Three Wishes for Jamie--OBC album on CD

The extensive liner notes detailing the checkered history of this show states: John Raitt possessed possibly the finest male voice on Broadway at that or any other time, a perfect instrument with the deft grace of a lyric baritone but with a tenor's ringing high notes. That is reason enough to give a listen to the original Broadway cast recording of Three Wishes for Jamie.

While there is much to enjoy from this score and the singers presenting it, I can understand why I have never heard any of these songs before. The feel of the score is VERY sentimental and yet the lyrics may be some of the most pedantic and cliche-ridden I've encountered.

The liner notes also make the very apt point that this show and it's fantasy themes and Celtic-like score suffer in comparison to the better shows of Brigadoon and Finian's Rainbow. John Raitt plays the title character, who fakes his own death in Ireland to make his way to Georgia in the American South after an Irish fairy grants him the wishes of a beautiful wife, successful business and a son who will speak the Gaelic language. In Georgia, he falls for Anne Jeffreys, while being pursued by the woman he was engaged to in Ireland (Charlotte Rae). Pretty silly stuff.

Still the singing, particularly of Mr. Raitt, is something to behold. There is indeed a graceful lyric baritone voice, skipping up thirds and fifths with ease and legato. And each song he sings ends with a note F or higher that Mr. Raitt seems to reach without undo effort or without sacrificing his beautiful tone. Anne Jeffreys also possesses a lovely voice; I don't know anything about her. It's fun to hear Charlotte Rae in this character role, but with a strong upper register that she uses for comic effect.

I was interested to read in the liner notes how this show debuted out of town as part of subscription series with the light opera companies of Los Angeles and San Francisco. I know that now non-profits can be involved with the out-of-town tryouts (like that hideous show I saw at the Goodman theater was part of their subscription and was aimed for a Broadway opening) but I hadn't realized the practice went back so far.

Three Wishes for Jamie
Music and lyrics by Ralph Blane
Opened on Broadway in 1952
Cast: John Raitt, Anne Jeffreys, Bert Wheeler, Charlotte Rae

Classical Monday--Trouble in Tahiti

Leonard Bernstein is the ultimate cross-over artist, it seems to me: both in terms of his personal popularity as a conductor and performer, but also in his composing life. The line between his classical compositions and his popular compositions is blurred in his one-act chamber opera Trouble in Tahiti.

As this production created in 2001 for BBC television clearly shows, this is a theater work for opera singers. The range and lyric singing required needs performers with that level of training. But the acting challenges are not without their own demands, particularly for Dinah the primary female character stuck in a loveless marriage. Fortunately, soprano Stephanie Novacek is up to the task on all levels. Baritone Karl Daymond is asked significantly less in the acting department as husband Sam, but delivers on the challenging, rangy music. He looks a bit like a cast member of Madmen, without being as totally hot as John Hamm. The other three singers in the piece are a bit like a Greek chorus popping up and commenting on the action.

The production values of this filming are very good, and the house set is particularly fun to see, with all its 1950s kitchen gadgetry.

The tour de force from the score is the title song "Trouble in Tahiti" sung by Dinah after she storms out of a movie of that name. I have heard this song before, but didn't know how it fit into the story of the opera. Well, I'm still not sure--I think on one level it is supposed to show how Dinah's want of adventure has been squelched by a repressive home life. Regardless if or how it comments on Dinah's predicament, it's a wonderful song, giving its singer opportunity for much vocal game-playing and send-ups.

Trouble in Tahiti
Music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein
Composed in 1952
Produced for BBC Wales in 2001
Released on Opus Arte
Cast: Stephanie Novacek, Karl Daymond, Tom Randle, Toby Stafford-Allen, Mary Hegarty