Star Crossed Lovers / Domingo, Fleming, Barenboim, Chicago SO

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Romeo and Juliet were the original star-crossed lovers; Shakespeare coined the phrase in his tragedy about their young love and tragic death. But the expression can be applied to doomed couples of all kinds: Faust and Marguerite, Othello and Desdemona, and of course Tony and Maria in West Side Story, which updates Romeo and Juliet to modern New York. This recording, taped at a gala concert in Chicago in 1998 and videotaped for a telecast on the PBS series Great Performances, presents music about doomed love composed by Leonard Bernstein, Charles Gounod, Franz Lehar, Duke Ellington, and others, including several Spanish songs that show Plácido Domingo in top form. After all the tragedy, there is a duet that signals one happy ending: the Merry Widow waltz. Domingo and Renée Fleming are two of today's greatest singers, and they live up to their reputations. The voices are too operatic for West Side Story, but Bernstein would have disagreed. For his definitive recording of the show, he chose similar voices: José Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa. --Joe McLellan

Tracks:

West Side Story: Prologue
West Side Story: Tonight
West Side Story: Rumble
West Side Story: Somewhere
Faust: Il se fait tard...O nuit d'amour!
El dia que me quieras
!Quisiera verte y no verte!
Jota castellana
Otello: Gia nella notte densa
In a Sentimental Mood
Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
Prelude to a Kiss
Das Land des Lachelns: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz
Die lustige Witwe: Lippen schweigen

Amazon.com

Romeo and Juliet were the original star-crossed lovers; Shakespeare coined the phrase in his tragedy about their young love and tragic death. But the expression can be applied to doomed couples of all kinds: Faust and Marguerite, Othello and Desdemona, and of course Tony and Maria in West Side Story, which updates Romeo and Juliet to modern New York. This recording, taped at a gala concert in Chicago in 1998 and videotaped for a telecast on the PBS series Great Performances, presents music about doomed love composed by Leonard Bernstein, Charles Gounod, Franz Lehar, Duke Ellington, and others, including several Spanish songs that show Plácido Domingo in top form. After all the tragedy, there is a duet that signals one happy ending: the Merry Widow waltz. Domingo and Renée Fleming are two of today's greatest singers, and they live up to their reputations. The voices are too operatic for West Side Story, but Bernstein would have disagreed. For his definitive recording of the show, he chose similar voices: José Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews:

Terrible.......2002-09-01

I must say that this album was not what I had hoped, and as it was my introduction to Renee Fleming, it was sometime before I bought another of her CDs. Domingo, I would hope, would have better judgement in his recordings, for I found this album nowhere near standard.

Please only purchase this item if you have enjoyed better works from both artists, for it was my introdution to them both, and I regret to say that I was most dissapointed! ~

How Can You Give This Less Then Five Stars ???.......2002-08-16

This recording is just great. When I first saw it in the store, I was so affraid that this would be a live recording. Its not! Yay! The only thing I did not like about this recording was the West Side Store Prologue. Renée would make a really good Maria. Placdio would not make that great of a Tony. He really is limited to opera and art song. Renée, however, can do it all. I really love Renée's "Prelude to a Kiss". I have this song on a recording with Kathleen Battle and I have to say that I really prefer Renée's rendition much better. I say so because I think jazz should be for bigger voices. Renée shines on this recording and blows Placido out of the water. Get this for Renée but not for Placido.

This is really very nice!.......2002-02-17

I loved this. I thought Renée was just wonderful. It's so wonderful when we have opera singers who grace our ears with doing something out of there element and doing it PHENOMINALLY!! So it's nice to have Renée singing the "Tonight" duet with Domingo in West Side Story. But I do agree with the reviewer below me, in that Domingo sounds a little operatic for this role. After all, it is a musical (not everyone's as versatile as our diva). Her "Somewhere" is just gorgeous, althought, my favorite "Somewhere" is sung by Jessye Norman (for all you West Side Story finatics out there). My personal favorites on this disc are the jazz songs by Renée. Who knew she had such a talent for jazz? I wish there were more Renée Fleming jazz recordings out there.

Below Their Standards.......2000-02-22

While both Domingo and Fleming are among today's outstanding singers, this is a very dissappointing disc. Even in the Othello selection, which comes from their normal operatic repetoire, they are not engaging. The dramatic tension is suprisingly slack. Unless you need to have every disk they made, pass this one up.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

Devil Pt.1 [CD-single] [Import]

Violin Concerto in D Major

The Motets Of Heinrich Schütz

Only Country 1985-1989

Trick Me Pt.2 [CD-single] [Import]

Tristan Und Isolde [Box set]

The Treasury Shows, Vol. 10 [Live]

Trio Matamoros El Y Guaracheros De Oriente, Cuba Guajira Cubana Vol. I, Son De La Loma - El Amor De Mi Bohio - Guateque Campesino

Tito Unlimited [Import]

Passage

Here Comes the Indian