OKLAHOMA! (COMPLETE ORIGINAL SCORE) / JOHN WILSON, SINFONIA OF LONDON

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! was first performed in 1943; and was a significant turning point in the history of musical theatre. It was the first musical to put drama and plot to the fore; portrayed by rounded; believable characters. It swept aside traditions that had their roots in vaudeville – star turns; comic sketches; and endless lines of high-kicking chorus girls. Oklahoma! does feature dance; but in the hands of the choreographer; Agnes de Mille; this was idiomatic to the plot; and revolutionary in terms of the fifteen-minute dream-sequence ballet at the close of Act I.

The first collaboration between composer and writer; the show was a hit; running for more than five years on Broadway; and paving the way for their masterpieces to come. John Wilson’s long-held fascination for researching original musical theater scores of this period and bringing them anew to modern audiences reaches a milestone with this world première recording of the original score in its entirety (no cuts) and in the original orchestrations for twenty-nine-piece orchestra made by Robert Russell Bennett for the original production. His outstanding cast features Nathaniel Hackmann; Sierra Boggess; Jamie Parker; Louise Dearman; Sandra Marvin; Rodney Earl Clarke; Nadim Naaman; and Leo Roberts; ably supported by the ‘Oklahoma!’ Ensemble – twenty-two artists drawn from London’s West End. Wilson comments: ‘I love the connective tissue of the piece; the scene-change music; the ballet; the songs that sometimes get cut; the underscoring. And when so many vastly different new versions are appearing on stage; it’s more important than ever that we have a document of the actual source material.’ -CHANDOS

Disc 1
1 Overture 05:18
2 Opening Act I - 1 Curly: 'Oh, What a Beautiful Morning' 03:19
3 Opening Act I - 2 Laurey: Laurey's Entrance 00:26
4 Opening Act I - 3 Curly, Aunt Eller & Laurey: 'The Surrey with the Fringe on Top' 06:04
5 Opening Act I - 4 Will Parker, Aunt Eller, Ike Skidmore, and Boys: Kansas City' 05:23
6 Opening Act I - 5 Aunt Eller and Curly: 'The Surrey with the Fringe on Top' (Reprise) 00:59
7 Opening Act I - 6 Ado Annie: 'I Cain't Say No!' 03:11
8 Opening Act I - 7 Ado Annie: 'I Cain't Say No!' (Encore) 00:57
9 Opening Act I - 8 Will Parker, Ado Annie, Curly, and All: Entrance of Ensemble 00:59
10 Opening Act I - 9 Laurey, Aunt Eller, and Girls: 'Many a New Day' 03:06
11 Opening Act I - 10 Girls and Laurey: 'Many a New Day' (Dance and Reprise) 03:49
12 Opening Act I - 11 Ali Hakim, Men, and Girls: 'It's a Scandal! It's a Outrage!' 03:25
13 Opening Act I - 12 Girls and Laurey: 'People Will Say We're In Love' - 05:55
14 Opening Act I - 13 Change of Scene 02:26
15 Opening Act I - 14 Curly and Jud Fry: 'Pore Jud is Daid' 05:07
16 Opening Act I - 15 Jud Fry: 'Lonely Room' 02:41

Disc 2
1 Act I concluded - 16 Change of Scene 17 Dream Sequence 01:46
2 Act I concluded - a. Melos. Vivian, Gertie Cummings, Ellen, and Kate 00:42
3 Act I concluded - b. Out of My Dreams. Kate, Ellen, Virginia, Vivian, and Laurey 02:31
4 Act I concluded - c. Interlude to Ballet 00:15
5 Act I concluded - d. Dream Ballet 13:28
6 Act I concluded - 18 Entr'acte 02:34
7 Act II - 19 Andrew Carnes, Aunt Eller, Will Parker, Curly, Cord Elam, Farmer, Fred, Ado, Annie, and All: 'The Farmer and the Cowman' 04:22
8 Act II - 20 Farmer Dance. All 02:10
9 Act II - 21 Change of Scene 00:29
10 Act II - 22 Will Parker and Ado Annie: 'All er Nothin' 05:15
11 Act II - 23 Change of Scene 00:30
12 Act II - 24 Curly and Laurey: 'People Will Say We're in Love' (Reprise) 01:34
13 Act II - 25 Change of Scene - 26 Change of Scene 02:11
14 Act II - 27 Laurey, Aunt Eller, Ike Skidmore, Curly, Fred, Cord Elam, Andrew Carnes, and All: 'Oklahoma' 03:17
15 Act II - 28 All: 'Oklahoma' (Encore) 01:07
16 Act II - 29 Finale Ultimo. Ike Skidmore, Curly, and All: 'Oh, What a Beautiful Morning'/'People Will Say We're in Love' 01:53
17 30 Exit Music 02:20

Total Discs Time: 99:43