Some Enchanting Evening-South Pacific by Ezio Pinza

Part Three. We have looked at music that can set the scene for love. First, we looked at “Belle Nuit” from opera; then at ” ‘Neath the Southern Moon” from operetta. Now, we look at the same concept in musical theatre. Here we present Ezio Pinza (who sang operatic arias as a bass at The Met), as he sings “Some Enchanted Evening,” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, South Pacific. Pinza originated the role of the French planter, Emile De Becque. Emile killed a fascist and had to flee France to take refuge in the South Pacific islands. Having abandoned any hope for real love many years before, WWII hits the islands, and he meets an American nurse, Nellie Forbush, many years younger than him. Even though they are attracted to one another, he is uncertain that anyone as young and beautiful as Nellie would give up her freedom to marry him. He uses the beauty of the sea, the sky and his rugged hilltop plantation to woo her.