A veteran of the New York stage, Paige made her Broadway debut playing Ellie May Chipley in the 1983 Broadway revival of Showboat starring Donald O'Connor. She was also featured as Ellie in the Houston Grand Opera's 1989 production allowing her to make her international debut when the production opened the Cairo Opera House in Egypt. In 1989, Ms. O'Hara went on to sing the role of Ellie on what has come to be considered the definitive Grammy-nominated recording of the musical with Jerry Hadley, Frederica Von Stade and Teresa Stratus, conducted by John McGlinn on the Angel EMI label.
Ms. O'Hara starred as Fantine in the award-winning Les Miserables on Broadway, and performed the title role in the The Mystery of Edwin Drood both on Broadway and in the national tour with the late George Rose, Clive Revill and Jean Stapleton. Also on national tour, she co-starred as Ado Annie in the classic Oklahoma! directed by William Hammerstein.
On the International front she has travelled to Australia to star as Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and most recently toured Japan as Special Guest with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In London she has starred as Venus in the BBC's recorded broadcast of the live presentation of Kurt Weill's One Touch of Venus and is featured prominently on the recordings of Mack and Mabel in Concert, also recorded live in London with an all-star cast including Tommy Tune, Georgia Brown and George Hearn. Paige costarred with Maureen McGovern in Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing / Let 'Em Eat Cake, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, which was also Grammy nominated. Her recording of Jerome Kern's Sitting Pretty was released on the New World label, and a new and complete version of South Pacific opposite Justino Diaz was released in 1997.
Still in the recording world, Ms. O'Hara saw her debut solo recording released just a few years ago in Europe and the U.S. Entitled Loving You: Paige O'Hara Sings Jerry Herman the CD features such classic Herman tunes as "La Cage Aux Folles", "Loving You" from the film Mame (a duet with husband Michael Piontek) and "It Only Takes A Moment" from Hello Dolly. Paige's latest solo recording, a collection of lullabies entitled Dream With Me includes her singing the title song from "Beauty and the Beast" for the first time, and a duet of "When You Wish Upon A Star" with Jodi Benson best know as Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
On the American stage Ms. O'Hara has also starred in the concert stagings of Sitting Pretty, The Cat and the Fiddle, Oh Boy, and Oh Lady! Lady!, all at Carnegie Hall as well as One Touch of Venus at Town Hall. She is a veteran of regional theater including the title role in Evita, starring in Paint Your Wagon opposite Jose Ferrer and achieved great critical acclaim as murderess Winnie Ruth Judd in the drama Tiger Lady.
The First Noel
Paige O'Hara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
They looked up and saw a star
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
And by the light of that same star
Three Wise men came from country far
To seek for a King was their intent
And to follow the star wherever it went.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
This star drew nigh to the northwest
O'er Bethlehem it took its rest
And there it did both Pause and stay
Right o'er the place where Jesus lay.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
Then entered in those Wise men three
Full reverently upon their knee
And offered there in His presence
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made Heaven and earth of nought
And with his blood mankind has bought.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
The First Noel is a classic Christmas carol that tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ as related in the New Testament of the Bible. The lyrics begin with the announcement of the birth of the Messiah to the poor shepherds in the fields by the angels, who sang the first noel, or "good news," to them. The shepherds saw a bright star in the sky and followed it until they found the baby Jesus lying in a manger in Bethlehem. Three Wise Men or Magi, who had seen the same star, also traveled to Bethlehem to pay homage to the newborn King and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The carol ends with a call to all to sing praises to the heavenly Lord who has saved mankind.
Line by Line Meaning
The First Noel, the Angels did say
According to the angels, the first time this story was told was to some poor shepherds.
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
The shepherds were outside with their sheep when they were told this story by the angels.
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
The shepherds were doing their job, watching over their sheep in a field.
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
It was a cold and dark winter night when the angels told the shepherds this story.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
This refrain is meant to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Born is the King of Israel!
This is the main message of the song, that a king was born in Israel.
They looked up and saw a star
The shepherds looked up and saw a star in the sky.
Shining in the East beyond them far
The star was far away in the eastern sky.
And to the earth it gave great light
The star was so bright that it illuminated everything around it.
And so it continued both day and night.
The star shone both day and night, not just at night like most stars do.
And by the light of that same star
The wise men followed the same star that the shepherds saw.
Three Wise men came from country far
The wise men traveled a long distance to see the baby Jesus.
To seek for a King was their intent
The wise men were searching for a king, which is why they followed the star.
And to follow the star wherever it went.
The wise men were determined to follow the star no matter where it led them.
This star drew nigh to the northwest
The star eventually led the wise men to the northwest.
O'er Bethlehem it took its rest
The star stopped shining when it reached Bethlehem.
And there it did both Pause and stay
The star stayed in one spot above the place where Jesus was born.
Right o'er the place where Jesus lay.
The star was directly above the location of Jesus' birthplace.
Then entered in those Wise men three
The wise men finally arrived at the place where Jesus was born.
Full reverently upon their knee
The wise men kneeled down out of respect for the baby Jesus.
And offered there in His presence
The wise men gave gifts to Jesus while he was there in front of them.
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.
The wise men gave Jesus three valuable gifts, which were gold, myrrh, and frankincense.
Then let us all with one accord
The song is encouraging everyone to sing together in unison.
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
The song is also encouraging everyone to praise God.
That hath made Heaven and earth of nought
This line is praising God for creating everything, including the heavens and the earth.
And with his blood mankind has bought.
This line is referring to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and how it redeemed mankind.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
The song ends with this refrain, which is meant to be a joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Born is the King of Israel!
This phrase is repeated once more to hammer home the main message of the song.
Lyrics © Public Domain
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rainee Holmes
I didn't know they did extra songs!!! I bet everyone wanted Belle to sing other Christmas songs :-)
Jet Hawk
It’s so nice to hear Belle sing songs about the birth of Jesus
Joshua Orro
both Paige and her BFF Jodi have wonderful voices
zeldafan1942
I would love for Paige O'Hara to perform the Star Spangled Banner in her Belle voice before a sporting event!
jediskunk67
Yes!