Rodgers & Hammerstein
Oklahoma!
Nathaniel Hackmann, Sierra Boggess et al; Sinfonia of London/John Wilson
Chandos CHSA 5322(2)
A musical winning the opera category? is a seminal piece from a period of 20 years-or-so onwards from 1943 in which the musical play came of age,’ reasons conductor John Wilson, ‘and it’s not fanciful to say that some of those pieces have operatic dimensions. In them, there’s a synergy between the stage and the orchestra pit – every instruction in the score has a dramatic implication – and to do them justice, it takes as much care and attention in performance, execution and casting. takes real singing!’
