Speranza
Cole Porter graduated from Yale in 1913.
There was a strong relationship of Cole Porter with Yale.
Porter was a
great champion of civil entertainment.
He wanted people to be
enjoying themselves in the theater. Period.
---- courtesy of R. Kimball, as published in The Yale Daily News.
The Graduate Club was the site of the Cole Porter
Swing Dance, featuring performances by the Bales-Gitlin Band.
We can provid an operatic
rendition of “In the Still of the Night.”
“Easy to
Love,”
“Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye.”
two of Porter’s hits —
“At Long Last Love” and “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.”
There's history behind the five songs.
Each was composed in
the 1930s, the peak of Porter’s career.
The origins of “At Long Last Love”
revealed Porter’s dedication to his art — having been thrown from a horse, the
composer thought of the song’s iconic lines as he lay prostrate on the
ground.
“Cole Porter at Yale,” an essay
that will appear in a 2014 book commemorating the 50th anniversary of Porter’s
death.
The excerpt depicts the arrival of the freshman class of 1913, a
celebration that included “torchlight parades” and the “shepherding” of
freshmen to York Street.
Porter, who came to Yale from Indiana, had to reinvent
himself.
Porter was an outsider, but he had a wonderful time at Yale.
A boy who mostly roomed alone to play piano into the night, Porter got his start in songwriting by composing football songs.
By the time he
graduated, Porter had written “Bingo Eli Yale” and “Bulldog.”
Also involved in
multiple music groups and the Yale Dramat, Porter composed FOUR musicals for
Yale productions, as well as an additional show
after he graduated.
After failing to succeed on Broadway with “See America
First,” Porter returned to Yale, writing the score for the Dramat’s 1925
production of “Out of Luck.”
Yale gave him his start in musical
theater.
He was forever grateful to Yale for that.
During
the 1930s, Porter became the foremost person in musical theater.
He composed nine Broadway shows that ran for over a year, surpassing all other
composers to date.
His risqué lyrics received a great deal of controversy —
“I’ll Get A Kick Out Of You” mentioned cocaine, while the lyrics of “Love For
Sale,” a song about a prostitute, were censored across national
airwaves.
Porter was a man who began the tradition of writing adult songs
for musical theater.
His willingness to take chances made it
easier for lyric writers to tackle any subject.
The first song was operatic. The second was like he
was speaking to you, like it was a cabaret. And of course, a singer needs a great presence.
There's a beautiful narrative that noves the love and dedication for Porter.
We see the composer as more than just a great songwriter,
adding that the songs reinforced our love for Yale.
Cole
Porter, as a proud son of Yale and as one of the most accomplished songwriters
in history, gives every Yale musical theater composer, writer and performer
(and others) permission to dream big and to pursue their own voice in the next generation of
writers and thinkers in this great American art form.
Friday, October 18, 2013
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