The composer's own recording of West Side Story has been in the catalogue for the best part of ten years, so it isn't so surprising that two new accounts of his most famous musical play should appear in quick succession. I reviewed the one from IMG Records (with Barbara Bonney as Maria and Michael Ball as Tony) perhaps too kindly, one colleague told me.
Of this latest recording, I have no reservations in expressing wholehearted admiration. To cap Bernstein's, even given his controversial casting of opera stars, is something of an achievement. Yet that's the story here, where artistic production and recording values are of a high order. The set starts with the major advantage of being inspired by a production at the Haymarket, Leicester, so many of the cast are really inside their roles. They have youth on their side, too. Paul Manuel from that company may not have a large voice, but his sympathetic portrayal of Tony, both in his solos and duets with Maria that were such a disappointment on the IMG version, makes one feel that he identifies totally with the part.
Moreover, the way in which he can float a high note, as at the end of the alternative film version of ''Something's coming'' puts him on a par with Carreras (for Bernstein). His Maria, Tinuke Olafimihan, is a gem. Although she wasn't in the Haymarket production, her ability to interact with him and to express the laughter and the tragedy of the heroine is very real. At key moments in the drama, as at the start of the ballet where her bitterness turns to understanding, and later in her reprimand to Anita's taunts (''you were in love, or so you said''), she can touch the heart. Her charming singing of ''I feel pretty'' is given an added femininity by being preceded by its Act 2 Entr'acte that introduces so gracefully the scene in the bridal shop. At the heart of the ''Somewhere'' ballet, Sally Burgess voices the lovers' plea for peace with a magnificent rendition of its famous soaring tune. Nicholas Warnford as leader of the Jets gives no less than his rival in the tricky ''Cool'' sequence and Jet song. Caroline O'Connor's Anita touches a raw note here and there, yet given such a flamboyant personality, no one should mind.
John Owen Edwards directs Bernstein's score as if he believes in every note of it. Moreover, he has imparted to his players the very pulse that sets this music ticking. In the playing of the Prologue the orchestra captures the indolence of youth and the underlying tension between the gangs that explodes into warfare with such tragic results. Mention should also be made of the fine string playing in the Coplandesque passages to the ballet, and in small yet vital transitions such as the bridge between ''A boy like that'' and ''I have a love'', where, in just a couple of bars, a switch from anger to resignation is all in the hands of the conductor.
In addition to the Act 2 Entr'acte, this recording also includes the Overture and four alternative versions of the songs as they were heard in the screen adaptation. These changes reflect alterations to the lyrics rather than the music, chiefly in ''Gee Officer Krupke'', where Sondheim's lines have been given the cleansing treatment.
In his long and interesting booklet Jeffrey Dunn misleadingly implies that West Side Story was only given in London following its subsequent return to Broadway in 1960. However, he then adds the opening date of December 1958. In fact, West Side Story as given in London's Her Majesty's Theatre was an even greater success than it had been on Broadway, running longer and taking the Evening Standard Drama Award from My fair lady! And indeed, audiences didn't have to wait for the songs to gain popularity from the movie, for ''Tonight'' and ''One hand, one heart'' cropped up regularly on request programmes at that time.'