After fleeing from the nazi rage in Germany, the revolutionary Kurt Weill ends by be installed in United States where he begins a second and successful theatrical career. And from among all his "American" works, no other serves better as sample button as the splendid Lady in the Dark, a musical comedy with libretto by Moss Hart and lyrics by the great Ira Gershwin. Premiered on January 23rd 1941, in the Alvin Theatre of New York, Weill's score was converted in a curious referring of the transformation of the musical, introducing oniric and psychoanalytical elements; its success was corroborated with its pass to the cinema through the hand of actress Ginger Rogers and director Mitchell Leisen. Musically structured in four big parts that correspond to four dreams that the protagonist describes to her psychiatrist (Glamour Dream, Wedding Dream, Circus Dream and Childhood Dream), it was practically impossible to find available in disk, except for the famous song The Saga of Jenny; now, thanks to the reedition that Sony accomplishes of the end-fifties recording (with a splendid stereo sound), we can listen and enjoy it practically in all its brilliance, even though one must to outline the existence of certain cuts in the score with respect to its reflex on CD. As a fill-up are included several splendid numbers of a 1941 recording, in the voice of Danny Kaye under the baton of the conductor who premiered the work, Maurice Abravanel. Absolutely recomendable.

Rise Stevens, Adolph Green, John Reardon, Stephanie Augustine, Kenneth Bridges, Roger White
Conductor: Lehman Engel

[6 numbers] Danny Kaye
Conductor: Maurice Abravanel
SONY CLASSICAL MHK62869 / 64'

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