Plenty of classical orchestras have recorded Broadway musicals, in part or in full. The results tend to be different, not necessarily better or worse, than those emanating from the Broadway sphere, but this 2024 release by
John Wilson
and his
Sinfonia of London
, which made classical best-seller lists in the summer of that year, is something different from the usual run of classical performances.
Wilson
constructs a stylized version of an authentic Broadway sound. There is a lot to like in the singing, especially that of
Mikaela Bennett
as Julie Jones, who has a bright sound that is essential to her character as the mood darkens. The singers who are not Americans do an excellent job with colloquial American English, but the real star here may be
. He gets just the hint of schmaltz that a pit orchestra should have, and he keeps the dramatic trajectory moving beautifully. However, his strongest decision is leading the performance in a theater (and it seems to have been one for which he, rather than the
Chandos
engineering staff, called the shots). True, the Susie Sainsbury Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music in London is not one specifically designed for musicals, but it works for that context in a way that very few recordings of musicals on the classical side have done. Another notable feature here is that this is a complete recording of
Carousel
, containing all the music, scene changes, entrances, dialogue, and all. As to the text, a few things ("It's possible for someone to hit you... and not hurt at all") could have been omitted, but the goal here was the whole musical. This is a recording of
that may well appeal to audiences on the pop as well as the classical side and to specialists and general listeners. ~ James Manheim