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The Original London Cast Recording. This was the first recording I heard, and I think it’s fabulous. The cast, including Lea Salonga, Simon Bowman and Jonathan Pryce, is wonderful. I really like the orchestration and tempo of the songs. One of my favourite parts is “Please”, which is such a pretty piece of music, and done so well by this cast. And the finale is very powerful. Without having seen the show, this recording made it come alive for me. |
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Complete Symphonic Recording. This cast is actually very similar in sound to the London cast. The main difference in the recordings is that this one is more complete, including several small parts of the show which are just lovely, such as the interchange between Kim and Thuy when he finds her again. I don’t like some of the changes to John’s character, and the changes in tempo to the Engineer’s songs, but overall, both recordings are good representations of the musical. I would have a tough time recommending one of them over the other. |
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Stuttgart Cast Recording. I rather enjoy the performances on this CD, but I’ve been told by people who know much more are about it than I do that the German translations are pretty awful. However, if you’re like me, and can’t understand it anyway, it probably won’t bother you. 😉 Uwe Kröger is a really good Chris, and I enjoy Aura Deva as Kim, although not as much as Lea, naturally. If you are a fan of the show, this is definitely worth a listen, but I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the English recordings first. |
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Dutch Cast Recording. After listening to this CD, I have to take back some of the nice things I said about the German recording. 🙂 This one is *much* better. It’s more complete, and the overall production is superior. Linda Wagenmakers and Tony Neef are very good as Kim and Chris, and it’s Charles Azulay as Thuy again, which makes me happy. Stanley Burleson really stands out as John. Probably my biggest complaint is that a few of the orchestrations don’t have the power I’d like, like when Thuy arrives at the wedding, but overall, it’s really good. I still enjoy the English recordings more, but this is a good choice if you’re interested in getting some of the foreign language recordings. |