Leonard Bernstein Conducts West Side Story, or simply West Side Story, is a 1985 album containing an "operatic" production of the musical West Side Story as orchestrated and conducted by Leonard Bernstein for the Deutsche Grammophon record label,The albums's cover and labels with Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras in the leading parts. It was the first time that Bernstein conducted a complete performance of that work.
Background Bernstein recalled to his biographer, Humphrey Burton: "l'd always thought of West Side Story in terms of teenagers and there are no teenage opera singers, it's just a contradiction in terms. But this is a recording and people don't have to look 16, they don't have to be able to dance or act a rather difficult play eight times a week. And therefore, we took this rather unorthodox step of casting number-one world-class opera singers. I suppose the only foreseeable problem was that they might sound too old – but they don't, they just sound marvellous!”.
Recording The album was produced by John McClure.
The recording was made by Deutsche Grammophon in 1984 at the Emil Berliner Studios in Berlin and the RCA Studios New York.
The Making of West Side Story The BBC filmed the recording sessions, and Deutsche Grammophon released it on DVD."Leonard Bernstein conducts West Side Story – The Making of the Recording (DG DVD 073 017-9)", review by Gary Dalkin (April 2002), musicweb-international.com The documentary is known under the titles Leonard Bernstein Conducts West Side Story: The Making of the Recording and The Making of West Side Story. PBS showed it on Great Performances."Leonard Bernstein Conducts West Side Story: The Making of the Recording", in West Side Story: Birth of a Classic – The Legacy of West Side Story, Library of Congress exhibition Several unreleased clips show Carreras struggling with the score and Bernstein's frustration.;
Cast The production featured Kiri Te Kanawa as Maria, José Carreras as Tony, Tatiana Troyanos as Anita , Kurt Ollmann as Riff, and a pick-up orchestra. Marilyn Horne sang the off-stage voice in "Somewhere".
Other roles: Rosalia – Louise Edeiken Francisco – Angelina Reaux – Stella Zambalis Action – David Livingston Diesel – Marty Nelson Baby John – Stephen Bogardus A-rab – Peter Thom Snowboy – Todd Lester Bernardo – Richard Harrell Dialogue: Nina Bernstein (Maria), Alexander Bernstein (Tony)"West Side Story (1957)", leonardbernstein.com
Critical reception
Thor Eckert Jr. of The Christian Science Monitor found that the British accent of Maria, a Puerto Rican, and the Spanish accent of Tony, who is American, is blurring the drama at the centre of the story. AllMusic rates the album four stars on a scale of five.
Chart performance The album became the first to top the "Classical" half of the newly established Billboards Top Compact Discs chart on June 1, 1985.
Track listing 2 × LP' – Deutsche Grammophon 415 253
Charts Chart (1985–1986) Peakposition US Billboard Top Compact Discs – Classical 1 US Billboard Top Crossover Albums 8
Highlights version Chart (1986) Peakposition US Billboard Top Crossover Albums 5
Awards Year Award type Categories Results 1986 Grammy Awards Best Cast Show Album
References
External links "The Lyric Stage: Sept. 9 – Bernstein Conducts West Side Story" by Mike Harrah (September 9, 2018), WWFM (58 minutes)