watch her movements, an older woman walking with a slight gingerly gait denying that she's older and can't actually move the way she once did. Glenn was Norma. She absolutely nailed it! BRAVO

  • in these two songs one can feel her guts and her heart yearning for the old times long gone and permanently so but yet so much hoped for by her soul - all these she does with much more credibility and feelings than any other performer who did the same wonderful songs bar none.

  • Heavens to Murgatroid! I've never heard Glenn Close sing before now. What a powerful & awesome voice! Not only is she a gifted actress...but an talented singer too! THANKS so much for sharing this fantastic footage with us! You've made my day & my week! Cheers! :)

  • I was lucky enough to see Ms. Close in Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles prior to it going to broadway all those years ago. I was in awe of this increditable voice and the way she performed the part, I have been a fan ever since.

  • AMAZING! She's Norma Desmond. What an actress! Merci Madame.

    JP, from Paris

  • Huge, massive chill down my spine! I wish Glenn Close had pursued a singing career - what a voice!

  • amazing performance!! Best rendition ever

  • She is the BEST. I'm from Holland. And i think that no one of our musical stars can do what she's doing here.

  • Best female actress on the planet!! <3

  • Close started her career as a singer. There's all sorts of evidence she is well trained and been instructed by the best. Her enunciation is outstanding, she sings all the notes straight on, she maintains the meter and rhythm (not easy with these songs) and she maintains character. She always sets a very high bar in all her owrk.

  • does anyone know the name of this song???

  • With One Look / As if we never said goodbye ...

  • "With one look"

  • Saw Glenn Close play Norma Desmond in Los Angeles a few years ago. She was superb. The only minus was that the wardrobe was really ugly for the most part and distracted from the performance(s).

    A very dark and cluttered stage, but probably meant to reflect the mind of ND and to show itself. Cinema Noir on stage it truly was.

  • Glenn Close is excellent !

  • wow I have to admit I didnt know Glenn Close could sing like this...amazing!

  • One thing Julliard never taught Patti LuPone was the power of subtlety.

  • Chills all over! Glenn is fantastic!

  • AS good a rendition of this song as you could wish to hear! Even those who are anti - Glenn Close must accept this?

  • that was absolutely beautiful...

    Glenn Close is perfection here...

    I got goosebumps all over... she is amazing!!!

    thanx for uploading this outstanding performance!!!

  • maybe somebody knows if there is sunset boulevard the play on dvd?

  • An amazing Actress. ...

  • what a coincidence... searched for something but... she's great!

  • Glenn was the original Norma Desmond on Broadway, if I'm not mistaken.

  • @VideoGuy18

    Oh, let's not get into that! I can sense the stench of bitchy Patti LuPone fans preparing to tear you a new one.

  • maybe, sunset boulevard is on dvd? do someone know?

  • She is beautifull!!

  • THATS GLEN CLOSE? What shes perfection.

  • Sencillamente insuperable, tanto su actuación como su interpretación vocal. Jamás he oído ni visto una interpretación más brillante.

  • Glen is good but Pati is MUCH better

  • @zicodali

    Shut the hell up, you stupid bitch.

  • There's a rumor there is going to a movie production of this Musical with glen close

  • April 5, 1980, the opening night of Barnum, and in the role of Charity Barnum - Glenn Close.

  • she's really goos in the (toneel)?? play!

  • The first time i heard Glenn Close sing I almost fainted- she is a marvelous singer!

  • No kidding! She is amazing. I never knew she could sing.

  • Look at her face and eyes....With that look she is pure art.....

  • great comeback!

  • She is, thats all, no more coments, just that, actrees, singer, the best, etc, so i resume...she is, no more

  • Glenn Close, This is to say I really enjoyed every word from these songs, because it brought tears to my eyes. Also, you lived the part of Norma Desmond believably compared to others who portrayed this role not well. issac0072000

  • I <3 you!!! XOXOXOXOXO

  • this is tanner by the way

  • I love it... She sings wonderfull

  • Nowhere near as good as Patti Lupone though - she is not in the same league I am afraid.

  • We had box seats compliments the JW Marriott, [wanted to get another box the following week to see the rest of the show] but making the evening fun was Glenn and I were in a bus and truck and jet show of over 1,000 performances circa '67 and she was even more shy than I. Brava Glenn

  • i love the way she says: in this ever spinning playground

  • She 's amazing, a real good singer !!! It's really awsome !!

  • I went to opening nite at the Shubert in Century City. I learned that Glenn learned to sing for this role. I am a broadway singer myself, and I think she was superb in the role. One of my favorites of all time, and I'm seen alot.  I met Lana Turner out front of the theatre, what a treat... I also saw Glenn's two sisters and mother enter the back stage.

