Customer Reviews

Kristina: At Carnegie Hall

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From the ABBA guys Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus comes, finally, a follow-up to their crowd-pleasing 80s score, "Chess." Actually, "Kristina: At Carnegie Hall" is the first English language version of "Kristina fran Duvemala," a huge musical hit in Sweden in the 90s. It was worth the wait.

I will say straight off that the 90s-ness definitely shows- "Kristina" falls mainly in the pop opera style that dominated musical theater in the 80s and 90s (the translation is by Herbert Kretzmer, who also wrote the English lyrics of "Les Miserables"). This serious story, based on a series of novels by Vilhem Moberg, is about Swedish immigrants facing various hardships as they settle in America, and it's certainly more insistently somber and period than most musicals these days. The plot is episodic, and as this newest version is truncated down to some two and a half hours from the original four(!), one has to assume the cuts have made the plot feel more disjointed than it appeared originally.

The music, though, is fantastic, and actually falls a bit more on the "opera" side of "pop opera." Which is to say, don't come to "Kristina" to find the pop-rock quality so dominant in "Chess." This has a more symphonic sound, mixed in with some folksiness (these are poor immigrants in a mid-1800's setting, after all) and one of the stars, the superb Russell Watson, sings with an operatic tenor. In comparison, this is more in the mode of the more "classical" numbers in "Chess" ("You and I," "Anthem," "A Model of Decorum of Tranquility," etc.). To be sure, there are some pop-rock inflections here and there, but this is no "Mamma Mia!" You can, however, expect soaring, emotion-packed melodies that remind you how transporting the best musicals can be.

In addition to Watson, the cast is rounded out by standout performers, including Kevin Odekirk, Louise Pitre, and as Kristina, the phenomenal Helen Sjoholm (who originated the role). Her rendition of "You Have to Be There," near the end of this two-disc set is downright spine tingling. And there are many other songs to savor in "Kristina." If there are a few spots that lag, that's okay: there is so much here of high quality, it feels beside the point- "Kristina" delivers more memorable numbers than the typical musical score. I don't know if Broadway plans will ever come about, but this is definite confirmation that BB are among the best theater composers we have. I hope we don't have to wait as long for their next show. Or, for that matter, an English translation of a fifteen-year-old show!

This is a superb recording of the live concert version presented at Carnegie Hall. I've been waiting years for the English translation, and it does not disappoint, though my only complaint is that, with the translations, it seems to have lost some of it's intensity, especially in the showstopper, Du Maste Finnas (You have to be there).

In any case, this is well worth the purchase to ANY musical theater fan. You won't find a better score, or a more emotional journey. It's a shame that there will probably not be an actual production of the musical, but sadly, I don't think that any production would really do the music justice.

Get this album(s). Well worth the money, and worth the wait.

I am not going to discuss the merits of the musical, nor the concert version - rather why you would want to buy this as opposed to the complete original (no longer available for sale on Amazon.com)which I saw in Sweden in the '90s, or the highlights CD from the same recording Kristina Fran Duvemala Basta.

I think this recording, from the two performances in Carnegie Hall in September 2009, is worth purchasing for two reasons:

1. It is in English, which makes it a lot easier for non-Swedish speakers, and

2. To hear the well-deserved and thunderous applause and ovation for Helen Sjöholm when she sings Du måste finnas (You have to be there).

Hers is a fantastic voice that seems not at all diminished in the intervening 10+ years since first recording this score - if only we could hear more. Sadly for fans she seems to be concentrating more on acting, leaving us unsure of when and if she will record again. (If you want to see an excellent account of her acting (& singing) abilities I recommend the Academy Award nominated film As It Is in Heaven. The soundtrack is also fantastic and is available from Amazon.de, and titled 'Wie im Himmel').

Unfortunately, Kevin Odekirk is no Peter Jöback, whose voice and interpretations are definitive as 'Robert' Flera Sidor Av Samma Man. Even Tommy Körberg's version of 'Robert's' Guldet blev till sand (Gold can turn to sand) Fran Waterloo Till Duvemala wins hands down over Oderkirk's.

Despite having more strings than in a normal theatre pit, the American Theatre Orchestra's often sound thin and a little harsh.

In summary, if you are a fan of Helen Sjöholm and the songs she sings in this musical, I strongly recommend this, as I don't feel the remainder of the cast live up to the original recording.

