West Side Story: Highlights (1985 Studio Recording)

Leonard Bernstein (Composer, Conductor), Jose Carreras (Performer), Kiri Te Kanawa (Performer), Tatiana Troyanos (Performer), Kurt Ollman (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Jose Carreras, Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos, Kurt Ollman
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: Leonard Bernstein
• Audio CD (August 11, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000009ON5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,750 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #9 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Horne, Marilyn
  • #10 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Troyanos, Tatiana
  • #18 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Te Kanawa, Kiri

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The world becomes a better place as Leonard Bernstein conducts his first West Side Story with the abandon, genius, and intimate knowledge of every detail he, as composer, imagined. The crisp orchestra and slower tempos maximize the colors of the orchestral landscape and create magic. This recording falls just one tenor's diction short of perfection. Te Kanawa's scrumptious soprano deliciously graces Maria's music, realizing the virtuosity often unattainable in theater singers' renditions. Troyanos combines a ferocious chestiness with classically trained savvy. The only weakness is Carreras's diction, which he so obviously works hard to Americanize, but falls distractingly short. Still, the overall recording is brilliant. --Barbara Eisner Bayer

Product Description

CRC version. Slight scuff on disc will not affect play.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How it should be November 1, 2003

By "aglebagel"

Format:Audio CD

For those of you who think that Mr. Carreras and Dame Te Kanewa are miscast, why in the world would the composer himself chose them for the recording he conducted? I'll tell you why. Because Mr. Bernstein knew that only singers of their caliber could fully display the beauty of the music which he wrote. I completely admit that I am a huge opera fan and aspiring lyric tenor. However I, like a greater majority of you, grew up listening to Broadway musicals, not operas. There are definitely many musicals in which opera singers would be miscast. Not this one. For those of you who have Broadway -style voices etched in your head, I challenge you to try and forget those for just a minute while you listen to Carerras sing "Maria" and try to tell me that anyone can sing it more beautifully. (Although I would sure love to hear Carlo Bergonzi) And Marilyn Horne goes without saying. Buy this recording not only because it is what Bernstein wanted, but because it is the most beautiful, period.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not flawless February 10, 2001

By J. Enders

Format:Audio CD

Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" is probably more than a musical. It is an opera emplying American jazz, dance, and folk elements in the 20th century. The plot, derived from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", is complex, the rendering into the scenery of the New York West Side in the 1960s is witty and well done. The present recording, conducted by the composer himself, with an international renowned cast, a solid orchestra and very good recording skills of the DG engineers, is probably the best you can find.

However, while the "supporting cast" is excellent (Ollmann, Troyanos, men's and women's groups), I am a bit disappointed by Jose Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa who seem to me the wrong people playing the wrong roles. Sure, they both have great voices, but neither Carreras gets the feeling of a West-Side juvenile gang boss nor does Te Kanawa the young Puerto Rican girl thing right. As the funniest part of all this, Bernstein's daughter and son speak the introduction to "One hand, one heart" (he with a New York accent, she with a Hispanic accent) until the singers take over and now - oops - Maria sings rather with a British voice whereas Tony exhibits the sound of a Hispanic opera tenor (with the according accent).

In spite of these minor flaws, West Side Story is still good for the 21st century, and this is probably the best version available.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Musical or opera? January 8, 2000

By Kevin McManus

Format:Audio CD

Who can conduct West Side Story better than Leonard Bernstein? If your answer is not "nobody", there's something seriously wrong with you! Lenny is the only one who showed his masterpiece isn't just a sing-songing festival, but a marvellous piece of music. Most people consider this work a musical rather than an opera, mostly because there is dialogue instead of recitativo, ballades instead of arias and Broadway instead of Wiener Staatsoper. Actually, West Side looks a lot like a musical, but Maria's part is written for a soprano, and the B-flat in Tony's song "Maria" may sound really, really bad if sung by a non-tenor voice. That's why Bernstein, who knew the work better than anybody else, wanted people like Te Kanawa, Carreras, Troyanos and Horne. Under Lenny's baton and with glorious lyrical singing, West Side Story sounds very "unbroadwaylike", but that's the way it's gotta be.