Do I Hear A Waltz? (1965 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Richard Rodgers (Artist), Jane Manning (Artist), Sergio Franchi (Artist), Stephen Sondheim (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 24, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027WA
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,919 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite musical, March 15, 2003

By 

Bill (Seattle, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Do I Hear A Waltz? (1965 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

I'm a fan of musicals, and surprisingly enough, if I were stranded on an island with a CD player and one show recording, this would be it. It does not give even a hint of the tensions that surfaced between the three major creative artists involved. The Rodgers music and Sondheim lyrics are perfect, and the performances (particularly Franchi) could not be better. The whole thing is charm distilled to its essence.

The new Fynsworth Alley recording is also quite good, although in different ways. Some performance are stronger (Carol Lawrence is a delight and Alyson Reed adds welcome depth to her role), but some are weaker (Anthony Crivello, though good, just doesn't have Franchi's pipes).

I'd start with this one. If you love it, as I do, you'll pick up the new Fynsworth Alley CD (which has music and dialogue not in the original cast recording) right after.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Rodgers, Great Sondheim, Great Singing, November 22, 2001

By 

Sandy McLendon (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Do I Hear A Waltz? (1965 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

It was never the greatest show, but it makes one of the best original cast albums I've ever heard. "Do I Hear A Waltz?" has a terrific Richard Rodgers score, and the performances to back it up. Elizabeth Allen has a big, belting voice that supposedly worked against her characterisation in the show itself, but it's a delight to hear on this album. Sergio Franchi has the most supple, perfectly controlled male voice I've ever heard; not only can he handle the big aria-like numbers like "Stay" and "Take the Moment", he's a comedy delight in "Bargaining" where he effortlessly, instantly, and repeatedly switches from his trademark tenor to a glorious falsetto, and back again.

Stephen Sondheim did the lyrics, and one example should suffice to let you know how good they are: "Such lovely Blue Danube-y music / How can you be still?", from the title song.

Fair warning- when you hear this CD for the first time, you're going to get a lump in your throat when you hear the last track. It's called "Thank You So Much", and it's the perfect musical expression of something we've all been through: a relationship that must end, even though it was great and neither party wants it to.

Someday, hopefully, someone will revive this show, and lick the book problems, and cast it perfectly, and it will be a huge hit. Until then, we have this album, and the show we see in our heads as we listen. That's more than consolation, it's a grand time indeed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Someone Woke Up.....", October 3, 2003

By 

Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Do I Hear A Waltz? (1965 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

So begins the delightful DO I HEAR A WALTZ?, one of Richard Rodgers' most accomplished post-Hammerstein scores. Not since his days with Lorenz Hart had Rodgers written such an energetic, youthful and joyful score. Stephen Sondheim's lyrics are witty and wonderful. DO I HEAR A WALTZ? received a lukewarm response from critics and audiences, lasting only 220 performances at the 46th Street Theatre.

Based on Arthur Laurents' play THE TIME OF THE CUCKOO (which turned into the film SUMMERTIME starring Katharine Hepburn), the story concerns a teacher, Leona Samish (played by Elizabeth Allen), who's holiday in Venice is dominated by her romance with the handsome Renato di Rossi (played by Sergio Franchi). There are also a host of colorful supporting characters including the ebullient hotelier Signora Fioria (Carol Bruce - SARATOGA).

The score is delicious with the opening number perfectly setting up the scene ("Someone Woke Up"), to Fioria's big number "This Week Americans", and the 11 o'clock number "Stay". There's also the Title Song, sung for all its worth by the delicious belt of Elizabeth Allen.

For all the problems that plagued the musical during its inception, nothing shows on the sparkling cast album, where it sounds like the biggest hit of the season. For Broadway fans, this CD is a must-own.