Search - Michael John LaChiusa, Gregory Jbara, Kate Shindle :: First Lady Suite - A Musical (Premiere Recording)

First lady sweet

Jonathan Rees | 03/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've read several rave reviews of this CD now, and indeed it's a superb recording, but the comments were so scholarly that I think they missed the point. For me, the marvel of the score is how playful it is. I'll be the first to declare Michael John LaChiusa a brilliant composer-lyricist, but for me, there's been something wrong with his recent work: the writing remains gorgeous, but I'm too aware of the collaboration and the compromise -- the voice feels only intermittently full-throated. This portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-younger-man clearly belongs to a time when he didn't have the world looking over his shoulder, and he's not afraid to be a little crazy and silly and twisted. That's not to say that the work isn't powerful -- in fact, I found it as powerful as anything he's written precisely because the dramatic moments take you by surprise. LaChiusa's a great story-teller here, and First Lady Suite is a revelation."

Bear with it.

Jonathan Rees | 02/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really want to recommend close and repeated listening to this CD. Even though i'm a big fan of La Chiusa's Marie Christine and Wild Party, my first hearing of this show left me cold. The show seemed too unstructured to really carry a listener along - remembering that the experience of a show heard on a CD player is totally different from seeing it on a stage. I left the CD alone for months, and it's only because I'm currently working on some other La Chiusa music that I decided to give it another go. This time the show glowed out at me from the speakers. The lyrics are utterly remarkable, the characters honed to perfection and the music lilts between recitative and "numbers" with amazing fluidity, encompassing a vast range of styles that suit the moment ideally. Not all the singing is beautiful but it as always characterful and precise. I recommend this recording to anyone and urge you to put the effort in. It will reward every moment with so much beauty and wisdom."

An impressive achievement from an exciting composer

Steven Valenti | Cleveland, OH | 04/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Based on the cast recordings of "Hello Again," "Marie Christine," "The Wild Party," and now "First Lady Suite," it's clear that Michael John LaChiusa is the most exciting (and prolific) musical composer of the last ten years. His music is incredibly inventive, his lyrics intelligent, and he has a knack for choosing unlikely and compelling subjects for his shows. His scores, as great as they are, also tend to be somewhat challenging, requiring repeated listenings to fully appreciate. "First Lady Suite" is no exception-- it's not all easy listening at first, but it sticks with you.



Although this recording is from a 2002 production, the show actually pre-dates "Marie Christine" and "The Wild Party," having arrived in the early 90's with "Hello Again." While it's not quite as accomplished as those scores, it's still an impressive achievement. The show is made up of three main parts, each attempting to shed some light on a notable first lady-- in order, they're Jackie Kennedy, Mamie Eisenhower, and Eleanor Roosevelt. The Kennedy sequence is the most serious, taking place on Air Force One the day of the president's assassination. The other two contain a lot of surprising humor, especially the wacky second sequence, which finds Mamie, among other things, flying on her bed through time. Each portrait feels stylistically surreal, with a dreamlike quality, and LaChiusa's unique musical style fits it all very well. There aren't really any easy showtunes here, but he's able to generate a lot of emotion through the music, and the cumulative effect is poignant and memorable."