I am always quite surprised that individuals listen to a concert recording and draw inferences about the actual, fully staged production. The concerts, both in Minnesota some years ago and in New York City recently, as gloriously they were produced were mere shadows of the full production with much of Molberg's exceptional dialogue included and fleshed out by minimalistic but often stunning Robert Wagner sets.

As an example, the concert did not produce one powerfully evoked image from the full production. As the crescendo builds of the show's final song, a swing--the swing Kristina playfully rode while waiting for Karl Oscar--appears from the wings and soars back and forth across the stage. It is a brilliant coup de theater that elicits a paradoxical sense of joy.

The swing is never even mentioned in the concert.

More to the point, the music is truly among the best ever written for the musical stage with intimations of Wagner, Dvorak, Puccini, and even Rogers and Hammerstein. The penultimate piece, a haunting choral--"Rising from Myth and Legend"

has all the grandeur of a Bach Oratorio.

It is my opinion that a blanket condemnation of the lyrics as "trite" is remarkably wide of the mark. The additional criticism that they are about "things" rather than emotions might have me wonder if the person who suggested that even heard the lyrics.

There are 34 songs from the concert, as look at the lyrics, by my count TWO are about "things"--the unlistenable "Lice" and "Queen of the Prairie". I'm not going to bother turning this review into an epic by citing lyrics from the other 32 songs

to demolish the criticism that the lyrics are comprehensively banal but a few will surfice:

From "Never" sung by Ulrika, the town prostitute which is a bitter lament against her persecutors, the hypocrites who bartered for her body:

"Righteous congregation

Pillars of the Nation

I am in your debt evermore...

Men came in the darkness

Scratching at my window

Men I know by sight--and by name

They bought their share of me...

Councilmen and churchmen

How they came a-wooing

Stealing home in silence and shame

Their shame is my renewing"

Later in the musical, Robert mortally ill and cast off by the older brother he loved as a cheat contemplates a stream making its way to the sea

" Free, you are free

Not a slave, not like me

Choosing your way

As you please

At your ease

You are your own master.

Soon you will rise

To the crest of a wave

To be one with the sea everlasting

On giant shoulders you'll carry sailors

In tall white galleons

To far horizons..."

There is much more of Walt Whitman in such language than Don Black.

Again, I could cite example after example but there is little to be gained. Should one make the effort and dig deep enough one could find couplets in the works of e.e. cummings or Yeats that do not go down so easily.

On balance, "Kristina" is an astonishing piece. As concerts do, this one is like most others: it does not convey anything close to the power of the full production but it does suggest Trevor Nunn may be on to something when he suggested "Kristina"

was the best thing he heard in ages and a critic whose name escapes me said, "I have seen the future of musical theater and it's name is "Kristina".

(As an aside, a woman of my acquaintance with an encyclopedic and first-hand knowledge of musical theater spanning 40 years declared "Kristina" to be as extraordinary as the universally praised concert version of "South Pacific" which was also performed at Carnegie Hall a few years ago.)

Comes a strident trumpet call leading a highly dramatic musical opening to KRISTINA. The piece is described as an epic Masterpiece, first seen in the UK at the Royal Albert Hall, London in April of 2010. This most moving musical production has won awards and critical acclaim, mainly, one assumes, in Sweden where it is established as the most popular musical theatre production in Swedish history.

KRISTINA is the inspiring story of one woman and her family's financial struggle in Sweden and their subsequent emigration to America in search of a better life. My overall impression is one of delight, especially considering that the writers are Benny Anderson [Music] and Lyricists Bjorn Ulvaeus and Herbert Kretzmer. You will surely principally identify Benny and Bjorn as the creative team behind Mamma Mia - and the musical genius of Chess the Musical. The principal soloists on this recording are HELEN SJOHOLM, RUSSELL WATSON, LOUSE PITRE and KEVIN ODEKIRK, and this superb quartet of voices is accompanied by the American Theatre Orchestra and Choir, conducted by PAUL GEMIGNANI.

There are many powerful ballads performed by the principal soloists with strong support from the superb chorus [and, well rewarded constantly throughout, by a most appreciative audience at New York's Carnegie Hall]. This very moving story has been treated musically most seriously, and I confess that I was close to tears on more than one occasion.

The 2CD set is of top quality, and the accompanying libretto contains several photographs of the Concert.

