Show Boat (1988 Studio Cast)

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Music reviews of Show Boat (1988 Studio Cast)

Music Review: A "Show Boat" for the Ages
Rating: 5 Stars

I have a difficult time deciding where to begin in my praise for this recording, so I'll start with the performing edition. This recording contains almost all the surviving music Kern wrote for this score, a few instances of underscoring aside. Since numbers were written, discarded, replaced and so forth, not everything appears in the main body of the recording; the appendix, which takes up most of the third disc, contains alternative numbers, including three songs that took the place of "It's Getting Hotter in the North" at various times, and three songs that were written expressly for the wonderful 1936 film version of the musical.

It's very difficult to separate the performing edition from the way the music is performed. Present-day practice favors a much more sentimentalized "Show Boat" and so some of the numbers, especially Julie's "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," are nowadays played much more slowly than originally conceived. Conductor John McGlinn goes back to original performance practice and, needless to say, to Robert Russell Bennett's original orchestrations, which have never been improved upon. The Ambrosian Chorus, who have recorded any number of operas, and the London Sinfonietta are all one could ask.

The singers are all wonderful. Frederica von Stade, the perfect choice for Magnolia, was captured at the absolute top of her prime. She also performs the role of Magnolia's daughter Kim, a tradition that began with Norma Terris, the first one to take these roles, and von Stade finds a different voice for Kim than for Magnolia, at least in "It's Getting Hotter in the North." For the three alternative songs, she's more recognizably von Stade. Teresa Stratas adds Julie to her roster of suffering heroines and emphasizes Julie's tragic stature. Her "Bill" does not erase memories of Helen Morgan's--probably an impossible task for anyone--but she is certainly head and shoulders above anybody else I have heard sing this music, and at least she does not try to "improve" the song with attempts to turn it into some sort of mini-drama, as so many do. Jerry Hadley brings his romantic tenor to Ravenal and sings very well indeed, although I do confess a slight preference for Mark Jacoby of the 1994 Canadian original cast version; Jacoby sings just about as well and has a natural and completely unexaggerated Southern accent that I find irresistible. Karla Burns and Bruce Hubbard are wonderful as Queenie and Joe, but as much as I enjoy their solos, I like them best of all in their duet "Ah Still Suits Me," which I think is even better than the Hattie McDaniel/Paul Robeson version in the 1936 film. Paige O'Hara and David Garrison make a very engaging Ellie and Frank, and their duets and Ellie's solo "Life on the Wicked Stage" are among the many highlights here.

The spoken roles are also very convincingly handled. I very much enjoyed Robert Nichols' performance as Captain Andy and so missed the omission of the scene where he plays all the roles in an onstage play that has been interrupted halfway through. He half-speaks his one musical opportunity, during "Why Do I Love You?," but it works. Nancy Kulp, best known to audiences as Miss Hathaway in the TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies," is a multifaceted Parthy, and I'm sorry the cuts in the dialogue mean she disappears at the end of the first act. It's also a treat to have Lillian Gish as the Old Woman on the Levee at the end. Conductor McGlinn takes on the brief role of Jake and shows that not only is he an outstanding conductor but also a very convincing actor. But then again, there is not a single weak link among the speaking roles, and the actors really "make" Magnolia's audition scene at the Trocadero in Act II.

The decision was made to omit the dialogue that is not underscored, other than portions of the miscegenation scene. While this tightens the proceedings a bit and saves the cost of an extra disc (the three CDs are very well filled as it is), with such a strong cast of actors I wish they had decided to include all of the dialogue.

I give this recording my highest recommendation, but I also suggest supplementing it with a video of the 1936 film version, whose ending however is quite different, to get a sense of the missing dialogue, and to see a very enjoyable film treatment of the show in the bargain. All in all this recording is a thoroughly satisfactory performance of "Show Boat" that will probably never be surpassed on recordings, let alone on the stage.

Description of Show Boat (1988 Studio Cast)

Rest assured this 221-minute blockbuster is not just dry scholarship; it's also terrific listening, with McGlinn conducting a dynamic London Sinfonietta and a strong cast including Frederica von Stade as Magnolia, Jerry Hadley as Ravenal, Teresa Stratas as the tragic Julie, Bruce Hubbard as the worldly wise Joe, Karla Burns as Queenie, and David Garrison and Paige O'Hara as the comic couple Frank and Ellie. And of course the songs by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II are among the most glorious ever written: "Ol' Man River," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "Make Believe," "Why Do I Love You," "Bill," "You Are Love," and "Life upon the Wicked Stage." Also included are exhaustive production notes, a history of the show, a detailed synopsis, and a libretto. John McGlinn's Show Boat is a staggering achievement and a recording for the ages. --David Horiuchi

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