January 1999

"IF EVER I WOULD LEAVE YOU" Songs with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.
English Northern Philharmonia, Daniel.
Texts. DG 289 457 628-2

Bryn Terfel's affable, unaffected presence and first-class voice would seem to make him a natural for recording American musical theater, but his new disc of Broadway and movie songs featuring the lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner is only partially successful. The bass-baritone is at his best in the program's more overtly dramatic pieces. In two songs from Lerner and Kurt Weill's Love Life ("Here I'll Stay" and "This is the Life"), Terfel not only sounds comfortable vocally but demonstrates real understanding of the character who is singing. Every nuance here, from the subtle, light sections to the heavy dramatic endings, makes for great listening. However, "Get Me to the Church on Time" and "With a Little Bit of Luck" -- the lighthearted showstoppers from My Fair Lady -- are exactly the opposite. The rushed performances lack any real humor, and Terfel seems downright silly as Alfred P. Doolittle. Combine this bad casting with a stiff, unidiomatic chorus, and the end result sounds like a parody of a crossover recording.

Three selections from Camelot represent the unevenness found throughout the rest of the program. Terfel sings Lancelot's "If Ever I Would Leave You" beautifully, but his rendition is plagued by a cymbal ride on a trap-set that robs the piece of character and turns it into elevator music. It's nice to hear "How to Handle a Woman" really sung, unlike the usual speak-singing done by the King Arthurs of musical theater past, but Terfel sounds uninspired here. It is in the title song of Camelot that Terfel shows his true crossover talent, singing Arthur's paean with complete opera-house abandon, as if it were one of Figaro's arias, yet still retaining the intimacy of musical theater.

- GARTH BARDSLEY