3 minute read
Faithful heroines in music 12. From Pathos to Comedy
Faithful heroines in music
Iris Zeng follows the whims of women on screen
One classic marries another
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was a masterpiece.
Who can forget the pensive gaze of Mr. Darcy and that famous lake scene at Pemberley? Whilst Austen herself never imagined Mr. Darcy in his wet white shirt, awkwardly stumbling upon Miss Elizabeth Bennet, it is immortalised in British television history. Andrew Davies’ miniseries captures the class and genteel manners of Regency England, remaining true to the wit and provincial charm of Austen’s classic novel.
When it aired in the Autumn of 1995, ten million people watched the final episode. The steamy romance between impetuous Lizzie Bennet and haughty Mr. Darcy has since spawned a new breed of Austenites. Visitors to Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, Hampshire, will happily find the aforementioned shirt on display, whereas in Lyme Park, Cheshire – the film location of Pemberley – a statue of Mr. Darcy himself emerges from the lake. “I intended it as a funny little scene about social embarrassment. . . it seems to have affected women in quite a different way – and who am I to complain?” (Andrew Davies on the ‘lake scene’).
Just as iconic is the series’ buttery opening sequence, panning across satin ribbons and lace embroidery. Carl Davis’ elegant Pride and Prejudice Suite perfectly marries the poise of the period drama, although cheekily – oh dear! – bursts of brass barge in, much like the vulgar Bennet family!
The score was inspired by a scherzo in Beethoven’s Septet in E flat, op 20 (1800) and the finale to his Emperor Concerto (1809), both of which Austen herself might have listened to around the time of her novel’s publication in January 1813. Handel’s opera Xerxes; Mozart’s Rondo alla turca, The marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni also appear in Davis’ score. “I thought that was interesting, because the suite doesn’t directly quote from Haydn or Mozart, but I wanted it to sound as if it were by them.” – Carl Davis
Oh, how lucky can you get?
If anything, Austen’s observation on marriage is proved right in the 1975 musical comedy film Funny Lady, the rather lacklustre sequel to Funny Girl, based on the life of American vaudeville star Fanny Brice. Set in the 1930s, Fanny does indeed marry ‘a single man in possession of a good fortune’ – this time in the form of Billy Rose. For a Broadway diva hit by the Great Depression, Fanny’s marriage to Billy, a successful impresario, was more out of convenience than passion. Together, the duo rises in fame, but given Fanny still pines for her exhusband Nicky Arnstein, their relationship fizzles.
The opening song How Lucky Can You Get? composed by Kander and Ebb, depicts Fanny, lonely, bitter, and adorned in jewels worthy of Mrs. Bennet:
Satin on my shoulder and a smile on my lips How lucky can you get Money in my pocket right at my fingertips How lucky can you get
What begins as a flashy musical number falters, revealing the singer’s struggle in her empty marriage. A brief musical reference to O soave fanciulla, from Puccini’s 1896 opera La bohème, underscores the last two verses of the song, where Fanny belts sarcastically:
Hey there, gorgeous! Big success! What’s your secret? Just lucky I guess
More memorable than the film itself, How Lucky Can You Get? was nominated for Best Original Song.
