I agree with the tempos, this is my major problem with "Un Hombre Asi," it feels soooo slow. While Olivo does a great job with it, I don't think the sluggish tempo makes the number land the way that it does on the OBCR. Same goes for the tempo during "Me Siento Hermosa" (so happy they didn't call it "Siento Hermosa" and correctly added the "me" to the title though).
The only thing that works about the Spanish in the Quintet is that there is literally no "harmony" to it, since they are speaking in different languages, the marked difference between the two groups at that moment right before the Rumble becomes highly pronounced. Having said that, I don't think this is particularly needed, and I think that the Spanish takes away from the beauty of listening to everyone singing together at the same time. In fact, one can argue that by having the Sharks and Jets sing the same lyrics at the same time in the same language we get a sense that the groups are not really that different in terms of their thirst for violence and whatnot.
And let me say that while I absolutely adore Olivo on the recording, her vocals are spectacular, she's not having nearly as much fun with "America" as Chita Rivera does on the OBCR. Rivera--perhaps in part because she's not the belter that Olivo is--acts a lot of the lines that are just sung in the current recording (ie "what have they got there to keep clean").
Love the video, Sondheim is lovely, the cast seems to be having a good time, and everyone does sound great even the very problematic Matt Cavenaugh.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
