Customer Reviews

Weill: Lady in the Dark / Risė Stevens, Adolph Green, Lehman Engel, Danny Kaye

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

 

 

This studio album of Weill and Gershwin's LADY IN THE DARK features the lovely Rise Stevens making the role of Liza Elliott her own, with Adolph Green in the role that made Danny Kaye a star in the original production.

This sumptuous reissue on the Columbia 'Masterworks Heritage' label presents the recording in creamy stereo, with the orchestra under the baton of Lehman Engel. Rise Stevens is perhaps the best singer to have played Liza on any recording of LADY IN THE DARK. The trained opera singer lets her hair down for the manic "Saga of Jenny", and yields glowing versions of "My Ship" and "One Life to Live". Also featured among the cast are John Reardon and Stephanie Augustine.

My only qualm about the release is the horrid packaging. The disc is enclosed in a cardboard sleeve at the back of a booklet-style slipcase, leaving the CD vulnerable to scratches and dust (I remedied the problem by putting the CD in a separate plastic jewel case and filing it on the shelf next to the empty booklet case). However this should not deter collectors and musical theatre fans from seeking out this lovely recording.

A nifty performance of one of Broadway's classic scores. The biggest problem is that just about everything is slightly abridged (mostly verses, connecting material, dialogue underscoring and choral repeats--although if I'm reading the vocal score right, most of this would still be interesting to listen to); still, a reasonably good taste of the whole thing. The liner notes also don't really give a story synopsis, so if you aren't familiar with the plot, seek out a summary so you aren't completely confused by what is going on. Rise Stevens' acting is pretty mannered, and she goes over the top vocally every now and then; she seems to be shouting, not singing at the end of "Jenny." Adolph Green is hysterically funny and acquits himself supremely well in "Tchaikovsky." How you'll enjoy the appendix of Danny Kaye's recordings depends on how much you like Danny Kaye--enough said.

MISS STEVENS shinesas Liza Eliot in this perfect recording of "Lady in the Dark". [For the first time - with repect to the other artists - the lyrics are pristine!] THE recording? IF you own a 'surround system' - this one IS flawless - just a perfect balance of voice and instrument. [A great restoration job - if only they could do the same to the Lawrence version....]

FOR the collector - get all three recordings currently available - the 1997 London version is the most complete, the Gertrude Lawrence? It's more of a Star Vehicle for Miss Lawrence - lots of dialogue - with really only the two "Liza' numbers - "Saga of Jenmny" and "My Ship" intact - but also well worth the journey.

AS A BONUS - Miss Stevens recording contains the Danny Kaye contribution missing from the Gertrude Lawrence recording - plus his versions of "My Ship" and "The Saga of Jenny".

I love this recording! All of the musical numbers take place during three separate dream sequences. Parts of it are over-the-top, but it's meant to be that way. It's not meant to be naturalistic.

Risė Stevens plays Liza Elliot, a fashion magazine editor, who is undergoing psychoanalysis because she has been suffering from depression. Liza presents her dreams to her analyst, and the musical numbers spring forth from these dreams.

I prefer this recording to the more complete recording with Maria Friedman Lady In The Dark (1997 Original London Cast).

With the only possible exception of SHOW BOAT, Ira Gershwin's and Kurt Weill's LADY IN THE DARK is probably the single most complex and sophisticated musical before OKLAHOMA!, and this beautiful CBS Masterworks studio recording from the 1960s remains the gold standard of all cast albums of the score, despite the curtailment of a few songs. Risė Stevens, the greatest of American Carmens, unfortunately never got to play Liza Elliott on Broadway, but she fully inhabits the part and sings it perfectly; she is joined by another excellent American opera singer, John Reardon, and Adolph Green, delightful in the role of Russell Paxton that Danny Kaye made famous. If only now Christine Ebersole could be persuaded to record the show!

This recording is terrific, but for a more complete recording with much better quality, look for the Original Cast Recording from the Royal National Theatre Production. It's got all the bridging music which is phenomenal.

Until the definitive full version of the score comes out--with all the bridging material and orchestral interludes--this is probably the most complete of one of the greatest and most charming classic Broadway scores (and probably Ira Gershwin's masterpiece). Rise Stevens was born to play the part, and though at times she gets a bit excessive (especially in the dialogue) her voice is beautiful and confident (a high point is her counterpointing the chorus during "The Best Years of His Life"), and iat times really soars, as in "This is new." Adolph Green is hilarious--it's a great tragedy he never got to play this role on Broadway.

I am usually not a fan of opera stars singing musicals. Rise Stevens' performance, however, is one for the ages. Her performance is definitive and simply cannot be bettered. "Jenny" has been covered by umpteen singers and actresses but no one has yet come close to matching this version.