Recordings of Saint of Bleecker Street, Half-Past Wednesday and Divine Hair Get Summer Release | Playbill

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News Recordings of Saint of Bleecker Street, Half-Past Wednesday and Divine Hair Get Summer Release Masterworks Broadway continues its campaign to reissue theatre recordings from its deep vault with summer releases of The Saint of Bleecker Street (1955 Broadway cast), Half-Past Wednesday (1962 Off-Broadway cast) and the live album Divine Hair/Mass in F (1971).

Masterworks' ongoing goal is to release "classic cast recordings previously unavailable in the CD era." The recordings will be available as downloads through all major digital service providers and as disc-on-demand, with the original cover art and liner notes, via Arkivmusic.com and Amazon.com.

Also coming this summer are ten recordings available digitally for the first time utilizing the approved master tapes, including Say, Darling, and two live recordings from Noël Coward.

All releases will be accompanied by new album pages and photos on MasterworksBroadway.com.

The July 19 reissue of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Saint of Bleecker Street by composer/librettist Gian Carlo Menotti (Amahl and the Night Visitors) is one of only two operas ever to win the Best Musical citation of the New York Drama Critics Circle. Sung in English, "this powerfully original, melodic musical drama is set in New York's Little Italy," according to Masterworks notes. "It is about a young girl who suffers the stigmata and hears voices, and her brother — an atheist who seeks a more conventional answer to her problems — who can do nothing to keep his neighbors from believing his sister is a saint. Featuring riveting performances from soprano Gabriele Ruggiero and tenor David Poleri, this forgotten gem was recorded under Menotti's supervision, and conducted by Thomas Schippers, who won a Tony Award for his work."

Off-Broadway's Half-Past Wednesday (available Aug. 23) "is a true curiosity from the vault." The modern take on the classic fairy tale "Rumpelstiltskin" starred Dom DeLuise, who was hailed by The New York Times for his performance as the King. "In a 2009 interview, the late DeLuise recognized this show as the catalyst for finding his first agent," according to Masterworks. Featuring music by Robert Colby and lyrics by Colby and Nita Jonas, Half-Past Wednesday was re-titled Rumpelstiltskin, for the recording.

"In April of 1971, as Hair was celebrating the show's third anniversary on Broadway, the Bishop of New York invited Hair to participate in a celebration of the Holy Eucharist with a Mass performed in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine," according to Masterworks notes. "The Mass included selections from the Broadway musical as well as a new work by its composer Galt MacDermot titled Mass in F. It was performed by The Choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Martin's Choir, St. Mary's Choir, Delores Hall, J. Faulton Hodge, Jack W. Jones, Reverend Richard R. Kirk, Reverend Richard Ragni, Reverend Howard Stone and the Broadway Cast of Hair."

Divine Hair/Mass in F, available Sept. 20, "is the live recording of that extraordinary event."

Beginning Aug. 9, Masterworks Broadway will also release authorized master recordings as digital downloads for the first time:

Aug. 9 – Original Broadway cast recording of Say, Darling plus original Off-Broadway cast recordings of The Mad Show, Ernest in Love, Now Is the Time for All Good Men, The Nervous Set and the studio concept album of archy and mehitabel: a back-alley opera (later retitled Shinbone Alley for Broadway).

Sept. 20 – Original Off-Broadway cast recording of By Jupiter, original cast recording of Paris '90 plus "Noël Coward at Las Vegas" and "Noël Coward in New York."

Masterworks Broadway is a label of Sony Masterworks. For email updates and information on Masterworks Broadway, visit www.masterworksbroadway.com.

 
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