On a personal note, I was delighted to be invited by Amazon to write this review and have deliberately kept it brief and largely informative. Having managed Tours and Concert seasons with Russell Watson previously, I am delighted to report that I have never heard his voice so strong and his performance so well presented, especially considering his quite terrifying medical history of late. I would also suggest you get to recognise Kevin Odekirk - a brilliant and delightful young tenor who sings Robert, Russell's brother in this production.

I recommend this Musical - albeit close to being entitled an Opera - to you with confidence.

Basil Soper June 2010

I first heard Susan Boyle sing "You Have to be There" when she appeared as a guest performer on America's Got Talent. I then heard the same song on YouTube, sung by Helen Sjoholm (sic) at Carnegie Hall, I had to buy the CD. It is amazing! Written by Bjorn Ulvaeus (of ABBA fame), it (Kristina) is the story of a group of people from Sweden who emigrated to North America in 1850. Fantastic music!

I first listened to the 3-CD Swedish version of Kristina, a gift from my sister, while driving from Chicago to Washington, D.C. While all four of my grandparents immigrated to the US from Sweden, my Swedish was very limited at the time. It didn't matter a bit. Helen Sjöholm's remarkable voice filled the air and every bit of me with emotions that transcended words. Her harmonies with Anders Ekborg were similarly moving. Since that first listening many years ago, I have worked on improving my Swedish and came to understand the wonderful lyrics, as well. While nothing could surpass the original recording, the Carnegie Hall concert in English comes damned close. Amazingly, Helen's voice - ten years later - still soars with feeling and beauty. The rest of the cast is also fine. Further, I think the English translations maintain most of the meanings of the original, with an exception or two. The humorous number, American Man, is inferior to the original, Tänk att män som han kan finnas (To think that men like him exist), but this translation was probably an impossible task. The original is a brilliant series of misunderstandings between the Swedish women and the American Reverend Jackson, based upon hononyms between the two languages - and you really need to understand both to get it. It worked in Sweden, because English is learned in school. But here's a little of the byplay... Jackson says, "In our Lord, I trust." Women: "Talar han om en trast?" (is he talking about a thrush?). Jackson: "Don't you know we must?" Women: "Om en trast i en mast?" ("Of a thrush on a mast?") Or, later, Jackson says, "If you're hungry, there's more of the deer that I caught." Women: "Han är kåt!!" (He is horny!!). Etc. Sorry for the diversion. Buy the recording. For the genre and over my 67 years, Helen's voice ranks with my top two or three. She is that incredibly good. If you want a sample, check YouTube for something like "Someone Else's Story (reminiscent of a Julie Andrews style), Helen and Bryn Terfel's duet, You and I, or Peter Jöback and Helen's duet on Come what May. Find out what the Swedes already know. She's sublime.

There are no words to describe the experience of listening to kristina from beginig to end. It is a life changing event.Be prepared , the rollercoaster of emotions that you will experience will not always be pleasent but all I can say is that at the end you will feel as though you felt the presence of a power greater than us all and that you will be a better person. If at the end of the song "In the edge of darkness" you dont get goosebumps then I suggest you take your pulse to see if you are alive! There are no words,There are no words!!!!!

Though not a strict replacement for the three-disc Swedish-language original, this fine concert release is splendidly recorded and performed. Listeners seeking an English-language representation of the Ulvaeus/Andersson musical need look no further. (By the way, this set of excerpts does seem more like a musical, whereas the complete version is nothing less than an opera.) Helen Sjöholm has one of the purest voices on earth, and she is marvelous here. In fact, I hear no glaring weaknesses in the vocal cast, and the orchestra plays well. Miking and balance are superb. Buy it. You will not be disappointed.

One of the most beautiful recordings I've heard in years. The ABBA and MAMMA MIA creators overpass their own standards with this magnificent piece of modern opera, based on a famous Swedish literary saga which had two movie adaptations by director Jan Troell(THE EMIGRANTS and THE NEW LAND). It's a story of courage and hope, the story of all those emigrants coming to America with the idea of having a new life in the new land. Kristina and Karl Oscar are the main protagonists of a story that will move you deeply. Several songs will remain in you for a long time, such as Paths of Leaves and Needles, Summer Rose and Miracle of God, just to mention a few. The technical recording - despite being live at the Carnegie Hall in the only american concert presentation they've done - is close to perfection. The story, the music, the voices and choruses are most impressive. Besides, the disc brings a libretto with all the lyrics and photographs of the only recital performance in New York. Listening to this wonderful musical is a very moving experience that we'll be enjoyed by those who look for big emotions, originality and Beauty, like that, in capital letters. Don't miss it.