A Little Night Music Reviews
A Little Night Music
‘A Little Night Music,’ a bittersweet tale of romantic longing and furtive liaisons unfolding over a single midsummer’s evening in the Swedish countryside, remains among composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s most admired and best known works, as well as one of his most commercially successful. The musical, inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s classic film ‘Smiles of A Summer Night’ and featuring a book by Hugh Wheeler, logged in 601 performances during its first Broadway run in 1973.
Back then, th
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(out of 22 reviews)
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Review by Mamet Fan for A Little Night Music
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The songs are taken at a pace where you are able to hear every word–a thrill. Some of the arrangements are nice, and almost make up for the lack of size of the “orchestra.” On other tunes, in particular the awful Glamorous Life, which sounds like a bad polka, the lack of instruments and the quality of the arrangements (you can’t call them orchestrations; it’s a busker’s band)really hurt. Also, the Miller’s Son, apart from feeling under-rehearsed (as do a couple of other numbers), makes you wonder why you should listen to this version, when you can hear the balls-out, fully orchestrated one in the original, not to mention A Weekend in the Country (and if you’ve never heard that French horn or whatever it is, in the original, I supposed its absence doesn’t matter, and yet…) On the whole, though, I really missed the lushness of the original, and Tunick’s orchestrations (after you listen to the original a few hundred times for the music and lyrics and the fullness of character in the voices, listen a few hundred more to Tunick’s orchestrations–he’s a lifelong hero of mine (while we’re on the subject, probably my favorite Tunick is his work on Another Hundred People–that rushing force of energy that just keeps building; I still can’t listen without my inhalor.
I really liked the Frederick. He lacks the sense of authority, robustness, and occasional menace (for instance, cf Cariou’s “What was that?” in You Must Meet My Wife; this guy seems flustered, while Cariou seems to be implying a warning–anyway, that’s what I hear), but he’s pretty good, anyway. Henrik, though, seems weak-voiced and insufficiently tormented, and I miss the high notes in Later (though see the French horn above). I was really waiting to hear Angela Lansbury do Liasons–the only reason I bought it. It was a fine performance, but…Lansbury’s is a very fine acting job, while there was no Gingold, only Madame A.
It’s no shame to be no Glynis Johns–no one could ever match her performance, it isn’t possible. Zeta-Jones does a nice job, but why spend your valuable time on earth listening to her modestly okay song-stylings when you can listen, over and over again, to a real person actually living in real time, albeit over and over again?
The ability to hear every single word, some of the arrangements, the guy playing Frederick, Angela Lansbury–all good reasons to listen, at least now and then.
Review by Mark Andrew Lawrence for A Little Night Music
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It goes without saying that the packaging of the new A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC recording is another first rate affair from PS Classics (joining with Nonesuch) including a 2-CD set and a well illustrated 96-page libretto housed in a handsome slipcase. The new recording contained within perfectly captures the sound of the performances of the revival, which opened on Broadway in December 2009 to mostly favorable notices.
How favorably you will regard this set will depend largely of how familiar you are with previous NIGHT MUSIC recordings. The recording of the original 1973 Broadway production (Little Night Music) is such an exquisite cast album that subsequent recordings were always found wanting for one reason or another.
The revival, directed by Trevor Nunn and based on his previous stagings in London and at the Menier Chocolate Factory, provides a fresh interpretation of the material with newly etched performances and chamber-sized orchestra. The performances are different from what we have heard on previous recordings, but that is what helps justify a new recording rather than trying to offer a pale imitation of inimitable original cast.
At first the disc sounds like someone has substituted a disc of Gregorian Chants, but soon Tim Murray leads the orchestra into Jason Carr’s newly orchestrated opening music and we creep back into more familiar territory.
Top billed as Desiree is Catherine Zeta-Jones. Here is someone who can actually sing the role and act it as is apparent from the amount of dialogue included here. The dialogue scenes also allow us to hear more of Angela Lansbury’s acclaimed performances as Madame Armfeldt.
There much more to enjoy including Erin Davie as Charlotte (and allowing to hear some of the character’s better barbs) paired with Aaron Lazar as her philandering husband. His “In Praise of Women” is about as well sung as we will ever hear on records, and her duet with Ramona Mallory on one of the score’s neglected gems “Ev’ry Day a Little Death” is one of the album’s best tracks.
Another segment that is given full singing and acting is the lengthy first act finale “A Weekend in the Country” which again includes the dialogue between the verses giving each section even more dramatic context.
