Admiring, Delighted Crowd Enjoys SPAC Performance of Engelbert Humperdinck

by Marilyn Nason, The Post-Star, July 14, 1970

Engelbert Humperdinck came to Saratoga Performing Arts Center last night and it was instantly all his. To an admiring, wildly delighted crowd of nearly 10,000, he proved beyond doubt that he really is everything and more than his television shows and records claim him to be.

He is as handsome, dark-haired, trim and attractive as can be, has a voice of clarity and pitch that made even those sitting farthest back on the crest of the lawn able to hear and decipher every word and note, and his stage presence is as relaxed, friendly and outgoing as any performer yet to appear at SPAC in all of its five years.

And he gave the audience what it wanted, singing everything they had come to hear from “Lonely Is the Man Without Love” and “Didn’t We?” to “Quandy, Quando,” “Spanish Eyes,” “Release Me” and “The Last Waltz.”

He exhibited a bit of humor, tried a few impersonations (Jerry Lewis and Katherine Hepburn, would you believe?), then stripped down from his full black tuxedo outfit with butterfly bow tie and vest to
just his white tux shirt and evening pants.

One woman, out of the many thousands of every age there last night, found her momentary utopia last night. If she was a “plant”, she played it well. If not, she will certainly remember being invited onstage by Humperdinck, joining him in a “Little Bit of You” and being rewarded with a kiss as he escorted her offstage.

This personable young Englishman works very hard, sings in fine, true fashion with a powerful voice that socks it to them, yet does not make it the rowdy, crude loudness that serves as substitute for talent with some singers.

Engelbert danced a bit, clowned a bit and seemed to sing every song directly to each and every woman in the audience—and that was exactly the way they responded regardless of age.

He sang a straight 50 minutes, then came back for another 20 minutes of encores before closing the show with “Little Love in Your Heart.”

The audience, at times blinding each other with flashbulbs just about everywhere in the theatre, was generally mixed in age and dress, but unanimous in its enjoyment of Humperdinck. He was backed by 25-piece orchestra of local musicians led by his musical director and conductor, Larry Halloway.

Opening the show was comic Allan Drake, who once played the former Piping Rock at Saratoga.

Tonight, the New York City Ballet resumes its repertoire season with performance at 8:30 of “Prodigal Son,” “Who
Cares?” and “La Valse.”