^^^I agreed with you on Bullets Over Broadway (in the Mazzie thread), and considering the way I felt about the score when I saw The Visit in April, I have no doubt I'll agree with you on this recording. Can't wait to get it. It was a highly provocative and mesmerizing score, IMHO.
Chita Rivera & cast members from The Visit will be appearing 7pm Thursday July 9, 2015 at the Barnes & Noble on 86th & Lexington Avenue. At the moment, the event is only described as a "Musical Performance" - it does not say anything about a signing, etc.
I've been really hoping Barnes and Noble would announce an event! I really hope it's a performance and a signing, that would definitely be worth taking off of work for.
The Barnes & Noble event will indeed include a CD signing. In addition to a large portion of the cast being there, John Kander, Graciella Danielle and possibly a few other members of the creative team will be there. It's sure to be a memorable evening!
iTunes will have it July 10th (and for pre-order a few days prior with a 5 song advance download). In the meantime, if you have a computer, you can download the album from www.BroadwayRecords.com.
I listened to the album earlier today. It's incredible. A lovely and chilling score and a beautiful show. I saw it with Tom Nelis so Roger Rees was surprising, but on the whole it is a terrific album and a fitting (possibly) final entry in Kander & Ebb's catalogue. Bravo to them. And a big brava to Chita Rivera who is at the top of her game on this album, sounding years younger than her age would make it seem. Because they were so omnipresent on stage, I had forgotten Claire and Anton's younger selves didn't sing much, and they're missed here (although they sing a few times). Yellow Shoes goes right along with All That Jazz and Wilkommen as top K&E chorus numbers. So thankful to finally have this recording!
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
Thanks for the heads-up, I thought we were going to have to wait until the delayed release date. What a well-produced album. What wonderful music. This production's "Love and Love Alone" doesn't work without the visual, and I think Chita's previous recording works better just as a track. But it's all in all a really good recording and I am so so so grateful we got one.
It really is an excellent recording. Chita delivered these songs with guns blazing for this recording. Wow. I love that they turned "Winter" into a proper song.
It's a little light on the dialogue that gets the plot moving, but I appreciate that "Yellow Shoes" was recorded in its entirety (with dialogue).
Is this just one of those cast albums where you had to have seen the show to get it? I love Chita but I'm lost. Maybe this is one that will grow on me after repeated listenings.
"Is this just one of those cast albums where you had to have seen the show to get it? I love Chita but I'm lost. Maybe this is one that will grow on me after repeated listenings. "
I wouldn't think so; it's a very thin plot. Chita plays Claire Zachanassian (formerly Clara Wascher), an 8-time widow who is now a billionaire, returns to her hometown to get revenge on her former lover, Anton Schell. She became pregnant with his child about 50 years ago and because he was offered a job by a local storeowner in exchange for him marrying his daughter, he denies that he is the father. A trial ensues and Anton bribes several friends of his to claim they also slept with her (in exchange for a bottle of schnapps). Her reputation is ruined and she leaves town forever. Now that she's returned to town with her eunuch servants and butler, the town is an impoverished nightmare and everyone is hoping she will donate some of her vast wealth to return them to their former glory; little do they know she's the one that bought all their resources and shut down the factories and turned them into what they are. She will give each man, woman and child large sum of money if any of them will kill Anton for her. I'm sure you can guess the ending.
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
If you're trying to follow the plot by listening to the recording, it won't work. Like I mentioned, they cut two major pieces of dialogue that set and get the plot moving....
1. The Townspeople's dialogue before Claire's entrance
2. Claire's critical proposal to the town between "Winter" and "Yellow Shoes."
The plot can't really be followed properly without these two bits. But still a lovely recording.
I'm so disappointed they didn't really include any of Chita's dialogue around the testimony etc...
Also, it's so funny that "I must have been something" young Anton sings the big note (cf. first preview).
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
"It really is an excellent recording. Chita delivered these songs with guns blazing for this recording. Wow. I love that they turned "Winter" into a proper song."
"Winter" was my favorite song after seeing The Visit for the first time, ljay, and it's terrific on the recording.
I really wish this was recorded by PS Classics, because they would have recorded most of / all of the dialogue. That's not a huge qualm, though, because Broadway Records gave us a beautiful recording.
I'm perhaps most surprised by how much I love "A Confession" on this recording. It's a memorable moment in the show, for sure, but I don't remember it being this menacing when I saw it. One of Chita's many highlights in this show.
Also, Jason Danieley's was so deserving of a Tony nomination for Featured Actor for his performance as the Schoolmaster. He definitely impressed me when I saw the show, but hearing "The Only One" on this recording really reminds me of how terrific he was!
I'm perhaps most surprised by how much I love "A Confession" on this recording. It's a memorable moment in the show, for sure, but I don't remember it being this menacing when I saw it. One of Chita's many highlights in this show.
Exactly! That's why I said she really came with guns blazing on this recording. She's practically horrifying in "A Confession."
And yes, "I Must Have Been Something" became a duet towards the end of previews. Very wise choice. John Riddle supplemented Rees' vocal weakness nicely. Especially the big 'Claire' at the end of "Look At Me" which Rees always struggled with.
I will say that Rees sounds better than I was expecting on this recording. Some of his vocals are more enjoyable on the album than in the theater.