Search - Oscar Hammerstein II :: Carousel (1987 Studio Cast)

A misconceived recording of CAROUSEL

Mark Andrew Lawrence | Toronto | 08/12/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"With so many CAROUSEL discs now avaialable this version can easily be bypassed. At the time of its release in 1987 it was the ONLY recording of CAROUSEL on Cd. The cast was interesting: Barbara Cook had played Julie in New York revivals... 30 years prior to this disc. She sounds far too mature for the young Julie Jordan. She would have made a great Nettie..which would has spared us Maureen Forresters wobbly performance! Casting bass Sam Ramey as Billy was also an intersteing idea that just doesn't work. Partly because, try as he might, he cannot find Billy character. Sarah Brightman offers her silvery soprano as Carrie, and (hooray!) some actual character as well. The record was produced by Thomas Sheppard and not up to his usual standards. Apparently the Rodgers and Hammerstein office were unhappy that this recording was made: They wanted to do their own version for Sony with Kiri Te Kanawa and Jose Carreras as a follow-up to their ill-conceived SOUTH PACIFIC. Sheppard went ahead and did this version anyway and was subsequently denied the use of the ballet. The small mercy is that the plans for that other CAROUSEL disc were scuttled. The 1993 London CD is about the most complete CAROUSEL available and it includes the whole ballet and quite a bit of dialogue giving that disc a nice theatrical feel. Something that is sadly lacking on this recording."

Great moments in OK overall result

Niel Rishoi | Ann Arbor, MI USA | 09/04/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This ambitious recording is a success in many respects. At last, EVERY song is included, is ultra-complete. The "If I Loved You" runs nearly 13 full minutes, the longest version ever, and it is a revelation hearing it as such. Nothing is left out: what took so long to do it this way? Sonically, the recording is superb. There are moments no other recording can boast as this one does. The "June Is Bustin' Out all Over" is just glorious: the choral and solo singing just bursts with crackling exuberance and effervescent joy: it is by far the best and most fully realized account I've ever heard anywhere. It must be noted that the choral work is simply outstanding - after all, it is the Ambrosian Singers. The final refrain of "You'll Never Walk Alone" achieves a true majestic splendor, and the resulting emotional pull is fantastic.
Paul Gemignani presents the most orchestrally lush account of the score, but I don't care for some of the noisy re-orchestration - too overloaded at some points. Barbara Cook sounds amazingly fresh, even youthful in a way, in 1987, but still, she is a shadow of her former, wonderful self - and that is not a welcome prospect. Her voice has lost its tonal center, and its pristine quality is slightly compromised by the passage of time. "If I Loved You", quietly, tenderly sung, holds great promise, but the higher regions causes Cook's voice to spread out and harden. The same holds true for "What's the Use of Wondrin", also otherwise sung with delicate poignancy. I wish ardently that Cook had been captured years ago on record (or was she??) However, her sagacious musicianship pulls her through, and I still prefer her to many of the other recorded Julies. (BTW the women's choral contribution in "What's the Use of Wondrin" is substituted by an orchestral bridge)Samuel Ramey is by far, the richest voice for Billy on any recording. There are some marvelous compensations, notably an "If I Loved You" that is slowly drawn, and filled out expansively like no other - it is really quite gorgeous. On the other hand, the question is whether a bass-baritone is right for Billy Bigelow. Perhaps, for some, they like that vibrant richness, which definitely conveys an unmistakably older man, but I'm not convinced. Raitt's lean, firm tone of 1945 and MacRae still sound the most correct to me. Ramey's "Soliloquy" is again full-voiced - but it is also too stolid, not light-hearted or nimble enough, and definitely lacking a smile in the tone and characterization. Plus, the higher parts of the score are a real stretch at times. The reprise of "If I Loved You," so rapturously sung by MacRae, is not comfortable for Ramey at all. Surprise - Sarah Brightman may actually be the best Carrie on record. No other Carrie is so precise in musical values, with the manner confidently deployed, the characterization snappy, alert and fresh. Her tone is suitably tangy, bright and open. For once she is entirely within her realm as a character actress instead of the leading lady she feinted to be. Also, most remarkably, British Brightman impersonates a perfect American accent. Brightman really boosts the energy level throughout the recording: listen to her sassy, lightning-quick contribution at the beginning of "June," where she is bitingly brisk and edgy. This is a Carrie with spunk and personality - no twit, she. I can't tell if David Rendall is exaggerating his vibrato to characterize his Enoch Snow; it certainly works in making him a little stuffy, but it is a little annoying too. It mars the duet with Carrie, but his solo "Geraniums" number is properly mournful.Maureen Forrester, one of my favorite singers and a truly great artist, rises to the occasion in "June Is Bustin' Out All Over," yet in "You'll Never Walk Alone", despite the rich tone and sympathetic phrasing, the voice is not under complete control."

Well conceived but lacklustre recording of the classic show

A. Andersen | Bellows Falls, VT USA | 04/20/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Coming in the wake of a trend to re-record Broadway shows with operatic stars, this was a half and half venture. Samuel Ramey from opera and Barbara Cook from a Broadway career and cabaret. Gemignani as conductor doesn't seem to have a grip on the material. Some of the conducting and choral work are slow and/or sluggish. The CAROUSEL WALTZ wheezes and jerks in fits and starts - the GERANIUMS/STONECUTTERS number is snail-paced with many embarrassing gaps of silent - no pace at all. The casting is not good - Ms. Cook is too old for the role and seems to approach the material as if it were a first rehearsal. There is no attempt to "act" Julie - she simply reads through her lines and vocal performances with no characterization. Mr. Ramey is far to self-assured in his bass/baritone to convince as Billy. The latter was a braggart but far from self-assured. Mr. Ramey has no vulnerability in the role. Also like most opera stars he can't read a dialogue line to save his life. Why is it these masters at the vocal line have no idea how to accent a normal line of stage dialogue? Maureen Forester huffs and puffs with shortness of breath, trying to complete her lines and is a poor Nettie. Only Sarah Brightman shines as Carrie - she is vivacious and full of life.The good thing about this recording was that at 69:04 minutes (even on LP) it was (with the exception of the ballet) the most complete recording ever made at its release. We have the entire IF I LOVED YOU scene, Carrie's dismissal of the men at the beginning of JUNE, including that sprightly musical bridge repeated in the BALLET, the MR. SNOW reprise, Carrie's own intro line to her chorus of WHEN THE CHILDREN ARE ASLEEP, GERANIUMS IN THE WINDER and the end dialogue in the finale with Cook's voice entering the chorus after she hears Billy's words.So although this is flawed it did represent an advance over other recordings simply in terms of the amount of music included. Now that the nineties London and Broadway revival albums have also provided all of this material, the Cook-Ramey collection moves to a lower place on the list.Of the six recordings available on CD this is my preference of quality in descending order, number one being the best:1. Film Soundtrack 2. Nineties London revival 3. Original Cast Album 4. Cook/Ramey 5. Nineties Broadway revival 6. Lincoln Center revival"