Show Boat Centennial- Page 2

[William Keating]

Posted: 3/14/26 at 7:40pm

In 1988 there appeared a 221-minute studio album of Jerome Kern's musical, performed by a cast headed by Karla Burns, Jerry Hadley, Bruce Hubbard, Frederica von Stade and Teresa Stratas with the Ambrosian Chorus and the London Sinfonietta under the direction of John McGlinn. It was recorded from June 1 to August 31, 1987 at Abbey Road Studios in London. It includes every song written for the musical by Kern and Hammerstein, including “It’s Getting Hotter in the North,” written for Kim’s jazzy dance finale but which has never made it onto  the stage in any major production.

This recording was made using the original orchestrations of Robert Russell Bennett. Are orchestrators unsung heroes? I once read that many great overtures were essentially composed by the orchestrators given sheet music of the major songs by the composer.