It has been uncovered that lost songs and musical numbers from the classic musical My Fair Lady have been performed for first time since 1956. The songs, which were cut from the original production of My Fair Lady, were performed on stage for the first time in almost 60 years.
The musical numbers were removed from the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical after the show’s first preview in February 1956 on Broadway. They were later discovered, alongside a ballet penned for the musical, in boxes at the Library of Congress in the USA by University of Sheffield musicology lecturer Dominic McHugh in 2008. 2015 has seen permission granted from the Lerner estate and the Frederick Loewe Foundation, meaning the songs and ballet were performed as part of a concert at the University of Sheffield, organised by McHugh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEcX9gNVg1U
The songs, which were believed to be lost, have survived in just a box in the library. The songs performed were Lady Liza, Please Don’t Marry Me, Shy, and There’s a Thing Called Love. It is thought that it was unknown as to what the ballet music consisted of: many musicals of that period included a ballet, however the ballet for My Fair Lady was thought not to have survived the years. Months were spent devising it, but it was felt, after the preview, that the show was too long and the ballet didn’t quite work with the rest of the musical.
Sheffield audiences were the first to hear the magical music lost for decades, programmed following an announcement from the university that a festival of arts and humanities would be created. The festival served to represent the faculty’s vibrant research environment, and ultimately, the lost music.
Accustomed to Her Face – The Lost Songs of My Fair Lady took place on 19 May, featuring new orchestrations of other discarded Lerner and Loewe songs, arranged by Matthew Malone, who has been supervised by orchestrator Larry Blank.
Lost songs from My Fair Lady
It has been uncovered that lost songs and musical numbers from the classic musical My Fair Lady have been performed for first time since 1956. The songs, which were cut from the original production of My Fair Lady, were performed on stage for the first time in almost 60 years.
The musical numbers were removed from the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical after the show’s first preview in February 1956 on Broadway. They were later discovered, alongside a ballet penned for the musical, in boxes at the Library of Congress in the USA by University of Sheffield musicology lecturer Dominic McHugh in 2008. 2015 has seen permission granted from the Lerner estate and the Frederick Loewe Foundation, meaning the songs and ballet were performed as part of a concert at the University of Sheffield, organised by McHugh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEcX9gNVg1U
The songs, which were believed to be lost, have survived in just a box in the library. The songs performed were Lady Liza, Please Don’t Marry Me, Shy, and There’s a Thing Called Love. It is thought that it was unknown as to what the ballet music consisted of: many musicals of that period included a ballet, however the ballet for My Fair Lady was thought not to have survived the years. Months were spent devising it, but it was felt, after the preview, that the show was too long and the ballet didn’t quite work with the rest of the musical.
Sheffield audiences were the first to hear the magical music lost for decades, programmed following an announcement from the university that a festival of arts and humanities would be created. The festival served to represent the faculty’s vibrant research environment, and ultimately, the lost music.
Accustomed to Her Face – The Lost Songs of My Fair Lady took place on 19 May, featuring new orchestrations of other discarded Lerner and Loewe songs, arranged by Matthew Malone, who has been supervised by orchestrator Larry Blank.