Eight years after Bernstein recorded and conducted his West Side Story for DG, two new versions are now on the market: the one under review, and another waiting in the wings from TER Classics.
Like Bernstein's, this RPO recording opts for operatic singers in two important roles, with the other principal part cast from the West End stage. At this point, there's no need to rehearse once again the pros and cons of such choices, for personal preference aside, in this instance it works well. Barbara Bonney is a charming and vivacious Maria, whom it is easy to imagine picking up the guitar in the accompaniment to ''I feel pretty'', and playing it in just such a fashion. Her voice, less overtly operatic than Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's on Bernstein's version is well matched by the sumptuous mezzo of Laverne Williams as Anita; the two of. them are heard at their finest in the tempestuous ''A boy like that'' and its serene follow-on, ''I have a love''. More words are likely to be spilt over Michael Ball's Tony. This is a performance that would attract loud applause in cabaret yet, ultimately, lacks identification in this context; the unnecessary inclusion of dialogue in his exchanges with Maria, emphasize this feeling, and adds grist to the mill of those who find their ballads ''Tonight'' and ''One hand, one heart'', banal. ''Maria'', in his interpretation, suffers the same fate.
The men of the RPO chorus sound both authentic and spirited, with their fellow musicians they turn ''Gee officer, Krupke!'' into a cracking ensemble ideally paced by their conductor, Barry Wordsworth. In other ensembles his approach and that of the orchestra seem over-cautious, emphasizing weight at the expense of swing. The recording itself has little allure.'