This musical has gone through a number of stages, and nowhere is that more clearly shown than on the various recordings of it.
 |
The Concept Recording. This one features only two performers: Colm Wilkinson and Linda Eder (as both Lisa *and* Lucy!). There are definitely some interesting parts to this, including a number of songs that are not found on any of the other recordings, such as “Love Has Come of Age”, “Till You Came Into My Life” and “We Still Have Time”. The orchestrations in some parts are really nice…very simple, with a gorgeous piano part. But overall, just from listening to this, the story doesn’t make much sense!! 🙂 |
 |
The Complete Recording. WOW! That is all I have to say. 🙂 This was the first recording I heard, and it really blew me away. The music is perhaps not as powerful or inspiring as other shows, but there are some lovely parts. I still maintain that listening to “This is the Moment” can inspire you to do ANYTHING. *Especially* as sung by the one and only Anthony Warlow. He is the main reason I adore this show so much…he brought the characters to life in the most compelling fashion. He simply shines on songs like “I Need to Know” and “The World Has Gone Insane”. Linda Eder is on this recording as well, and I *love* the song “Bring on the Men”! It’s so much fun!! I also love the man who plays John on this recording…he has a lovely voice. “His Work and Nothing More” is one of my favourite parts, especially the harmony between Jekyll and John. But my absolute FAVOURITE part of this recording (as anyone who has lived in the vicinity of me since I got this CD will know!) is the part of the Confrontation that goes, “I’ll live inside you forever! With Satan himself by my side!” I just can’t describe how amazingly Anthony does those lines. 🙂 |
 |
The Original Broadway Cast. I was thrilled to hear that this show would finally be opening on Broadway, though I was disappointed that Anthony would not be in it. I had heard about the changes to the show, but I wasn’t sure how extensive they would be. Well, extensive doesn’t even begin to cover it. 🙂 Robert Cuccioli is Jekyll/Hyde here, and though there are some good parts to his performance, his vocal presentation is nowhere near Anthony’s. I really miss the song “I Need to Know”…”Lost in the Darkness” is nice, but it gives the whole show an entirely different meaning. I have to say I *really* like the orchestration of “Facade”…it took me a while to get used to, but now I find it much more powerful than the Complete recording. I also have to make mention of Christiane Noll as Emma…she’s got a wonderful voice. Other orchestration changes really did nothing for me though, especially “It’s a Dangerous Game”. This version leaves me totally cold. And I find that the chorus, overall, sounds better on this recording, but certain people, like John and Sir Danvers are much worse! |
 |
The Original Bremen Cast. I was very excited to hear that Ethan Freeman would be originating the role of Jekyll/Hyde in Germany, and this recording shows why. Though it still doesn’t capture all the wonderful subtelties of his live performance, he still makes a very compelling personality (or two personalities, I should say! :-). Lyn Liechty as Lucy is *fabulous*…what a voice! The rest of the chorus is also quite good. My major complaint with this recording would have to be that it’s only a highlights one! There’s talk they may release a complete recording of it soon, and I hope they do. But for now, this one is definitely worth a listen, even if you don’t understand any German! 🙂 |
 |
The Original Hungarian Cast. Another highlights recording, this one features “Lost in the Darkness” instead of “I Need to Know” and has all the “Facade” reprises, but has “Bring on the Men” and “Girls of the Night” as well. I quite enjoy the cast here! László Molnár is very good as Jekyll/Hyde, with a good differentiation between the two, and I was familiar with Kata Janza before, and she sounds great here as Lucy. The orchestrations are also very nice here (with some rocking going on in the Facade reprises!). The Hungarian language is a bit different to listen to at first, but if you’re a fan of this show, you will want this for a complete collection! And if you’re Hungarian, I imagine you’d enjoy it even more. 🙂 |
 |
The Original Vienna Cast. This show is getting up there as one of the ones that I own the most recordings of. 🙂 I bought this CD mostly to hear a different interpretation of the German version, as plot-wise, it is pretty close to the Bremen version, with only a few minor differences. I was especially curious about Thomas Borchert as Jekyll/Hyde, and I have to say that I really, really like him. Maya Hakvoort is a delightful Lisa. And overall, the mix of the CD is a vast improvement over the Bremen one, not to mention the fact that, while still a highlights recording, it does include more songs than its German counterpart. So, as much as I love Ethan, I’d have to say, if you’re going to buy one German recording of the show, I would go with this one. |