Customer Reviews

West Side Story: Highlights (1985 Studio Recording)

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This recording has been wonderfully recorded, and with a top-notch opera cast. It is conducted by the only man who probably could give the best interpretation to the score, the composer...Leonard Bernstein. Overall, this is definitely the best recording on Amazon that you can get, the most complete(except for the one with extra excerpts added if you're looking for more orchestral scores), and nicely performed. So why did i give it 4 stars? Well, I felt that some of the singers were too operatic for my tastes, and there was not enough sweetness in Maria's (Te Kanawa)voice as well as some of the other women. Don't get me wrong, I love opera, but I felt that it shouldn't have been as ominous as it was. I, unlike the editorial reviewer Bayer, believe that Carreras did a wonderful job, especially on his song "Maria." His tonal production I thought was perfect, not too operatic, and I didn't really hear the accent problems. Although, if one does really listen, they are there. Te Kanawa has a beautiful voice, and I actually tend to prefer some of her broadway hits as opposed to some of her opera arias, although she does well with both. I must say, the songs she sings by Gershwin are devine. Horne's beautiful alto/mezzo-soprano voice is wonderful to hear, but for this musical, I believe it is too heavy. I have to reiterate though, that overall this CD is very good, and has much star power for people to enjoy. I almost forgot to say that the gang scenes are great to hear, as well as the orchestral works on this recording. In summary, this recording is a good addition to a classical music lover's collection, but, it is up to the listener whether they like the operatic sound of this recording. I'd opt for it to be less so, but if you are looking for a good recording, and have no problem with or enjoy the way they sing this musical, then this will be a "must have" for you(for heaven's sake...it's a classic). I still enjoy this CD set, even though if I had the choice, I would like some of the female voices to be sweeter and less operatic.

I just loved this recording of "West Side Story". Carreras and Te-Kanawa are magnifiscent as Tony and Maria, and I almost cried hearing their "One hand, one heart". "A boy like that" is a well done track, as well as "officer Krupke". Bernstein is a real genius, and this recording proves it. Not only he's written such powerful music, he conducts it lively, and makes you feel as if you're a part of Tony and Maria's tragic love story.

The music of West Side will always be a staple of the orchestra, and Bernstein will always be remembered as a fine conductor, composer, and interpreter of modern music.

However, he failed to get his vocalists to act the part in this recording. Carreras, Troyanos, and Te Kanawa fail to give this score the punch it deserves. All of them are excellent operatic vocalists and that is where they needed to stay. I wish Bernstein would have selected vocalists that had a more raw sound with less vibrato. The characters are kids, after all.

On a positive side, the orchestral performance is second to none. I have often imagined putting the original cast vocals with the Bernstein orchestral interpretation. In my opinion this would have been the purest emotional approach for the general public.

My opinion is based on having played in the pit of the musical for amatuer productions twice, and having seen the production professionally twice before having heard the original cast or seen the movie. I am of the generation X after all.

Enjoy

This is a very special recording of "West Side Story" because it is conducted by the composer of the piece the great American musical genius Leonard Bernstein.

The performance is unabashedly operatic in style given the choice of singers and it works beautifully. The orchestral playing and recording are all absolutely superb.

"West Side Story" is a masterful score full of melody and rhythmic complexity. It shows Bernstein at the peak of his creative powers. The lyrics by Stephen Sondheim are clever and although it has some dated elements the story still holds up pretty well.

Highly recommended for musical and opera fans alike.

I was born in Paris in 1959 when West Side Story stormed France. If I had one intrauterine memory, that would be the movie sound track. I was born with it and grew up with it. My first English word was "Tonight". I owned the LP, the cassette, and now I have the CD (Always the same deep red cover with the fire escape). I can still listen to it everyday and get goose pimples. Te Kanawa and Carreras are fine singers, but they are NOT Maria and Toni. I am shocked that Lenny could betray his masterpiece in that manner. To me, the only other version that is worth listening is in "Leonard Bernstein's NewYork" where Dawn Upshaw, Audra McDonald and Mandy Pantinkin do bring the true characters to life.

Given the talent involved, I have always been surprised and disapointed at how bad this studio recording is. Kanawa is even occasionally off-pitch, and she and Carreras show little of the verve and beauty that made them international stars. I'd look elsewhere for a recording of this wonderful score.

My wife and I eagerly awaited listening to this recording. About halfway through, we shut it off. In dissecting our attitude, we concluded that the audio mixing was very amateurish; definitely not ready for prime time. Every track had different mixing quality; compare technical quality of the Lena Horne track with, say, the "Tonight" track. And the mixing of the "Maria" track was a real hatchet job. Overall, not worth the money.