It has been over thirty years since the original “A Little Night Music” opened on Broadway.  It was the first show I saw on Broadway and left an indelible mark on me.  One of the highlights of that production,  for me,  was “A Weekend In The Country” at the end of the first act.   As the piece moves to its climax, the orchestra soars and there is a direct reference to Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier and then a horn flourish as the act ends.  I have never forgotten that moment.  I have always thought of “A Little Night Music” as a Sondheim tribute to the lyric beauty of the waltz as seen in Der Rosenkavalier or in the great waltz numbers of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein (Hammerstein being one of Sondheim’s mentors).

When I listened to this recording for the first time, one thing struck me like a thunderbolt……the new orchestration.  It seemed to me that one of the main focal points of the show had been lost.   I stewed about this for a few days and then I went back and listened to the album again……and then, I went back and listened to the musical numbers on the original cast recording side by side with this new revival……..Finally, I began to put old memories aside as suddenly I was awakened to the charm of the new production   I now feel that I am ready to look at this new cast recording as a stand alone, not as a comparative piece to the original production.

This new two disc recording includes quite a bit of the dialogue within the scenes.  While I am surprised that they did not do a complete recording of the show, what has been included certainly helps to clarify what the listener hears in the Sondheim musical lyrics.  There certainly is a price to pay in that some of the tempos seem a bit slow and stodgy, but I am willing to pay the price.

This production is not designed to be done in an opera house.  It is a theater piece.  That brings me back to where I began, the orchestra, or shall I say chamber orchestra.  The reeds are the center piece of this chamber group and act as more than just an accompaniment. In fact them seem almost a character within the structure of this production.  I went back to the score and certainly what Sondheim wrote is here, but it has been totally rethought.  It is not overpowering; it is a partner.  All of the reeds, but especially the bassoon seem to be making comments throughout.  It is an interesting concept.  Viewed that way, I think this works quite nicely.

Performance-wise I like Catherine Zeta-Jones in this role very much.  Desiree is not just an actress, she is the daughter of Madam Armfeldt.  Thus, she has to be confident, poised and sophisticated, and Ms Zeta-Jones accomplishes this every time she speaks or sings.  We know she is a woman of the world.  Erin Davie as the Countess Charlotte Malcolm has a wonderful voice and in dialogue and singing of  “Everyday a Little Death”  and “A Weekend In The Country,”   we hear her scorn for her position as the wife of Carl Magnus.  Alexander Hanson as Fredrik and Aaron Lazar as Carl Magnus both have great diction and pitch which serves them well on this recording.  I liked Ramona Mallory as Anne, but she seemed outshone in all of her musical numbers.  I guess I expected more from her.  Leigh Ann Larkin’s performance of Petra’s big number, “The Miller’s Son,” never seems to get going.  Hunter Herlicka is a terrific Henrik in a terrific part.  I am so prejudiced when it comes to Angela Lansbury, that is impossible for me do to anything but love her in any role she does and as Madame Armfeldt she made it very easy.

The recording itself is beautifully done.  The two disk set with a great set of notes, good pictures and all of the lyrics make a very nice package.  It is a great addition to your musical library.  Do I like this as well as the original?  I guess you never get over your first love.

Categories: Broadway Revival Cast Recordings, Uncategorized
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It has been 50 years since the original West Side Story first reached Broadway.  Now we have a new West Side Story, presently at the Palace Theater in New York, and a new cast recording that Sony released on June 2, 2009.

First let me say that the new recording is wonderful.  The 30 piece orchestra is playing the original orchestrations, but they sound different.  Certainly the technical improvements over the past fifty years have something to do with that, but more importantly the comfort with and understanding of the harmonics and rhythms of the Leonard Bernstein score are better understood today and the rhythmic accents are really emphasized by musical director Patrick Vaccoriello making the orchestratons sound brand new.   This is clear from the beginning, especially in “Something’s Coming.”

Even though there have been great discussions in news articles and on TV about the use of Spanish in dialogue and songs by the Puerto Ricans, when you first hear the use of Spanish by the Sharks, in “The Prologue,” you might be caught off guard. This does not last long, for you  soon you realize you are hearing the language of today’s streets and it becomes very powerful and is a special delight in “I Feel Pretty.”

The cast, which includes: Matt Cavenaugh as Tony, Josefina Scaglione as Maria, Karen Olivo as Anita and Cody Green as Riff  sound less operatic  and perform dialogue and the Stephen Sondheim lyrics with more distinct accents than the stars of the original.  This makes them sound much more like the characters that they play.  However, make no mistake, this cast can sing.  Their range, control of dynamics,  breath control, phrasing,  diction, and in the case of Cavenaugh his ability to sing in falsetto, make this group dynamite.

Cavenaugh and Scaglione have real vocal chemistry in each of the four major duets they sing: “Maria,” “Tonight,” “One Hand One Heart,” and “Somewhere.”  They sound like the young lovers and blend, in English and Spanish, beautifully.

However, the show and the recording reach their performance height when Scaglione and Olivo sing “Un Hombre Asi, I Have a Love.”  It is chilling and if you get goosebumps just listening to it, imagine what happens in the theater.

This show is as relevant today as it was fifty years ago and  unlike many other revivals, not only is the story relevant,  so is the score.  West Side Story has been reborn and this new Sony disk is as exciting as what is taking place at the Palace Theater each night.  If this disk does not win the Grammy I will be stunned.  This is a new castrecording classic; you have to buy it.

Categories: Broadway Revival Cast Recordings, Uncategorized
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