I’ve been waiting for this for
such a long time that I thought it would never be released. But it’s finally
here!
The first time I knew about this
recording was on the 2001 spring issue of the unfortunately deceased SHOW MUSIC
magazine, where there was an ad with the CD cover. So, 12 years later, using
the same cover the recording is available, but only for download on iTunes and
probably other websites.
Of all Kurt Weill’s scores, this
is his more melodious work and my favorite one. For years I’ve been listening to
the incomplete Mary Martin recording, but this is much more enjoyable. I
believe this is the first complete recording of the score and it never sounded
better. The orchestrations are rich and the voices blend flawlessly with the
tunes.
Melissa Errico is perfectly cast
as Venus and her renditions of “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” and of the gorgeous
“Speak Low” are a true bless. Victoria Clark has a good time with the
delightful title song that I think I never heard before. Also new for me was,
among others, “Way Out West in Jersey”; a funny song that I would never believe
it was written by Weill.
Brent Barrett is the male romantic
lead and lends his strong voice to “How Much I Love You” and “That’s How I Am
Sick of Love” among others. The other male lead is the powerful Ron Raines who
sings the more “weillish” song of the score, “Doctor Crippen”, plus other
numbers.
From the terrific overture to the
cut songs, which include the beautiful “Love in a Mist”, this is a treasure to
musical fans like me and we should be thankful that this recording was finally released.
Without doubt a musical highlight in a year of uninteresting releases and a
reminder that no one writes songs like this anymore.
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