  • No, Glenn did not learn to sing for his show, she orginated the part of Charity Barnum, in Cy Coleman's Barnum in 1980.

  • Glenn Close did a great job!

    But, nobody can beat Simone Kleinsma.

    cheers

  • this is glenn closs, isnt? she is so great!!!

    pia douwes and simone kleinsma are also great!!!

    but she does it clasic,if you understand?

    so for me she is norma.

    but simone en pia are my favorites!!!! Always!!!

    with love, liefs,sandrine

    the netherlands

  • this is glenn close,isnt?

    she is so great!!!!

    she is 50 or 60 or somthing...

    she is just as good as simone kleinsma and pia douwes from the netherlands!

    But it's so great to see the true and original norma!

  • Utter magic, one does not have to be an actor to appreciate the emotions portrayed in both songs; one has only to be human.

  • Thank you so much for this video!!!

  • great voice

  • Does anyone know if, and when this musical will be performed again.

  • In 1994 I saw this musical 3 times in Los Angeles. To this day it remains my all time favorite live entertainment event. Absolutly breathtaking.

  • Glenn is both sublime and exquisite in this role! The madness of the character is evoked both through her voice and her face! Only Glenn can wear that burnoose and turban to their full effect!

    On another note, Glenn Close was the only thing I liked about the new "Stepford Wives" film.

  • In the Netherlands we have Simone Kleinsma and Pia Douwes playing both the part of Norma, and they are also very very good! There are video's with both of them on Youtube. Just look and see :-D

  • To me madame Close was the only one who made this role shine on the stage the way it did , when i saw her on Broadway i was moved so deeply that i wasnt the same after the show

  • Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber... what a genius.. All his music touches me..

  • There was only one real Norman Desmond and that was Gloria Swanson and Richard Holden were Sunset Blvd.

    The original House from the movie was demolished before preservation became a issue in Hollywood.

    Glenn is the one true Norma Desmond for the stage since she has both television and movie experience.

    Someone without both has no clue how to act onstage.

    Glenn is a star of the old school study and perfect your character then bring them to life.

  • William Holden...

  • um, excuse me? i was a stage performer for 15 years before ever acting on camera. i rather resent your implication that people without television or movie experience aren't competent on the stage. camera and stage acting are completely different styles, so please think before you speak, or in this case, type.

  • Dear Sir or Madam,

    I have studied and performed music since I was seven.

    My first play was Oliver and then many to numerous to name after that.

    I studied with the Strabergs in Los Angeles and pursued my career in London.

    Sorry but I have studied music and acting till three years ago with the on slaught of partial deafness set in and my career ended.

    Gloria Swanson and William Holden were the true Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis.

  • You are perfectly entitled to your opinion as to which actors you prefer. In fact, I am inclined to agree with you on that note. However, I do think it's unfair to claim that if a person does not have experience with movies/television, then they "have no clue how to act onstage". Many very talanted thespians simply prefer not to get involved in those aspects of performing. Please don't feel that I am attacking you or your past accomplishments, but I personally feel insulted by your statement.

  • I was trained for both sorry but that is how I worked in the industry.

    So let me tell you I agree my opinion isn't the only one.

    So I will wish you much prosperity in the future and remember to break a leg.

    Sorry but I was trained the old school way.

    What worked for me may not work for you so take care and thanks for your comment.

  • well said, i'm an actor myself and to perform on stage is a lot more physically and emotionaly draining then on camera. Most actors out there are stage performers opposed to tv performers, purely because there are more acting jobs in theatre.

  • Glenn not being a B'way professional?!She was the female lead in "Crucifer of Blood" in 1976; she created the part of Charity in "Barnum." Glenn is a professional singer adopting a character voice for a part. (LuPone was wrong because Norma comes from silent pix, when, as she said, they had faces. Norma was, in her day, a classic beauty. The only silent movie star LuPone could pass as is Rin Tin Tin. Don't bother to flame me. I delete all YouTube emails unread.)

  • i love when people try to make out that glenn close isn't a seasoned broadway actress in the leagues of patti lupone and the likes, you do realize that she's a triple time tony winner? she is to american stage what judi dench is to british theatre.

  • I have always loved Glenn over Patti and Betty for this part because, unlike the other two fabulous females, Glenn is/was semi Hollywood. Norma, to me, is a Marilyn type. She was young and hugely popular and then gone and you have to wonder if she ever had any real talent at all. Patti and Betty are too fabulous and Broadway to untrain themselves to get that 'has-been' vibe. Where Glenn, not being a Broadway professional, captures it. Norma shouldn't have perfect pitch or tone or anything.

