User Reviews

This is a fantastic DVD. The concert must have been really something. I only wish I'd been there to see it live. The DVD is very well made though and for those Bernadette Peters fans that missed it, this is a fairly good substitute. If you're a fan of Broadway musicals particularly the wonderful, but sadly underrated, music of Sondheim then you'll love it.

There's a fantastic live orchestra on the stage and violin's occasionally slightly off intonation is more than compensated for by the amazing piano technique of the leader and the stunning cello solos in many of the songs.

The programme is very similar to the Carnegie Hall concert "Sondheim Etc.". So if you love that CD you'll love this concert. Some of the songs are even better in this performance though. Her performance of "Broadway Baby" is even more spectacular and "Sooner or Later" has that certain something more than the earlier concert. There are one or two imperfections, however, preventing a perfect 10/10 voting, but over all an extremely enjoyable concert and I hope she comes to London again soon! This time I shan't miss it.

I liked this a lot, though I was surprised that Bernadette Peters was so much a grand diva in it. She sings well, though I could not understand the lyrics most of the time if I was not already familiar with the song. More than half of the numbers are by Stephen Sondheim. If you love Peters and/or Sondheim, you will probably enjoy this.

Absolutely incredible. bernadette never fails to give one hell of a performance.

First of all, it must be said that Bernadette Peters is a living legend. She is an unbelievable performer and an amazing person. For anyone to decide to put on a "performance" of Stephen Sondheim material, they had better be good, or they will fall flat on their face. Not only is his music incredibly difficult to sing (note by note....putting it together), it is UNBELIEVABLY hard to inhabit, which Ms. Peters does with the utmost confidence, bravery, and perfection. The footage that you see in this PERFORMANCE is something to cherish for all times. Whether it be the simplistic beauty of "Broadway Baby" or the emotional migraine of "Johanna", Bernadette Peters performs all the songs in this show with the utmost perfection. This DVD PERFORMANCE (are we noticing a trend here, it is a performance everyone, not a "concert"- there IS a difference) is one to cherish forever. Learn Sondheim, breathe Sondheim, but most of all ENJOY SONDHEIM. He is just as amazing as his muse.

Any Bernadette Peters fan will find this concert a treasure. Apart from instances of too bright lighting and pitchy violin playing(in all fairness these are rather nit-picky criticisms that are not really enough to hinder the performance itself at all), as a Peters and Stephen Sondheim admirer this concert is not to be missed. Peters is on superb form, she looks great still with her beautiful doll-like appearance and her voice is still the angelic and dynamic one I fell in love with. Her musicianship, diction and phrasing are spot on as well, and she doesn't just interpret the songs, she inhabits them with a riveting stage presence. A lot of the programme is Sondheim and considering how Sondheim's music is very difficult to sing and interpret that is quite a compliment, then again we are talking about one of the great Sondheim interpreters here so you don't really expect anything less. Her renditions of Broadway Baby, Not a Day Goes By, Unexpected Song, The Way You Look Tonight and The Last Midnight are especially noteworthy, though throughout she is never less than very good. The songs of course are beautifully written with some ingenious lyric writing, while the concert is well-shot and there is a real spontaneity in the atmosphere as well as the intimacy required for some of the songs. The orchestrations compliment the music and Peters' voice beautifully and there is some fine playing all round, from the pianist in particular. Overall, a great concert and one to be cherished, while there are one or two very small imperfections the quality of the music and Bernadette Peters' singing-acting make those imperfections seem like nothing. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox