Reviews on Groban's Chess
Chess Reviews from blogs and musical theater sites all over the internet. I tried to exclude biased Grobanites, but I'm sure some slipped through.
From Adam Pascal, Freddy, on his blog: "Josh Groban is one of the sweetest guys I have ever met, so much fun to work with and to find the words to describe his voice is difficult indeed. I can say that his performance of the song Anthem at the end of the first act brought tears to my eyes every time he sang it. I have rarely been so moved."
This production was a three hour tour de force that saw strong performances from the leads. Idina Menzel as Florence Vassy (the American delegate who goes with the Russian) was captivating. If slightly too abrasive in the quieter numbers, there was no disputing the quality of the voice, and the magic of her performance made us appreciate Florence as the most wronged character in the whole affair. Josh Groban gave both purposefulness of character and clarity of voice as the Russian, Sergievsky.
from Elaine Paige: "Monday night: I'm full of nervous anticipation because I am seeing Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Well, it's "the next generation" up there on the stage and I love that score so much.... It proves an emotional evening. It's strange to hear the wonderful score and timeless songs, re-interpreted by a remarkable Josh Groban and an impressive Kerry Ellis. I start to reminisce. For me, the most magical part of the night is my reunion with Björn Ulveaus, Tommy Körberg and Tim Rice. Can it really be 24 years ago that we created that double album? It's a joy to hear the music again, and judging by the audience reaction, the game of Chess will be played for ever."
Anatoly - Josh Groban - from his outstanding fame as an opera singer you expect a lot from him, and he does not fail to impress you even further, an absolutely brilliant performer, and really seemed to get into this role. He had a cracking few solo parts where his full voice could show off, and his diction was perfect, you heard and understood nearly every word, absolutely sensational.
Josh Groban I had heard of but never heard sing, I was quite speechless at the anthem and his whole performance, he was outstanding and deserved his standing ovation.
Josh reprised his role as the Russian in this concert and I must say was an absolute natural with his songs.
Oh Josh Josh Josh...what to say what to say? He was amazing live!! Even looked to where we sat as he sang and stared in deep thought like singers do on stage. I had to stop chewing my gum and restrain a laugh each time he turned to our direction. Obviously he wasn't looking at me or directly at one person but I couldn't help the inner giggling
;; Did I mention he looked great too? XDDD Want to take a photo of him so badly and get his autograph.
Josh Groban as Anatoly was a perfect fit. His voice suited the character so much that during the final song in Act One (Anthem), he certainly brought the house down.
Josh Groban, Adam Pascal, Kerry Ellis and David Bedella were amazing.
Josh Groban ... was by far the best performer in the thing, he was outstanding throughout the show. If ever you get the chance to hear/see him then take it, you won't be disappointed.
Josh Grobhan's voice was glorious
The star of the show was undoubtedly Josh Groban who i had never heard about before. Anthem was the highlight of the show and the audience went wild giving him a standing ovation.
I did admit to having goose pimples towards the end of Josh Groban's rendition of Anthem.
Josh wasn't faultless but was cool and professional and certainly kept the hordes of Grobanites, many of which had flown in from America, very happy.
Josh Groban - Simple verdict : Amazing voice but he can't act. Anatoly's motivation is cloudy at best and needs much more delineation than we got here. But, as I said, vocally spectacular.
Josh Groban was fantastic (not really a fan of his but he stole the show for me!)
Josh Groban's voice was for me the best in the show.
Josh Groban brought the house down with his "Anthem" and Kerry Ellis was not far behind with her "Someone elses story".
Josh Groban was effortless and simply excellent - his version of Anthem was definitive in my opinion.
Highlights of the show were Josh Groban who was outstanding throughout.
But Josh was amazing, his Anthem knocked the socks off Tommy's...
Josh Groban also completely knocked me sideways generally and I thought his Anthem was absolutely stunning.
Grosh was incredible what a very powerful perfomance he delivered.
Wow what a concert. Amazing voices of josh groban and kerry ellis.
Josh Groban's voice is amazing though (I will be purchasing some of his albums) and Kerry Ellis was very good as well.
Anthem was superb, particularly the last section with organ, choir and Groban together. What a superb ending. I haven't been to anything that had a standing ovation at the end of the first half before!
Top marks to to Josh and Adam (I will never forget Anthem and Pity the Child, and many other bits besides) and the sterling orchestra and West End Chorus.
This was an example of beautiful voices and music. Josh Groban appeared to effortlessly hit all his notes and fully deserved his standing ovation. It's not as if that song is easy to sing!!
I thought that Josh grogan was the star of the show.
Josh was always going to be good and overall I enjoyed this production.
At moments the concert was brilliant - in particular Josh Groban and Kerry Ellis.
All in all a fantastic night and the standing ovation showed how much the crowd enjoyed the performance - I don't think there was a single person not standing!
I look back on the night on the whole with fondness and can honestly state that Groban, Pascal and Bedella gave performances I will personally regard as definitive.
The Russian was good, and got the biggest applause of the night for his Anthem.
I thought, but Kerry Ellis's "Someone Else's Story" was outstanding, as was Josh Groban's "Anthem" and Adam Pascal's "Pity the Child."
Josh Groban and Kerry Ellis, as others have said, were the stars of the show. Both excellent!
Josh is a terrific singer, and yes I had the goosebumps in Anthem both times, but he is very cardboardy and stiff as he's clearly not an actor.
I was at Tuesday's performance and loved Kerry, Adam and Josh, Molokov and the chorus/orchestra/band.
Josh - oh my god. I have never seen him before and I couldn't help but jump to my feet after Anthem. Amazing.
I had several 'shiver' moments namely end of Anthem ... I can't say I liked Josh Groban's voice ... too operatic for me with a trill at the end of his notes that I really don't like (don't like that in general so not specific to Josh). That said, his professionalism and stage presence was incredible and his voice was powerful and he was clearly the star of the piece.
Josh (fav singer and idol) was incredible. His voice was exactly the same as on the albums. When he sang that russian patriotic song, the sound made the floor shake i swear.
Josh Groban was also excellent and I was pleasantly surprised by Adam Pascal who I'd never had the pleasure of listening to before!
Josh Groban aside no one else came close in last nights performance to excite me.
The hits of the night has to be Josh Groban. That man has the voice of an angel and he was fantastic at Anthem. He just made it seem so effortless.
Amazing Josh Groban (have just ordered his CDs on Amazon)
I almost tried to get tickets again for the Tuesday, despite those sound issues, because Josh and Kerry Ellis alone made it for me...
Josh blew me away
Josh, David and Kerry absolutely stole the show.
Josh was absolutely brilliant and also the choir was wonderful.
I'm not a Josh fan, I am an ABBA fan but Josh's support of Tim Rice's venture does nothing but good for CHESS and I can imagine the organisers delight when he said he would do CHESS again. It doesn't hurt one iota that he can also sing a bit!! ;-)
He's not a theatrical performer and he's not an actor, he's a singer and as such, probably the #1 choice to perform Anatoly now that Tommy Körberg is past his best.
I am one UK fan who has definitely discovered Josh Groban, though I am not one of those scary fans who hang around the stage door to frighten him on the way out.... :-)
I have to say, the whole night was fantastic, and everybody very well cast: Ellis, Menzel and Groban of course, but also Adam Pascal.
Particular praise for Josh, Anthem was amazing.
Big moment no. 1 - 'Anthem'
Josh Groban - excellent. Has stage presence in spades as well as the obviously brilliant voice! The big surprise was his wonderful acting. What a complete performer. Hope he makes his desired return to musical theatre soon.
I don't agree that Josh Groban was a superb actor but I do agree that he sang well and boy, he needed to, or the whole show might have gone to hell in a handbasket!
Am I glad I came to London? You betcha! Did I just buy my first Josh Groban CD? Yup! Did I raise to my feet at the end of both acts? Sure did! And did the music/atmosphere/occasion move me close to tears (on Tuesday)? Very!
Adam was fine and Josh, as everybody says, was in great voice but boy he has the stage presence of a wet lettuce - couldn't someone at least tell him how to stand.
Josh Groban was the standout: what a voice!! His "Anthem" (end of Act 1) was simply stupendous. Hurrah!!
Josh Groban - WOW!!! I am now a fan, despite the bad sound I could understand most of what he sang, what a voice. Amazing
And of course, Josh Groban- his voice is incredible and that vibrato is to die for! Also, did anyone else encounter his crazed fans? I pity the poor bloke!
Josh - loved the performance - Anthem was superb - only wish we had heard it again as an encore...
Josh- a lovely powerful voice, but rather undramatic, apart from in Anthem. Too much acting with a flailing right arm. Very little chemistry with Idina.
Vocally her performance was a highlight, she was superb! She nailed Someone Else's Story which was performed fantastically and really, really appreciated by the crowd.
As was Josh Groban throughout. I really don't know much about him, or what he has done, but boy he has a following. Each time he came on those cameras came out and flashed away.
His acting skills, were not the best. At times he did look a little wooden, but never tense. Mind you, it suited Anatoly. It could have just been his way.
He definitely has a singing style though...
His voice was well suited to Anatoly and was more powerful than I expected. His Anthem at the end of the first act received a deserved standing ovation (and yes almost overwhelmed me). He's quite unassuming and demure. At times he struck me as a male (How Do You Solve A Problem Like) Maria!
I'd been longing to see Josh Groban. He did really good job that night. I know he's not perfect as stage actor, but very good tenor singer indeed; What you heard in his record is his own voice hardly modified by fancy machines in studio.
Jon Robyns: Rehearsing with that cast, Groban, Menzel, Badella (the list goes on see
www.chessinconcert.com for more) was like watching a master class in how to be talented and down to earth at the same time. Josh especially is the most gentlemanly guy you could hope to meet.
But there where also a few nice surprises. Josh Groban (who performed Anatoly once before on the New York concert) made a very good Anatoly. His first act ending, Anthem, was one of the highlights of the evening and brought down the house.
Worth it for Josh Groban (particularly Anthem)
Now on the plus side, if you have never had the chance to see Josh Groban live, then you have missed out, totally. The guy was absolutely brilliant, despite a very average performances from Marti Pellow (who should stick to pop in my opinion) totally controlled the whole show. His mellow voice filled the Albert Hall, and I was proud to provide him with a standing ovation for his version of Anthem, which Ok is a brilliant song by itself. But every single patron was off their chair is seconds at the end of that song. We are living in an age of musical mediocrity and frankly we should feel honoured to be able to see talent like Josh Grobans take the stage and blow the "musical theatre professionals" off the stage with his combination of deference, humility and outstanding vocal ability. Go see him... I don't care if you have to steal the tickets or drive a thousand miles... go see him! That's an order.
...
So in conclusion, sorry Idina, green up again and get on the broomstick, your fab at that but please please, leave the singing to our hero of the show, Mr Josh Groban. Truly stunning.
Josh Groban has an amazing voice and vocally pulled off Anatoly, his version of Anthem nearly brought the house down it was so great. I've never been a huge fan of his but he impressed me although you can tell he was hired for his voice and not his acting.
arrrggghh i just got back from "chess in concert" with josh groban, idina menzel, adam pascal, and kerry ellis, among others. it was AMAZING. their voices are incredible and the music was just wonderful. i had never heard of 'chess' until tonight but i've been completely converted. my favorite numbers were "someone else's story" sung by kerry ellis as svetlana and "where i want to be" sung by josh groban as sergeievsky. i wish they could do a full musical with this cast--i'd pay a lot of money to go see it.
I saw this on the 12th and got goosebumps when JG sang Anthem. I have heard many versions of this number but none close to this. JG was faultless, a truly mind blowing performer!
How amazing was this!!
I saw it on Monday the 12th.
It was absolutely incredible.
My mouth was wide open the whole way through!
Ahh .. i love them all so much.
[Anthem} in particular gave me shivers.
I can't wait for the dvd to come out!!
Groban absolutely deserved the standing ovation ... it was truly amazing.
The role of Anatoly, on the other hand, really suited Josh Groban, who I've never much cared for before.
but it is Groban who was the particular revelation to me. I'd previously seen him at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, when he as a guest at Barbara Cook's 80th birthday celebration there (and the glorious Cook's endorsement of him was enough to make me pay attention), and a friend subsequently sent me a copy of his first solo album. Although he occupies that classical-pop cross-over hybrid that doesn't necessarily feel natural in either guise, onstage and in character he is simply thrilling. He should do more musicals!
Josh Groban - has the most superb voice and the part could have been written for him apart from the fact that he was not born at the time ... Anthem at the end of the first half was the first standing ovation. But I think he needs a little help with the acting of the songs and there was no chemistry between the Russian and Florence.
Josh Groban stole the show for me. His voice literally blew the roof of the RAH over the full choir and orchestra in Anthem. I don't think I've ever seen a standing ovation in the middle of a show before but he thoroughly deserved it. I actually thought his acting was extremely good considering he's a singer more than an actor. Despite the easy temptation in this show, he maintained the necessary "restrained emotion" and never overacted.
...at that point the audience was still swooning over Josh Groban's Anthem.
As for Josh Groban, well, I had heart palpitations during Anthem. 'Nuff said!
Josh Groban - WOW!!! I am now a fan, despite the bad sound I could understand most of what he sang, what a voice. Amazing
Josh Grobin best thing since sliced bread
I've long been a fan of Josh Groban so it's great to see him being so well received over here as he's so famous in the states but not so much in the UK. He was incredible - Who Needs a Dream and, particular, Anthem were incredible and just blew the roof of the Albert Hall. He didn't do the Russian accent but you can't care about that when you hear him sing.
Josh Groban and Kerry Ellis both stood out in their performances.
but I am now a fan of Josh Groban -WOW! He really deserved his mid-point standing ovation.
p.s. did anyone else feel distracted by all the flashes from cameras in the audience?
Particularly during scenes with Josh Groban? I understand the tempation, took pics myself (but without flash) but i do wish they had used a special announcement like shows usually do.
