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Post by ForeverJulie on Aug 7, 2013 6:41:46 GMT
I thought of this song when responding to Lemacd in another thread, but I wanted to post it here and see who else knew of it too. In the play Max and Elsa were singing parts and they had the song "How Can Love Survive". I think there may have been other songs too but I can't remember off the top of my head. Anyways here's a link to the song: How Can Love Survive
It's a very clever song and is played during one of the party scenes in the film. I wonder why they didn't have Max and Elsa sing in the movie. Do you think it would just be too much to have everyone singing? Or is it that they were more concerned with getting actors who were perfect for the parts so they nixed the singing, meaning they probably had more actors to choose from. Although, they could always have dubbed them, having done so with CP. |
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Post by augiesannie on Aug 7, 2013 9:54:02 GMT
from what I recall, the filmmakers made a decision to make Max and Elsa's parts' non-singing, ie, somewhat less important, and to put more emphasis on the M/G romance. The show does feel a little more like it's about the Nazis, and Georg's disagreements with M/E about them, and a tiny bit less about the romance, compared to the film. At least that's how it feels to me.
So they got rid of two songs that had M/E singing: "How can Love" (but the melody lives on, as one of the waltzes played during the party, I'll have to check which one if no one else knows) and the other "No Way to Stop It," which is explicitly their disagreement about whether to "go along to get along" with the Nazis, with M/E on one side and Georg on another.
The show also has M/G singing "Ordinary Couple" after the gazebo . There's a lot of interesting discussion about why the filmmakers commissioned "Something Good" to replace it, but I have to go to work now! I'll leave that for another time.
Those are the three songs that are not in the film, and as you know "Confidence" and "Something Good" were added.
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Post by ForeverJulie on Aug 7, 2013 11:02:36 GMT
I remember reading about Ordinary Couple and how it was taken out because they looked back and pretty much said "wait...they aren't an ordinary couple, this makes no sense" haha
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Post by indigoblue on Aug 7, 2013 23:16:29 GMT
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Post by indigoblue on Aug 7, 2013 23:26:20 GMT
'How Can Love Survive' is played from the moment Elsa comes downstairs after seeing off Maria in her bedroom, and then when she walks in to the ballroom to find Max and tell him she is the one he should be talking to.
I have the words in my SOM music book, and whilst some of the lyrics are clever, the gist of the song is odd (talking about how they can stay together if they are both rich...doesn't seem difficult to me, and especially ironic seeing that Georg ultimately went for Maria!) This may be why they left the song out, but I absolutely adore this piece played here as a glorious waltz, and love playing it on the piano.
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Post by augiesannie on Aug 8, 2013 23:49:46 GMT
Oh, right! It would be fun to hear you play it! And it is kind of a silly idea for a song - I wonder what its purpose was in the play, just to emphasize that they are all rich? I don't think most people are as clever as you are, to see the irony of Georg's eventual choice. In any event, I do think it was dropped primarily to shrink M&E's roles somewhat and I don't miss it - I like the bigger focus on M&G.
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Post by lemacd on Aug 9, 2013 1:32:38 GMT
i think it was kind of ironic... i mean, i think elsa is saying that when (in the great love stories) the lovers are poor and only have each other, they can show their love by suffering for the other person. rich people are not into suffering. so i guess the world might not think their love is real or anything but two rich people making sure they keep up appearances. while the galley maid and the stable boy make people swoon.
it's a movie thing. in the real world, suffering in poverty for love is TOTALLY overrated.
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Post by brigittavt on Aug 10, 2013 20:04:17 GMT
I can see why they decided not to include An ordinary couple in the movie (I believe Richard Rodgers mentioned he never really liked it) but I love How can love survive, and No way to stop it even more. Especially NWTSI is very clever.
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Post by utility_singer on Oct 16, 2013 4:29:32 GMT
Robert Wise made the decision to cut those songs, he made Max and Elsa non-singing roles to underscore the fact they were not part of the 'family'. I also recall hearing that Something Good was to be more of a Georg singing to Maria song.
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Post by gothicbutterfly95 on Jan 12, 2016 7:57:56 GMT
I love both these songs.
I can understand why they were nixed, but they're so wonderful. 'No Way To Stop It' is SO catchy. And very clever.
Anyway, my question is about 'How Can Love Survive'.
There is a line where Elsa sings 'I cannot die like Camile for you'. Who is Camile?
I'm guessing it's a heroine from some love fable, but I wouldn't even know where to start to find that.
My other thought is possibly a fictional version of Agathe (highly unlikely, but something about the 'die' in the line makes me unable to rule it out)
Thoughts???
Okay...ramble over
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Post by sagaofjenny on Jan 12, 2016 15:44:29 GMT
the only thing I can think of is the 1936 film Camille, which would make sense to be mentioned as TSOM supposedly takes place in 1938, however the main character's name is not actually camille so I don't know
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Post by utility_singer on Jan 12, 2016 19:15:29 GMT
Yes, Marguerite (The Lady of the Camillias) dies for love. She was born lower-class, became wealthy being courtesan to a Baron, and was willing to give it up for her true love, a young, handsome but poor man. She dies of tuberculosis in his arms.
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Post by gothicbutterfly95 on Jan 13, 2016 3:32:59 GMT
That's sad. And it reminds me a lot of Moulin Rouge.
Thanks for helping with that ladies
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Post by indigoblue on Feb 6, 2016 0:19:16 GMT
I was listening to a radio programme this morning in England, Desert Island Discs, featuring Bill Gates. This is a long-running programme (50yrs) which asks guests to choose 8 of their favourite pieces of music to take to a fictitious desert island where they would be marooned; it is clever, because in explaining their choices, one gets to hear about their upbringing, outlook, aspirations etc, as well as the music which is inspirational for them.
Imagine my pleasure in hearing Bill Gates say that not only is TSOM a firm favourite for him and his wife Melinda, but he chose 'How Can Love Survive' as one of his 8 pieces. We heard the version at the top of this thread, but oh, how I would have liked to have heard Our Couple singing it! That would have been heaven!
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Post by indigoblue on May 15, 2022 23:11:30 GMT
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Post by indigoblue on May 15, 2022 23:14:03 GMT
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Post by reverendcaptain on May 16, 2022 19:25:13 GMT
I am so glad that they decided to not have Max and Elsa sing and dance together in the movie! It would have detracted from their roles in my opinion.
And, the cast and set for the movie can not be beat. It is almost hard to watch someone else try to play those parts.
I really like that they play an instrumental version of the first song during the party. That is a nice touch.
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Post by augiesannie on May 30, 2022 12:27:45 GMT
Although these two songs ARE great (and you're right, reverendcaptain, that is a nice bit of homage-paying), it was so genius of Robert Wise to shift away from the Georg/Elsa/N*zis love triangle, to a Georg/Elsa/Maria triangle. And interesting that he did that only two decades after the war, when it would have been just as relevant to do the former. And indeed he still fought the Salzburg officials for the right to portray the N*zi menace. (asterisk to avoid bad bots and searchers) |
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