2018 Critics Choice - American Record Guide
The opening night of Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock was one of the most infamous in history. The attempt to shut down and censor the production resulted in an improvised performance with Blitzstein playing his score on the piano, which has influenced performances of this American masterpiece for decades. Now, this First Complete Recording of The Cradle Will Rock - recorded live at Opera Saratoga in July 2017 - restores Blitzstein’s brilliant original orchestrations to their full glory. Under the baton of conductor John Mauceri and direction of Lawrence Edelson, this remarkable production of the fable of Steeltown USA, corrupted at every social level by the predations and capitalist cupidity of its boss-man, Mr. Mister, was hailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as having “no polite veneer to soften Blitzstein’s social outrage, with a cast that had the scrupulousness of opera but the theatricality of Broadway.” Straddling the worlds of opera, musical theater and popular music, The Cradle Will Rock is as timely and entertaining today as when it first premiered in 1937.
Reviews:
"Blitzstein’s music is a teeming mix of jazz, Broadway and operatic influences. It sizzles in this excellent performance of a work long overdue an authoritative recording.” - Gramophone
“Recommended to anyone with a serious interest in American musical theatre.” - Opera
“Opera Saratoga’s four performances last summer of the musical ‘The Cradle Will Rock’ captured national attention and earned glowing reviews. Now the music has been released in a double CD set by Bridge Records – the first professional recording in the history of Opera Saratoga – and the beauty and accomplishment of the production is once again on full display.” - timesunion
“There’s no denying the righteous punch of Blitzstein’s music – caught somewhere between Kurt Weill and Verdi, with Mozartian recitatives out of Arthur Miller and peppered by popular tunes of the day. A bonus 14-minute commentary by Blitzstein is worth the price of the disc alone.” - Classical Ear
“This is the first complete recording of the score as Blitzstein wrote it. That makes it indispensable.” - San Francisco Classical Voice
“The Cradle Will Rock gave me two shocks. In this indispensable new recording that uses the original orchestration, the first was the unmistakable impact it had on Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. The second was that this opera/theater piece has unmistakable parallels with the current political, economic, social and racial distortions in today’s America. It should go on the road.” - Performing Arts Monterey Bay
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BRIDGE 9511A/B