Carmen Jones [Original Broadway Cast] [Bonus Track]

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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - William Ruhlmann
Carmen Jones is lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II's restyling of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen. Where Bizet and his lyric collaborators Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy took novelist Prosper Mérimée's setting among Spanish gypsies working at a cigarette factory in Seville for their 1875 French opera, Hammerstein put it in a parachute factory in South Carolina in the present day and wrote it for an all-black cast. But the story of love, betrayal, and death remained the same, as did the music, minus a couple of arias and in slightly re-orchestrated form, courtesy of Robert Russell Bennett. Casting was a challenge for two reasons: first, the vocal demands of the ...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - William Ruhlmann
Carmen Jones is lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II's restyling of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen. Where Bizet and his lyric collaborators Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy took novelist Prosper Mérimée's setting among Spanish gypsies working at a cigarette factory in Seville for their 1875 French opera, Hammerstein put it in a parachute factory in South Carolina in the present day and wrote it for an all-black cast. But the story of love, betrayal, and death remained the same, as did the music, minus a couple of arias and in slightly re-orchestrated form, courtesy of Robert Russell Bennett. Casting was a challenge for two reasons: first, the vocal demands of the score meant that, as with the opera, two casts had to be employed to alternate performances for the eight-times-a-week schedule, and second, in the still racially restricted time, it was hard to find African-Americans with enough voice training. Luther Saxon, who played one of the Joes aka Don José and does so on this recording, was working in a naval yard when he was cast; Glenn Bryant, who became Husky Miller Escamillo, was a New York police officer on leave. But when they all turned up on Broadway on December 2, 1943, the result was a triumph. Carmen was given a new lease on life in a version in which the "Habanera" became "Dat's Love," the "Toreador Song" was "Stan' up and Fight," and the "Chanson Bohémienne" was now "Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum." The show ran 502 performances. It is unfortunate that Decca Records was able to record only one of the two casts, so that, while Muriel Smith's Carmen is impressive, succeeding generations will not be able to compare it with Muriel Rahn's. But this was in the early days of recording Broadway shows, and we can be thankful there is any record of this masterpiece. The 2003 reissue contains a sticker proclaiming, "First Time on CD," which is not quite true. There was a Japanese CD on MCA, and, in Europe, where the album is out of copyright, Pearl Records released an unauthorized version in 2001. The American reissue contains a performance of "Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum" by Kitty Carlisle with Russ Morgan and His Orchestra as a bonus track.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/25/2003
  • Label: Decca U.S.
  • UPC: 044006678023
  • Catalog Number: 066780
  • Sales rank: 106,085

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 Prelude - Carmen Jones Orchestra (1:59)
  2. 2 Opening Scene. Introducing: Lift 'em Up and Put 'em Down (Changing of t - Carmen Jones Orchestra (2:31)
  3. 3 Dat's Love (Habanera) (3:44)
  4. 4 You Talk Just Like My Maw (Don José-Micaela, Duet) - Carlotta Franzell (4:20)
  5. 5 Dere's a Café on de Corner (Seguidilla) (4:27)
  6. 6 Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum (Gypsy Song) (4:10)
  7. 7 Stan's Up and Fight (Toreador Song) - Glenn Bryant (4:01)
  8. 8 Whizzin' Away Along De Track (Quintet) (4:22)
  9. 9 Dis Flower (Flower Song) - Luther Saxon (4:06)
  10. 10 De Cards Don't Lie (Card Song) - Sibol Cain (4:26)
  11. 11 My Joe (Micaela's Air) - Carlotta Franzell (4:26)
  12. 12 Dat's Our Man (Opening Chorus, Act IV) - Carmen Jones Orchestra (3:35)
  13. 13 Finale - Luther Saxon (3:56)
  14. 14 Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum - Kitty Carlisle Hart (3:08)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Cozy Cole Drums, cast, Soloist
Freddy Randall cast
Albert Bailey cast
Bobby Clarke cast
Bill Dillard cast
Clarence Jones cast
Robert Smith cast
Harold Taylor cast
Valerie Black Dancer
Howard Carter cast
Maithe Marshall cast
Russ Morgan & His Orchestra Ensemble
Joe Green's Novelty Orchestra cast
Lee Allen & His Band cast
Joseph Littau Conductor
Andrew Taylor cast
Frank Green Dancer
Chris Eddy Dancer, cast
Dorothy Williams Dancer
Bobby Woodland cast
Miriam Burton cast
Kitty Carlisle Hart Vocals
Georgetta Willis cast
Richard Montgomery cast
Joseph Noble Dancer
Muriel Smith Vocals, cast
June Hawkins Vocals, cast
Carlo Van Putten cast
Urylee Leonardos Vocals, cast
Richard James Dancer
Hubert Dilworth cast
Bertha Powell cast
William Jones cast
Viola Anderson cast
William Archer cast
Robert Bailey cast
Al Bledger Dancer
Raymond Brooks cast
Carmine Brown cast
Glenn Bryant Vocals, cast
Sibol Cain Vocals, cast
Jack Carr cast
Clarice Crawford cast
Ruth Crumpton cast
William Davis cast
Richard DeVaultier cast
Edwina Divers cast
Anne Dixon cast
George Dosher cast
Marguerite Duncan cast
Tony Fleming Jr. Dancer, cast
Posie Flowers Dancer
Carlotta Franzell Vocals, cast
Awilda Frasier cast
Audrey Graham Dancer
Richard Granady cast
J. Prioreau Gray Dancer
Oliver Hamilton cast
Erona Harris Dancer
Mabel Hart Dancer
Hassard Short Staging
Ethel White Vocals
Carmen Jones Chorus Choir, Chorus
Luther Saxon Vocals
Carmen Jones Orchestra Performing Ensemble
Robert Shaw Choir Director
Jessica Russell Vocals
Dick Montgomery Vocals
Randall Steplight Vocals
Technical Credits
Robert Russell Bennett Liner Notes, Orchestral Arrangements
Oscar Hammerstein II Lyricist, Liner Notes, Foreword
Doug Pomeroy Mastering
Joseph Littau Orchestra Director
Richard Dombrowski Reissue Design
Raoul Pene Dubois Costume Design
Brian Drutman Liner Notes, Reissue Producer
Eugene Loring Choreographer
Charles Friedman Director
Chris Roberts Executive Producer
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