Search - Lionel Bart, National Symphony Orchestra, Richard van Allan :: Oliver! (1991 Studio Cast)

Not bad, but not the best!

Michael Del Rossi | NJ | 01/13/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"My high school is performing Oliver this year. To familiarize myself with the score I purchased all of the Oliver CDs I could find. I came across this one on Amazon.com. The score is brilliantly recorded by the National Symphony Orchestra of England. I wish I could say the same about the vocals. Julian Forsyth does a fine job in the role of Fagin, but Josephine Barstow, who is about 25 years too old for the part, does an amiable job as Nancy. She sounds OK, but she is just not believable, her voice is weak at some points. Richard Van Allan, who plays the villain Bill Sykes, is also just OK. He is trained as an opera singer, and it shows. You don't really hear him being mean or scary on this CD. Both Oliver and Dodger, on this CD, are what takes the ratings down. Both of them cannot carry a tune in a bucket. Also, Dodger sounds like he is twenty years old. It is scary. On top of all this, the numbering of the tracks on the back of the CD are one off for each track, so beware! But don't let me discourage you. This CD is still a pretty complete recording. If you enjoy Oliver go for it!"