Leonard Bernstein Conducts "West Side Story"

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Filmed in 1984, the feature-length documentary Leonard Bernstein Conducts "West Side Story" follows the composer as he records the first-ever complete recording of his musical-theater masterpiece. Virtually the entire documentary takes place in a New York recording studio with a pick-up orchestra, session singers, and headliners Kiri Te Kanawa (Maria), José Carreras (Tony), Tatiana Troyanos (Anita), and Kurt Ollmann (Riff). The 89-minute program alternates rehearsal footage with complete final takes of the main numbers--including "Tonight," "America," and "Maria"--with limited comments from the principal players. Te Kanawa explains how much the music means to her, Troyanos notes how she grew up in the very streets depicted on stage, and Carreras provides a rare moment of tension when a session ends unsatisfactorily. Bernstein himself is by turns commanding, charming, enthusiastic, and weary. This is a fascinating insight into what happens as a major album is recorded. --Gary S. Dalkin

Description

Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story is a staple of the American theatre. In "The Making of West Side Story" (a bestseller on CD), a legendary cast is led by Jose Carreras, Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos, and Kurt Ollmann--all conducted and supervised by Leonard Bernstein. See and hear the making of a masterpiece--from the first piano rehearsals to the actual recording performances. A must for every fan as well as a rare look inside a recording studio. Includes Bernstein's famous "interruption" of "Maria."

Customer Reviews:

fantastic documentary!.......2007-05-14

I highly reccomend this film and I was so happy to see that it was released on VHS and made available here. This film, recorded in the early 1980s, follows conductor (and composer) Leonard Bernstein as he records a new version of his brilliant WEST SIDE STORY (originally brought the Broadway in the 1950s, and later to the big screen in the Academy Award winning 1961 film) with Spanish tenor Jose Carreras (as Tony), Kiri Te Kanewa (as Maria), Tatyana Troyanos (as Anita) and others. I remember this well. I especially remember the constant bickering between Jose Carreras and Leonard Bernstein over--shall we say--artistic differences.

Ultimately, the end product that comes of this labor of blood, sweat and tears is very successful. It was a bit of a stretch, for me, to believe that Jose Carreras was Tony, a Polish boy, with his pronounced Spanish accent, but he was beautifully expressive. That's called acting and being a believable and versatile opera singer, right? Also, Te Kanewa (from New Zealand), was a bit over-the-top with her pronounced Puerto Rican accent, but I believe she was really just trying to get into character. This was a fascinating account of a musical master at work with other musical masters. Great! Purchase this before it goes out of print.

Great music, great human interest.......2007-01-09

Aside from the wonderful performances, watching Bernstein in action is fascinating. He's the archetype of heroic conductor/leader.

What Carreras said..........2005-10-25

I wish he had let go a real good one in Spanish!! But as some non Italian opera singers do, he swears in polite Italian, which definitely softens it for the cameras... He mutters "Porco Iddio!" (God, you pig!). What a wasted opportunity for a well placed VAFANCULO!!!

Snappy orchestra, excellent chorus, lots of Lenny mugging and woefully miscast principals. Kurt Ollman sings an incongruously effeminate Riff while Te Kanawa and Carreras produce some lovely sounds in completely inadequate accents. Of course, these were the the opera superstars of the early 80's. Today, this would have been done with Fleming and Villazón with comparable results. Only the late great Tatiana Troyanos holds her own as an impassionate Anita.

Still, lots of fun, great sound. Worth replacing your laserdisc or VHS.

A Boffo Production!.......2005-10-21

This video is one of the most amazing performances i've ever witnessed. This behind the scenes look at recording one of the best musicals ever with a high voltage cast shows the whole creative, artistic process at work. Some egos are bruised along the way, tempers flare, but it is obvious that everyone wants this to work-and it does. The music is timeless and never sounded better. The interplay between Mr. Bernstein and the cast is fascinating, particularly between him and Mr. Carreras.
Mr. Carreras stumbling over the word "coming" -he never did get it right-finally led to his storming off the set uttering epithets in Spanish! But he prevailed in the end, hitting a burnished, softly held "Maria" that would raise the hairs on anyones neck. Overall, a very fine performance by all involved
including a "pick up" orchestra that could hold it's own with
anyone. I highly recommend this video. You'll smile when you hear it!

Geniuses at work.......2005-10-16

Almost a year ago I was away on a one week photo workshop. After a few days our teacher treated us to this dvd while saying that "this is to show you that real artists also struggle to achieve what they want. They are not merely superstars that always can deliver at the tip of a hat".......... The film started and we watched the great ensemble of artists giving their all to get the best possible result out of the recording sessions. I have to say it was kind of encouraging for me to watch and to hearing a voice saying "take 132" while the great artists are getting ready to record. It shows that no man is infallible. We're getting a really interesting glimpse into how things are working when an artist is recording an album. I was sitting there watching and then came the clip where Carreras is singing Maria and my mouth just fell wide open. Something went "click" in my head and it's possible that my heart skipped a beat too and I was completely hooked on this absolutely beautiful voice. The first thing I did when returning back home was to order a copy of this dvd and then I started checking out José Carreras and at the moment I'm the proud and delighted owner of a substantial opera collection - all of them of course with Carreras singing the tenor role.

This dvd is showing us clips from rehearsals and recording sessions as well as some brief comments from the singers about how they feel about working with Bernstein; Troyanos and Te Kanawa are talking about their "connection" to the music of West Side Story and of course we have the more or less (in)famous episode where Carreras is cut of in the middle of "Maria" and someone is saying that this was the end of the session and they have to continue the next day. Carreras, who obviously had worked a lot to get into the right mood to sing this song, in addition to the tension because of a vital top G still not recorded, gets cut of and reacts in a very natural way, I think. He utters a few words in Spanish; (not saying anything nice, I guess) collects his notes and then storms out of the studio. However, the next day he returns in resplendent voice and delivers his top note without any seemingly problems.....

It's also really fun watching the recording of "America" where the artists in addition to Bernstein himself are literally dancing around the studio. I just love watching this. I especially love the look on the face of one of the singers when the song ends; you can see the satisfaction just glowing, because she knows they have pulled it off perfectly.

There are lots of things I could say about this dvd, but I don't want to spoil all the fun for those who haven't watched it yet. What I can say is that this is a "spirited" injection for all those people out there struggling to achieve something, in addition to being a wonderful testament to Bernstein and his music as well as the musicianship of Carreras, Te Kanawa and the late Tatia Troyanos. Don't miss this opportunity to watch real geniuses at work......

PS. I just have to add that "my" workshop ended with almost all the participants going around singing "I feel pretty", becuase we felt that we had triumphed at last, and I can tell you that this song is really "contagious"....

Leonard Bernstein Conducts "West Side Story" (2002)

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Leonard Bernstein Conducts "West Side Story" (2002)
Director: Christopher Swann
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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