South Pacific (1986 London Studio Cast) [Cast Recording]

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (Artist), Jose Carreras (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000026F0
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,588 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Mis-cast and misconceived!, October 17, 2000

By 

Mark Andrew Lawrence "Theatre Reviewer" (Toronto) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: South Pacific (1986 London Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

To re-record classic Broadway scores with opera singers is certainly an interesting idea, although some shows (ANNIE GET YOUR GUN for example) do not require that kind of vocal weight. But if that is the concept one should cast it with singers appropriate to the roles: DeBeque was written as a bass. The character is French. Jose Carreras has a wonderful tenor voice ...... and he is Spanish! Kiri Te Kanawa tries hard to sound like she is from the American mid-west but her performance is wildly inconsistant. Only Many Patinkin brings some new character insight to Cable and gives a lovely, understated performance of "Younger Than Springtime." But his performance of "Carefully Taught" is ruined by a curious new orchestration that syncopates the song in such a way as to detract from its powerful lyric. Then there's Sarah Vaughan's oddly mannered take on Bloody Mary, totally lacking the mystery and exoticism the role cries out for.

One of the big plusses of this disc is the London Symphony orchestra and the fact that the complete Overture, Entr'acte and several orchestral passages not previously recorded are included, but it does not help when the singing starts. Columbia's original cast album with Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza is the one to get. Those in need of a more complete recording would be far better served by the recent 2 CD set on JAY than by this dreadful disc.

Although this album sold very well when it was released (it was the only SOUTH PACIFIC avaialble on CD at the time) it has also turned up in huge quantities in used CD stores. I suspect most folks who bought it quickly replaced it with the Broadway disc when it finally made an appearance on CD. If you are really curious buy this one used!

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not So Hot, July 27, 1999

By 

Boz - See all my reviews

This review is from: South Pacific (1986 London Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

Kiri Te Kanawa(with her British accent) as Nellie Forbush of Little Rock, Arkansas?!!! I don't think so. This recording just doesn't work. Instead, buy the original with the great Mary Martin(from Texas!) or the beautiful movie soundtrack with it's lush orchestrations.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very worthwhile album, December 15, 1999

By 

Rod Tierman - See all my reviews

This review is from: South Pacific (1986 London Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

This is a good, though not great performance of South Pacific. Carreras and Te Kanawa are fine as Emil and Nellie and the great Sarah Vaughan (one of the greatest voices of ALL time) is a standout as Bloody Mary. It is worth the price of the CD just to hear Madame Vaughan sing "Bali Hai". The one piece of miscasting in this album, I feel, is Mandy Patinkin as Lt. Joe Cable. I feel that the role should be sung by someone with more of a Mario Lanza type sound. I'm not even remotely suggesting that Jerry Hadley is another Lanza, but he certainly would have delivered more of the appropriate sound for the role. Patinkin is great as Sancho Panza or Che in Evita, but Lt. Cable is, I feel, just a little too much for him. Carreras would have made a fine Cable, except for his accent. Madame Te Kanawa sounds absolutely fantastic as Nellie Frobish. I still prefer the sound of Ezio Pinza as Emil Du Beque, but this is still definitely an album worth having nonetheless.