Josh Groban's voice is magnificent. Many have noticed in these posts that his acting is wooden and that is very true. It's not as noticeable in Chess, but he's also not the greatest with phrasing (often breaking either/both a musical/'sentence' phrase in sacrifice for breath). There's still no denying he has a magnificent instrument.
Josh Groban is gifted first as a baritone and secondly as a baritone with a very focused instrument. His voice could cut through a hall if it were packed with cotton because his has both a darker timbre and a 'reedier' (like the reed stops on an organ - as opposed to the flute stops) focus. That combination is much easier to mic than others. But that's a gift.
It's no wonder you all could understand every word he sang. He has a deeper. richer tone coupled with a gifted natural focus. That makes things SOOOO much easier for him to be understood in a situation with excessive reverb than anyone else. He can 'cut through' in spite of bad sound engineering.
As for Josh... have always loved his voice and was really excited to see him and obviously he did not disappoint!
Josh Groban was probably the best out there tonight, closely followed by Kerry Ellis, but her part was so small. Anthem and Someone Else's Story were highlights.
To my ear there was far too much reverb which rendered 70% of what was sung unintelligible. Josh Groban and Kerry Ellis were notable exceptions - so maybe there were diction issues with some of the performers! Anthem was stunning!
I thought that Josh Groban,Kerry Ellis, ADam Pascal and David Bedella were brilliant.
I thought Josh was amazing vocally (not so sure about the acting but I was SOOOO far away I'll give him the benefit of the doubt). But I'm being picky ... I really loved it and had a great evening and Josh Groban has a new fan!! I really hope they bring this back to the West End.
last night Kerry Ellis, Josh Groban, Adam Pascal were on top of it.
Whilst the sound issues were frustrating, I still would not have missed it for the world, and I paid almost double face value for my tickets. Josh Groban singing Anthem was worth the price of admission all on its own.
Josh absolutely deserved his standing ovation after this performance - he totally owned this song!! What a great night - can't wait for the DVD!!
He will go down in history as one of the greatest voices ever!! He's only 27 and listen to that power and control!!! Plus he's so damn handsome!!!
I've been racking my brain, but there are just no words for the power and beauty of this performance...Josh, you are truly one of a kind!
Holy sh_t ! I knew that Josh was a great singer but i didn´t expect that ! Truly amazing !
Josh Groban's powerful voice was outstanding - and obviously a pleasant surprise for those unfamiliar with his talents. ... and 'Anthem', with which Joshclosed the first half, was perfection. An evening of total delight - and we rewarded the cast with a five-minute standing ovation.
Jus saw Josh in Chess at the Royal Albert Hall. He was absolutely amazing! Listening to his CD's is nothing compared to listening to him live! he is phenomonal! Great job Josh!.
Saw Josh in Chess both 12th & 13th night ! It was absolutely awesome !! Josh was amazing, I still have Anthem in my head and the endgame !! He totally deserves the acclamation !!
My personal favorites, Merano - the Choir brought tears to my eyes, Anthem - more tears, Pity the Child - did you hear the pain in Adam's voice? A LOT of tears that night, now that I think back, I Know Him So Well and Endgame - Josh's "never" that went on forever, and his posture conveyed his anquish. I can't imagine it being done any better by anyone.
Oh dear. I thought Josh Groban was going to be one of those over-rated American singers.
But then he started singing.
And I think I might have actually seen angels flitting about.
This guy is Amazing. For me, he and Kerry Ellis stole the night. What she did by coming out and blowing Idina Menzel off stage in Act Two was sensational.
Amazing show, Josh Grobin was awsome.
It was excellent. Josh was such a natural powerforce - Anthem really did leave me numb.......you know you are witnessing a "moment" in theatre.
the only saving grace was josh groban's anthem which got a standing ovation, but it was to little to late. he must have thought he was with a pack of rank amateurs.
Of course, Josh Groban would have been about the only person heard over the orchestra as the rest don't have any power in their voices.
Josh Groban also was wonderful and so much clearer than the others.
josh groban was just phenomenal. by far the most presence of anyone on that stage, and as has already been commented on, his act one finale was just gobsmacking.
On a more positive note Josh groban was a welcome surprise- his performance of 'Anthem' was truly outstanding and I'm still getting goosebumps thinking about it.
Some time ago on here I was taken to task for not having heard of Josh Grogan. Well, I have to say he was simply sensational last night.
Josh and Kerry, best things about it.
I'd never heard anything of Josh's before apart from his previous duet with Idina, he got a mini standing ovation at the end of Act 1 when he finished 'Anthem,' which was impressive.
E QUESTA FOTO RACCHIUDE TUTTO!!!
( comunque tradurrò quelli più esemplificativi e li posterò appena possso!!! 
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per aver riportato qui tutte le recensioni che una fan aveva pazientemente raccolto da vari blog/forum!
