The racial element – with the Puerto Rican Sharks taunted by the white Jets – resonated with Bernstein, who had struggled through anti-Semitism as a younger man. It struck them as the perfect framing for the updating of 'Romeo and Juliet' that they had been searching for. The idea for 'West Side Story' supposedly came about when Bernstein and playwright Arthur Laurents were sat around a pool in Hollywood and came across a newspaper story about gang warfare. However, many people will say that 'West Side Story' is the great American opera." She said he spent his whole life "wishing he could write the great American opera. "He had to work all the harder to get people to focus on his other works, especially his symphonic works." "It became a sort of albatross around his neck," his daughter told Britain's Radio Times. The irascible Bernstein, who was head of the New York Philharmonic by then, also grew tired of constantly being reminded of his most famous work. "The music of 'West Side Story' transcends classical music, with elements of jazz, be-bop and Latin rhythms," he added.Īlthough the operatic recording went down as a classic of the genre, it was a fraught process, with Bernstein famously throwing a tantrum at Spanish star tenor Jose Carreras as he struggled with the pronunciation and pacing of playing the all-American Tony. "In the documentary about the recording, you can hear him saying that he thought it would have aged badly, but it hadn't at all," said Laurent Valiere, host of a new podcast about the movie. Having never actually conducted his own score – either for the stage or screen versions – he was invited to re-record it with opera singers in 1984.
The Wu-Tang's lyrics over the sample – "Knew this bitch named Traj, she had a hella fine ashcan ass" – seem rather distant from the vibe of the original, though that only emphasises how deeply the musical had embedded itself in American culture.īernstein, who died in 1990, had not expected the score to have such a long life. The inclusions were less obvious when it came to the Wu-Tang Clan sampling elements for 'Maria' in 1997, from the song of the same name in 'West Side Story'. One of the pioneers of hard rock, Alice Cooper, also mined the musical for inspiration on his 'Gutter Cat vs The Jets' in 1972, using the theme song from one of the rival gangs in the story. Three decades after its appearance, Metallica used a clip from one of its biggest tunes, 'America', as the surprise intro to 'Don't Tread On Me' on their seminal 'Black Album'. Early reviews suggest that Steven Spielberg's new film version proves the music still resonates today. Second St., Phoenix.The original play first appeared on Broadway in 1957, before transferring to the silver screen in 1961. Follow him at /LengelOnTheater and /KerryLengel. “It’s the perfect blending of what a serious composer could bring to a popular genre,” he says. But “West Side Story” set a new bar that has never been matched. In “On the Town,” Kapilow says, “I Can Cook” was the composer’s declaration that he could match the jazz-influenced Broadway songsmiths of the day. prior to the release of steven spielberg’s film adaptation of west side story on friday, dec. But there are no asterisks attached to Bernstein’s musical-theater masterpiece, 1957’s “West Side Story.” “Candide” is a problematic work, with gorgeous music but a libretto that has gone through multiple permutations. “There are elements of jazz, elements of pastiche with the mambo, and his great skill as a classical composer and orchestrator.” He composed ‘West Side Story’ “He was a great believer in eclecticism,” says Joe Colaneri, conductor for Arizona Opera’s production. “Candide,” his 1956 operetta, is a prime example of his wide-ranging influences, with the coloratura soprano fireworks of “Glitter and Be Gay” and an overture that’s become an orchestral favorite. But one of the things that’s so impressive is he was as facile and natural in ‘On the Town’ on Broadway as he was in the classical concert hall. “You know, there’s that great Ellington quote, ‘There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind.’ And Bernstein was like that … He was lambasted for going between the genres. “For him there really were no divisions between music,” Kapilow says. In 1944, he premiered his first symphony, the “Jeremiah” his first ballet, “Fancy Free” and his first Broadway musical, “On the Town.”
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