Customer Reviews

Pacific Overtures (1987 English National Opera Cast)

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

 

 

this is a fantastic show with many standout songs. i prefer this recording to the OBC recording b/c i really believe that the lyrical score falls naturally into the operatic realm and that broadway singers don't generally have the vocal power to do it justice. i usually don't prefer opera singers in broadway shows, but i think that in this case it works extremely well, with the long, lyrical lines of songs like, "is there no other way" and "poems" really benefitting from the stronger voices.

This is not the real thing. This was a production by English National opera with opera voices not show voices. It doesn't even begin to sound right. For an ignored work, the ENO production appeared oddly soon after the excellent provincial production at Wythenshawe Forum in south Manchester, UK. Were ENO influenced in their choice by the Manchester show? It seemed so at the time and the ENO production was a very pale evening by comparison. This CD shows why! Avoid. The Original Broadway cast recording is the best going, though it's not at all perfect. Why is this excellent work, full of terrific music and visuals, so ignored?? Too expensive to stage?

"Pacific Overtures" is the political euphemism used by Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 when Japan was persuaded to open up trade relations because of the display of naval power put on by the United States. The clash of cultures as the "Floating Kingdom" was forced to end centuries of enforced isolation is the subject of this unique musical, which dramatizes Perry's expedition to Japan. The original Broadway cast of "Pacific Overtures" was entirely Asian or Asian-American. It is this casting commitment that makes "Pacific Overtures" a rare musical to see in performance, which is a shame because of not only its presentation of history but because of its imaginative use of Kabuki.

You might recall the controversy on Broadway when Jonathan Pryce came over from England to play the Engineer in the Broadway production of "Miss Saigon." Pryce had created the role in England but there were complaints about an occidental playing an oriental (althought the character was half-French). So while I was rather surprised to discover this non-Asian cast recording of "Pacific Overtures," I realized it was understandable, not only because the British place less emphasis on such things but also because this is English National Opera cast. In opera it is the voice that matters and not appearances, which is why you end up with singers the size of offensive linemen who are twice the age of their characters.

On the one hand I find it very commendable that this show was produced in England, since the casting requirements make it difficult if not impossible to perform in most places. But if you want a CD by which to remember the show you should purchase the original Broadway cast album and enjoy the original performances (especially Mako as the Reciter).

I do not want to make this sound like an argument for political correctness, because I really do believe it is more a question of preserving the intergirty of the original production, which was a wonderful attempt to bring something different to the American musical stage. If had the opportunity to see "Pacific Overture" in performance with a non-oriental cast I will certainly do so, because I would dearly love to see this show. But I would feel that I had missed out on the true experience.

OK, so others have expressed displeasure with this recording, saying there's not enough "acting" and too much "opera."

Well, it IS being presented by an opera company! If you're not familiar with opera, or you are familiar with opera and don't care for it, the foregoing opinions make perfect sense. If you want to hear the score ONLY as musical theater, I would highly recommend the excellent 1976 original Broadway cast recording.

But this is one of Sondheim's scores - others are Sweeney Todd, Passion, and A Little Night Music - that can benefit greatly by being played by a full symphonic orchestra and by being sung with operatic precision by trained voices. It sounds GREAT that way, rich, lush, full, and gorgeous, simply because the sheer beauty of the music is best highlighted with such a production. And I enjoy this recording immensely because of this.

In fact, I greatly prefer it to the stripped-down (11 musicians!) Broadway revival cast recording, where to my ears, the music suffers, although the acting is terrific.

So it depends on what you like. If you would rather see, say, Sweeney performed in a opera house in all its symphonic glory than in a bare-bones production with the actors doubling as the minimalist orchestra, then this recording of Pacific Overtures may well delight you.

You would have a hard time trying to be convinced "Pacific Overtures" is a masterpiece from this recording; The 1976 OBC album in its perfection even struggles to convince some what I consider one of Sondheim's top three shows (along with Sweeney and Sunday).

Despite being fully orchestrated (the achilles heel of the 2004 revival recording), this production of Pacific Overtures falls flat in that at times it can be just plain boring, mostly because the operatic baritones get quite monotonous in both their singing and acting; I just can't 'suspend disbelief' and believe what Sondheim and book writer John Weidman want us to see in the characters.

That being said, in moderation, this album is an interesting listen if you feel the definitive OBC or supplementary 2004 revival performances are getting a little tired - but its relevance remains in its completeness. This recording includes almost every bit of dialogue and background music performed in the show making it a good way to get an idea of what the show is about without having to read the entire libretto (although a complete video recording of the OBC is now uploaded to YouTube so even this redeeming quality is becoming redundant).

So, if you've never experienced Pacific Overtures before stay away from this recording; buy the 1976 album and watch the OBC on YouTube; if you're looking for a supplementary album go for the 2004 Revival cast; if you want to complete your "Pacific Overtures" collection then, and only then, should you buy this album.

For those who love the Bway show and have hoped to hear it with the voice qualities it was written for, this recording is a treat. In addition, all of the orchestral music is included, using a full opera house orchestra, while the Bway cast recording edits and uses a Bway pit orchestration. Not to mention that this recording contains a much more complete version of "Kanagawa".

However be warned, the sound engineering is abysmal - it's a full dialog rcording and the dialog can't be heard - it sounds as though they are talking at the very back of a big room. Which I guess they were. The percussion is also not balanced to the rest of the orchestra. However, the silver lining to this one is that the cast are opera-singer actors, no one is a very good actor, so the loss of the dialog is no big deal.

Although the OBC will always have a place in my heart, I am happy to have the English National Opera cast version in my collection. I am always excited to see (or unfortunately sometimes just hear) how a new production's interpretation compares to the original. And this is especially true with Sondheim shows as they have such depth and breadth.
Personally I don't want to see a duplication of the original, and in that respect, this version does not disappoint. The operatically trained voices are superb.

This recording is the better of the various versions available. Forget the recent Broadway revival recording with its threadbare orchestrations that sound like a high school shoestring-budget production.