Customer Reviews

Kismet (1953 Original Broadway Cast)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

KISMET began life as a 1911 play, filmed as a silent that year and again as a talkie in Vitascope widescreen (65 mm.) in 1930. It got the MGM Technicolor treatment in 1942 and then was adapted into this sumptuous operetta in 1953, followed by a leaden and boring fourth film version -this time of the musical - in 1955. Here is the extraordinary original cast - Alfred Drake Doretta Morrow, Richard Kiley, Joan Diener and Henry Calvin. Sound is excellent, performances both dramatically and musically are superb and the orchestrations are lush, dramatic, sumptuous and breathtakingly beautiful. Too bad the book is humorous fluff - but the score is one of the glories of the musical theatre. This was the first LP designed solely for that format (times weren't trimmed to fit on one side of a 78 or 45 rpm alternate disk) and the first to be recorded in microgroove, allowing for far more recorded sound per LP side than before. Exceptional clarity, the excitement of a live Broadway performance and deserved winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score and Best Actor. It ran for 583 performances on Broadway and was revived in 1978 in an African version, TIMBUKTU. Exceptional conducting. Here are the 18 original musical numbers. Dance music is not included but in any case this is a gem in the recorded annals of musical history. Very worth owning. (Note: This was Kiley's first show and Diener's next to last. Years later he was to star as Don Quixote in MAN OF LA MANCHA with Diener costarring in her last role as Aldonza). Note the "theatrical" approach of Alfred Drake from the rear of the recording studio in RYMES HAVE I - another "touch" of Goddard Lieberson, recording producer for Columbia.

I have loved this recording since I was nine years old, and will never tire of it. The combination of Borodin's wonderful melodies and the wittiest lyrics that ever graced a musical are simply irresistible. This is one of those recordings to play on a gloomy day - its joyous optimism will cure any depression.

I've always regretted that Alfred Drake did not star in the film version of this musical. Good though Howard Keel was in the 1955 movie, no one has ever sung the lead role with such commanding vocal presence and attention to the lyrics as Alfred Drake. His Shakespearean background no doubt contributed to his superb enunciation, and he brings such wit and mischief to his portrayal that the listener is utterly seduced by his charm. What a shame he only made one major film appearance!

Henry Calvin and Joan Diener as the wicked Wazir and his wife are equally impressive, and Diener displays exactly the right combination of beauty and steel in her rousing Not Since Ninevah. Calvin enjoys himself immensely in the wickedly clever Was I Wazir?

Among the other players, Doretta Morrow and Richard Kiley provide solid support as the young lovers. Kiley struggles with his upper register, but produces a sweet falsetto in Night of My Nights.

But what makes this recording a masterpiece is the contribution of its star Alfred Drake - surely the ultimate Broadway performer. Forget the 1991 remake with the dull Samuel Ramey, this is the definitive performance.

Every song in this disc has exciting and glorious music ( and why not?; They're' by Borodin). The lyrics, too, remarkably adapted not only to fit the music as though they belonged, but also showing wit, melodic sensitivity and, what's more,intelligence. They also assume that the listener has some intelligence. The voices?; Beautiful and appropriate to the part. (Did you know that Joan Diener graduated from Shaker Heights High in Ohio and that her first (?) role was in HMS Pinafore at the Clevelad Playhouse?) Well, she only gets better! I never tire of listening to the score.

I don't know if any other Broadway musical has ever sported such a sterling cast of stage names. There is Alfred Drake from OKLAHOMA! and KISS ME, KATE; Doretta Morrow from THE KING AND I; Richard Kiley, who later starred in MAN OF LA MANCHA; and Joan Diener, who also went on to star in MAN OF LA MANCHA. Despite the talented cast, the only major song from this musical is STRANGER IN PARADISE (the only song to have been covered by other artists) , sung by Richard Kiley and Doretta Morrow. There are other known songs however, so this album is worth the buy!

Don't be fooled by the movie version, the 1953 stage presentation of "Kismet" was a joy. With a glorious cast (Drake, Morrow, Diener, Kiley et al) this original cast album should be in the collection of everyone who likes good music. Even the lesser known songs, particularly "Was I Wazir?" by Henry Calvin is worth a listen. This show and music has stood the test of time.

The definitive recording of this musical, with the original Broadway cast, all of whom deliver outstanding performances. The music, adapted from Borodin, is pulsating and beautiful. The lyrics: some of the most intelligent, witty, and imaginative ever written. Alfred Drake in the lead role of Haj, the beggar, is absolutely superb. Buy this one and run - you'll probably never see or hear this musical performed at this high a level of achievement ever again, given the world situation. This is a tale from the Arabian Nights, located in Baghdad. Need I say more? Buy it, close your eyes, listen, and enrich your life.

To hear this "remastered" masterpiece is truly a joy. While others have mentioned the featured actors, the chorus is nothing less than magnificent, and equal to the lush orchestration. Listen carefully to the harmonies on "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads." They just don't sing them like that anymore! This album is a total joy!

This recording is a masterpiece. You will be brought right back to the glory day era of "special musicals" in time. This is one that should not be missed. The original musical lasted a incredible 588 performance from 1953-1955 at the Ziegfeld theatre in NY. It is right up there with the top musicals of all time. The musical direction & condution is if not the best ever. Louis Adrian won the Tony Award for musical direction/conduction for Kismet in 1954. http://www.ibdb.com/awardperson.asp?id=97747
This is the same man who conducted the "orignal" Peter Pan and a host of others. Adrian during the period was one of if not one the biggest musical talents of the era inside the musical world. Couple that with the incredible melodies and lyrics of Borodin you have one incredible performance.
Once you listen to it you will understand.

Here it is, in glorious crystal-clean monophonic sound: the one and only ORIGINAL original cast recording of KISMET.

Unlike later recordings, this album preserves the lush orchestrations by Arthur Kay. Recorded just three days after the show's Broadway premiere, the cast is in great voice, fresh and full of energy.

Sony has done another outstanding remastering job making these 50 year old tapes sound as clean as possible. As a bonus, there are highlights of a radio interview with album producer Goddard lieberson and star Alfred Drake. The biggest bonus is the wonderful original album artwork.

KISMET is a grand old rollicking ride, a thrilling score taken from the immortal themes of Borodin, written by Robert Wright and George 'Chet' Forrest, and starring the big-voiced leading man Alfred Drake as the colorful poet Hajj. Derived from the play by Edward Knoblock the story concerns fast-talking Hajj and his daughter Marsinah as they get tangled up with the Wazir and the voluptuous Lalume, amongst others. Dulcet-toned Doretta Morrow (the original Tuptim in THE KING AND I) plays Marsinah with Joan Diener (MAN OF LA MANCHA's original Aldonza) in her Broadway debut as Lalume. Alfred Drake (from the original casts of OKLAHOMA! and KISS ME KATE) has the right amount of attitude and swaggering brag to play Hajj. The score is best-remembered for delights like "And This is My Beloved", "Stranger in Paradise", "Baubles Bangles and Beads", "Not Since Nineveh" and "Gesticulate". This sparkling new reissue includes a fascinating excerpt from 'Stage Struck' a radio programme of the day which interviewed Drake, Morrow, the composers and album producer Goddard Lieberson during the recording sessions for the cast album, a few days after opening night. KISMET ran for a not-too-shabby 583 performances.