West Side Story: Highlights (1985 Studio Recording)

West Side Story CD Deutsche Grammophon, 289 457 199-2, 1985, 27 Track

The world becomes a better place as Leonard Bernstein conducts his first West Side Story with the abandon, genius, and intimate knowledge of every detail he, as composer, imagined. The crisp orchestra and slower tempos maximize the colors of the orchestral landscape and create magic. This recording falls just one tenor's diction short of perfection. Te Kanawa's scrumptious soprano deliciously graces Maria's music, realizing the virtuosity often unattainable in theater singers' renditions. Troyanos combines a ferocious chestiness with classically trained savvy. The only weakness is Carreras's diction, which he so obviously works hard to Americanize, but falls distractingly short. Still, the overall recording is brilliant. --Barbara Eisner Bayer