West Side Story ranks among the best and most famous musicals ever. It owes its enormous popularity to a wonderful, highly imaginative story by Arthur Laurents; strong lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and the genius music of Leonard Bernstein. Additionally, Jerome Robbins’ inimitable choreography. The first performance on Broadway in 1957 was an instant success, and the 1961 feature film brought worldwide popularity.
The complete musical is still performed – though far too infrequently in my opinion – but recordings of it are scarce. This is due to many factors. One is that when you record it, you miss the visual. And you have to deal with something else: the rights. The work may not be performed concertante. At least, not in the correct order of the songs and not with all the dialogues. Why? Don’t ask me, I am not a lawyer.
The San Francisco Symphony is the first orchestra ever to get permission from the relatives of all four rights holders to perform the complete musical in concert. The performance was recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall in June and July 2013.
trailer:
Michael Tilson Thomas, chief conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, is an obvious choice of conductor for the work. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that it took him so long to venture into it.
MTT grew up in the best Broadway and Hollywood tradition: his grandfather Boris Tomaszewski was the man behind the Jewish theatre, his grandmother Bessie one of the greatest tragédiennes of her time (Hers was the first Yiddish Salome in America) and his father worked in the film industry. He was a child in the Bernstein household and, like Lenny, his spiritual father and mentor, he has “jazz in the tips of his fingers”. So musical theatre is pretty much in his genes!
Expectations for this recording were therefore high, and the result exceeds all expectations. It seems impossible, but the performance under MTT surpasses the recording under Bernstein himself. Not least because of the singers. As wonderful as I found the contributions of Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras, not for a second did they make me believe they were Maria and Tony. They were adult opera stars and that’s how they sounded.
Orchestrally, too, I find the new recording superior to the composer’s own. The orchestra really swings wildly and, in the dance night at the gym, you can hardly stay in your seat. The mambos and cha-chas are played so evocatively that you don’t even miss the visuals. Smoothly and seamlessly, they transition into the ‘Meeting Scene’ that follows. Search quick for handkerchief!
The chilling “Cool”, sung very evocatively by Riff (Kevin Vortmann) and the Jets, reminds me of Bernard Herrmann (Hitchcock’s in-house composer). The tension is up for grabs. And then comes the velvety “One Hand, One Heart” and your heart will melt.
The way the orchestra plays the diminuendo at “Make of our lives…. Even death won’t part us now” into “Tonight” is a stunning feat of perfection. How do they do it, in San Francisco?
The role of Tony is played by Cheyenne Jackson, a renowned Broadway musical star and a regular in the gossip columns of showbiz magazines. The, in all respects very attractive singer possesses that little bit extra that turns a good performer into a world performer.
Young Scottish soprano Alexandra Silber is a very credible Maria. Her “I feel Pretty” is very catchy: this is what a young girl preparing for her first date with her lover sounds like.
The San Francisco Symphony Chorus does an excellent job as the street gangs: the Polish-American Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks.
The two CDs are enclosed in a beautiful hundred-page booklet, containing all the information, an interview with MTT, photos and the complete libretto. An absolute must have!!!
lMichael Tilson Thomas: in interpretation there is no absolute truth
Basia con fuoco 