MAN OF LA MANCHA – 2021 Remastered Edition of 2000 Cast Recording (JAY RECORDS – CDJAY2 1304)
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
One of my favourite all-time musicals on record, Man of La Mancha never fails to thrill me and I have quite a collection of different recordings in my library – some thrilling, some chilling… This recording falls into the former category.
There already is a recording with dialogue in English with Keith Michell as Don Quixote and I always thought it was complete, but it does have some missing scenes, therefore making this recording the definitive one with all scenes and dialogue intact. Normally dialogue just gets in the way when you simply want to listen to the music but, for some strange reason, with Man of La Mancha, the dialogue actually enhances the whole experience. Jay Records has remastered the 2000 recording with a new technique they call DigiMix – I have no idea what that is but all I can tell you is that it works. Every detail seems to come alive on the recording.
Ron Raines as Don Quixote is strong in character and in great voice, leading a splendid cast. Avery Saltzman, an outstanding Canadian character actor, thankfully doesn’t fall into the trap of over-gilding the comedy in his role of Sancho, the faithful manservant. Kim Criswell, as Aldonza (Dulcinea), gives a slightly different take on the character than has previously been expected. Usually, the role is played as a bad-tempered scullery whore all the way through but here she gives the softer side of this unfortunate woman until she erupts with her song ‘Aldonza’ in Act II. This actually makes the eruption so much more powerful – and Criswell’s lungs give forth in grand style!
The cast also includes Della Jones, Eliza Lumley, Hal Fowler, Hilton Marlton, Alistair Robbins, George Dvorsky, Nick Pound, Anita Pashley and The Maida Vale Singers, all accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by David Charles Abell.
I can’t recommend this new remastered recording enough. I won’t even compare it to earlier versions as it stands out on its own merit. Thank you Jay Records.
Nick Wakeham
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.