Search - Alan Jay Lerner :: Camelot: Selected Highlights From Original 1982 London Cast Recording

Beautiful score marred only by Fullerton's harsh soprano

David Fick | Cape Town, South Africa | 12/05/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Camelot will always remain one of my favourite musicals. It has depth in the score, which develops from the beginning like a beautiful piece of classical music, with leit motifs and developments throughout the musical numbers. Lerner and Loewe excelled themselves with the artistry of this production, despite the problems that the original production encountered. This recording does the score justic, with Richard Harris providing a good characterisation of Arthur and Robert Meadmore's well-sung Lancelot. Unfortuneatly, Fiona Fullerton, who completes the eternal triangle as Guenevere has a harsh quality to her soprano that is slightly uncomfortable on the ear. This show is a must in any serious musical collection, but my recommendation would be the original Broadway cast, with Julie Andrews' heartachingly beautiful Guenevere and Richard Burton as a definitely definitive Arthur."

Lerner & Loewe's Last

David Fick | 06/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After MY FAIR LADY and the Academy Award-winning GIGI, what was left to Lerner & Loewe but have a failure? Well, CAMELOT wasn't a failure...quite, but it did open to decidedly cool reviews. Luckily, the box office advance of over $3 million could keep it going its first few months, at which time, in an unprecedented marketing gamble, a large chunk was shown on the ED SULLIVAN SHOW. The next day there were queues at the Box Office.CAMELOT was blessed with three particular glories. The first was the beautiful, at times achingly, melodic score, Frederick Loewe wrote, matched by Lerner's lyrics, never more romantic or full of longing. The second was the presence of Richard Burton who brought acting ability only rarely seen in a musical. And the third was, of course, the star of Julie Andrews, who by this time (and under Moss Hart's impeccable tutelage) had matured into a thoroughly winning, if not always charismatic, leading lady. Its problem, however, was that old thorn in Alan Jay Lerner's side: The Book. Without the "pre-fabrication" of Shaw's PYGMALION that he'd enjoyed in writing MY FAIR LADY, Lerner floundered and it showed in the dramatically weak script. Over-riding everything, however, was the simple fact that the story was, in the end, a sad one - not a recipe for mega runs on Broadway then. Still, it played over two years, and received recordings around the world. It's represented best on this album, though the score is truncated as was necessary to fit the original LP. You know you're in the hands of melodic genius when very near the start of the overture the beguiling strains of "If Ever I Would Leave You" are heard. And with numbers like the title song and "What Do The Simple Folk Do?" as well as "I Loved You Once In Silence" and "How To Handle A Woman" you're spoilt for riches. Lerner & Loewe broke up after CAMELOT. If only they hadn't."