Not only was the late Madeline Kahn almost unnervingly funny; she could seriously unhinge me with her voice. Says a writer for the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Opera News:
That note! Madeline Kahn’s sustained “Ah!” on A-flat, the first volley in Victor Herbert’s “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life” and the climax of Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein — has any singer ever made more impact with less?
Here’s the moment he refers to:
In that one Opera News article, by the way, I found more information about her singing than anyplace else I’ve seen. It includes the tidbit that Kahn did in fact briefly consider an opera career before settling on theater and films. Not really surprising — either the opera possibility, or her ultimate choice.
In the Sesame Street clip below, she again puts both extravagant talents to work, with Grover, in “Sing After Me”:
s.o.m.e.one's brudder says
even knowing your sense of humor – I did NOT see this week’s midweek music break coming. A genuinely swell diversion. Thanks.
John says
brudder: The management at Running After My Hat aims to meet the needs of a wide variety of visitors (who happen to have an ever-changing, wide variety of moods). We are pleased to have been of service. :)