The added dialogue also helps explain the context of the show’s most famous hit song, “Send in the Clowns” since the dialogue that precedes the song is recorded as is the brief exchange in the middle that gives the final verse a different point of view. Columbia’s original recording was already overstuffed at nearly 60 minutes – about the maximum you could fit onto an Lp – so there was no way they could have recorded these. The added luxury of time on a CD (2 discs in fact) allows us to experience more fully how this crucial sequence plays on stage.
No everything on this new recording comes close to matching the sheer perfection of the original. Ramona Mallory’s breathless (at at times very breathy Anne) lacks the quiet sadness that her mother (Victoria) infused into her performance, and is at times too strident when restraint is called for. Leigh Ann Larkin tends to rush the phrasing in “The Miller’s Son” and Alexander Hanson channels a bit too much Noel Coward into his performance as lawyer Frederick Egerman.
The extra dialogue stretches the recording onto a second discs but at 86 minutes it seems curious to have some of teh dialogue included while other segments are omitted. Since the label has gone to expanse and expense of a 2 CD set, why not fill the discs out more giving us a slightly abridged version of the entire show. An idea of what could have been is discovered in the final tracks where for the first time we can enjoy all the little reprises that link the many scenes as our story winds to a conclusion. The argument is that recordings are for music not dialogue, but if that is true then why include any of it. Truth is, with a few edits this recording could probably have been squeezed onto a single disc.
Nevertheless, what is presented here has been intelligently laid out act by act on the two Cd’s and you can easily enjoy the performances even without consulting your libretto. Those who are new to the show will delight in discovering Stephen Sondheim’s dazzling words and music and Hugh Wheeler’s smartly done reduction of Ingmar Bergman’s screenplay for SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT. Those who are already familiar with the original recording may find some individual moments less satisfactory but overall this is a very fine recording of a very fine show.
Review by Good Stuff for A Little Night Music
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What a lovely gift for Stephen Sondheim on the coming occurrence of his 80th birthday. I live far from New York, so I was very happy to learn this beautiful show was to be recorded.
Perhaps most amazing is the fact this show seems to work no matter the configuration. Here the orchestra has been reduced to what I would call a chamber orchestra, and it sounds wonderful. Years ago I saw New York City Opera’s production with Sally Anne Howes and Regina Resnik – completely different, of course – but just as wonderful. I quickly accustomed myself the the lightness of this interpretation, which, I think, helps focus the attention on the characters.
I was concerned that Catherine Zeta-Jones would give us one of those “Hollywood-Stars-Gone-A-Slumming” performances. But no, she’ll have none of that. Judging only from the recording, of course, I think she is absolute magic here. She actually seems to understand the songs. We’re often reminded that Sondheim did not write this role for a trained singer, but for a fine actress. How refreshing that in Zetta-Jones we have a fine actress whose singing voice is quite lovely. This, I think, is a huge stretch for her, and she is to be congratulated.
Everyone else in the cast does just fine, with a special nod to Alexander Hanson. And, of course, Angela Lansbury. She doesn’t erase the memory of the magnificent Hermione Gingold. No one could do that. However, she shows us that there is another way. The years have made her a very wise artist. She knows exactly what she is capable of and, in a most intelligent, dramatic and musical way, gives us everything she’s got. Bless her.
I just heard the cast recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new “Love Never Dies”. Unlike some others, I never compare Mr. Webber and Mr. Sondheim. I think they both do what they do quite well. That said, I can’t help but comment that, with all it’s lush orchestration, myriad characters and Puccinian ripeness, Mr. Webber seems unable to accomplish in 2 1/2 hours what Mr. Sondheim accomplishes here in five minutes: he makes me believe.
Review by D. Lebow for A Little Night Music
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When I listened to this recording for the first time, one thing struck me like a thunderbolt……the new orchestration. It seemed to me that one of the main focal points of the show had been lost. I stewed about this for a few days and then I went back and listened to the album again……and then, I went back and listened to the musical numbers on the original cast recording side by side with this new revival……..Finally, I began to put old memories aside as suddenly I was awakened to the charm of the new production I now feel that I am ready to look at this new cast recording as a stand alone, not as a comparative piece to the original production.
My full review can be found at [...]
Review by JMP for A Little Night Music
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I saw this show in NYC in February and it was very good. I bought this on Tuesday as soon as it was released.
A lot of times when a cast recording is done it is strictly the music and if there is any talking during the song it is left out. I like how in this recording it is left in (for example during send in the clowns when they are chatting during the song that is left in). It is like being right in the audience during the show.
Send in the Clowns was my favorite part of the show and I am glad to see they did a bonus track of catherine singing that solo.