West Side Story: Highlights (1985 Studio Recording) [CAST RECORDING]

Leonard Bernstein (Composer, Conductor), Jose Carreras (Performer), Kiri Te Kanawa (Performer), Tatiana Troyanos (Performer), Kurt Ollman (Performer)

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
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000009ON5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,523 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #11 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Troyanos, Tatiana
  #14 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Horne, Marilyn
  #30 in	Music > 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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	"aglebagel" (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews

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.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars what are you looking for...., February 26, 2000

By	Andre (Twin Cities, MN) - See all my reviews

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.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Kevin McManus (Milan, MI Italy) - See all my reviews

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.