Very enjoyable CD
Very pleased with this CD. It arrived in good condition and the music and singing is excellent.

Bernstein's definitive version of his masterful musical/opera
This is a very special recording of "West Side Story" because it is conducted by the composer of the piece the great American musical genius Leonard Bernstein.

The performance is unabashedly operatic in style given the choice of singers and it works beautifully. The orchestral playing and recording are all absolutely superb.

"West Side Story" is a masterful score full of melody and rhythmic complexity. It shows Bernstein at the peak of his creative powers. The lyrics by Stephen Sondheim are clever and although it has some dated elements the story still holds up pretty well.

Highly recommended for musical and opera fans alike.

How it should be
For those of you who think that Mr. Carreras and Dame Te Kanewa are miscast, why in the world would the composer himself chose them for the recording he conducted? I'll tell you why. Because Mr. Bernstein knew that only singers of their caliber could fully display the beauty of the music which he wrote. I completely admit that I am a huge opera fan and aspiring lyric tenor. However I, like a greater majority of you, grew up listening to Broadway musicals, not operas. There are definitely many musicals in which opera singers would be miscast. Not this one. For those of you who have Broadway -style voices etched in your head, I challenge you to try and forget those for just a minute while you listen to Carerras sing "Maria" and try to tell me that anyone can sing it more beautifully. (Although I would sure love to hear Carlo Bergonzi) And Marilyn Horne goes without saying. Buy this recording not only because it is what Bernstein wanted, but because it is the most beautiful, period.

Orchestra 5 stars-Singing 1 star for a 3 star average
The music of West Side will always be a staple of the orchestra, and Bernstein will always be remembered as a fine conductor, composer, and interpreter of modern music.

However, he failed to get his vocalists to act the part in this recording. Carreras, Troyanos, and Te Kanawa fail to give this score the punch it deserves. All of them are excellent operatic vocalists and that is where they needed to stay. I wish Bernstein would have selected vocalists that had a more raw sound with less vibrato. The characters are kids, after all.

On a positive side, the orchestral performance is second to none. I have often imagined putting the original cast vocals with the Bernstein orchestral interpretation. In my opinion this would have been the purest emotional approach for the general public.

My opinion is based on having played in the pit of the musical for amatuer productions twice, and having seen the production professionally twice before having heard the original cast or seen the movie. I am of the generation X after all.

Enjoy

Good but not flawless
Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" is probably more than a musical. It is an opera emplying American jazz, dance, and folk elements in the 20th century. The plot, derived from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", is complex, the rendering into the scenery of the New York West Side in the 1960s is witty and well done. The present recording, conducted by the composer himself, with an international renowned cast, a solid orchestra and very good recording skills of the DG engineers, is probably the best you can find.

However, while the "supporting cast" is excellent (Ollmann, Troyanos, men's and women's groups), I am a bit disappointed by Jose Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa who seem to me the wrong people playing the wrong roles. Sure, they both have great voices, but neither Carreras gets the feeling of a West-Side juvenile gang boss nor does Te Kanawa the young Puerto Rican girl thing right. As the funniest part of all this, Bernstein's daughter and son speak the introduction to "One hand, one heart" (he with a New York accent, she with a Hispanic accent) until the singers take over and now - oops - Maria sings rather with a British voice whereas Tony exhibits the sound of a Hispanic opera tenor (with the according accent).

In spite of these minor flaws, West Side Story is still good for the 21st century, and this is probably the best version available.