  • wow this is a real classic,, much love to all those who work on this classic, as a learning film-making i biggs dreams of leaving something nice like this,, ms.close wow would love to take you dancing

  • glenn is desmond.

  • Close is talented, but the problem with casting stars is they command huge salaries, and once they leave (for Hollywood and big paydays), the public perceives the show as less than it was. I think the show would have run longer and made more money if they had cast someone like Betty Buckley (who later took over) as Norma. In that case, the show is the star, not an actor. It worked for no-star shows like Rent, Lion King, Les Miz, and many others.

  • I don't disagree with your statement at all. I do prefer shows that star newbies, unknowns, and Broadway legends - not Hollywood.

    However in Glenn's case, I personally feel she is the best Norma I have seen. Petula Clark was excellent as well. And when talking salaries, Betty Buckley was paid more for Sunset than Glenn was. And the show went from being Sunset Blvd with Glenn Close to Betty Buckley stars in Sunset Blvd. So I feel the reverse of what you said happened.

  • You mean Once Upon a Time of glenn close , a beautiful part

  • Comment removed

  • You're thinking of Meryl Streep. This is Glenn Close.

  • hi there. there used to be a video around here, which also had the introduction part, when she was at the top of the stairs. and she says: WHY ARE YOU SO LATE? then there's applause. and she sings a small introduction of like 1 minute. which contains lyrics like: Not so long ago the head of every studio knew where to put their aces now they have a talentless unknows... etc etc I with I could see that again :(
  • I have the video, Glenn Close also sings Love Changes Everything with Micheal Ball and all the other artists from the concert- you only get brief glimpses but its amazing when you see them all singing together. The video is worth getting if you can find it- Its called Andrew Lloyd Webbers celebrations- with only having it on video so have no way of downloading it unfortunately hope that helps

  • I've seen that. Everyone comes out in nice regular clothes, except for Glenn, who for some reason is in her Norma costume. She looks oddly out of place in the group. It's like someone threw a costume party and then at the last minute changed it to a regular party but didn't tell Glenn, and she showed up in costume.

  • Goosebumping!!!

  • GLENN CLOSE!!!<3<3<3<3<3<3<33<3

  • Brilliant Glenn Close.

    Heavens, give her the role in the much delayed movie version.

    Hugh Jackman with his handsome vibrancy would get by as the younger man. But Ewan Mcgregor and others, would be even more youthful. But Glenn , I adore you and your performance. Fingers crossed!

  • I am not sure the movie version would be a success....I sincerely hope so, though. Glenn Close is an acting treasure and I only recently found out she is a great musical performer!

  • I was quite overcome with this video. Enchanting!

  • Glenn Close is amazing in film, television and musicals! I have this concert on video and everytime i watch these two songs I am blown away!! If they are still making the film of Sunset Boulevard this is the lady to play Norma Desmond, without a doubt!!!

  • I just love this. Glen Close is nothing but genius. That is her role, and she owns it..I never realized her singing was so professional.

  • Absolute perfection.

  • PERFECTION!!!!!!

  • She's a greater actress than both, and that's a matter of record.

  • Please don't lump Betty Buckley into the same category as the overrated LuPone. Close is the most powerful when she isn't singing like a musical robot (here's looking at you LuPone), but rather explores emotion through song instead of a flawless vibrato. Betty Buckley is a treasure, as is the remarkable Glenn Close.

  • Patti LuPone is overrated? You must be joking...

  • I've never really found a good deal of variation between her roles, but she does have quite a voice. But I saw both of their Norma Desmonds, and found Close to have more subtlety, something necessary in a Wilder adaptation.

  • agreed!

  • Best actress on the planet!!! No Doubt!!! <3<3<3<3

  • are they making a film in 2010 with glenn? that would be fantastic!!!!! she is amazing in this role!!!! what a great remake thats gonna be! hope that gets afew oscars anyways!!!

  • she is great :) cant wait to see Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard 2010 movie :)

  • it is going to be a record from a performance or just a remake of Sunset Boulevard from 1950?

  • its going to be movie the sunset Boulevard musical remake movie :) i know she going to be in it with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman

  • Thanks! I'm glad it will be a musical and not the classic movie, I wouldn't be happy to compare Gloria a Glenn in the same thing...both are evidently grea actresses (Glenn certainly is a Gloria was incredible like Norma! )

  • What a class act! Pure star here! And I d KILL for her kimono!

  • Lo ke hace Glenn Close es el arte representado y encarnado en una persona, la ecensia del arte!

  • great voice. I think it so funny that you see her as cruela to awesome superstar.Lol

  • REALLY THE BEST!!!!

  • thanks for posting! glenn close is sooo brilliant!

    is this from a complete concert version of sunset boulevard?