Cheap Which Witch (1993 London Cast) (Music) (Benedicte Adrian, Ingrid Bjornov, Ingrid Hesketh-Harvey) Price

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Customer Reviews of Which Witch (1993 London Cast)

Spine chilling
I got this CD as a birthday present from a friend of mine, and honestly I have to admit that I didn't listen to it right away... I thought the music wouldn't interest me at all. My friend told me to listen to the track called "Eternally", and so I did. And I sat there, stunned, listening. Most of the music on this double CD album is magic! It's hard to explain why. I think that you either love or hate this album. I notice that the track list Amazon has put on the top of this page, is incorrect; there's actually around 45 tracks here.
As a start, I would like to mention that the solists are very good. Benedicte Adrian has got a floating, but still powerful coloratura, and apart from a few nazal parts ("Si si", "Daniel do not die"), she really made a huge impression on me. The fact that she is extremely beautiful as well, makes her quite perfect for the role. Graham Bickley is also impressive, a high barytone which get to show off his voice in the "Bishops aria". And yes - he is good looking... Billy Hartman as Cardinal Gonzaga seems to right for the role, with his deeeeeeeep voice (check out "...little devils". Other solists I'd like to mention, is Vivien Parry, a strong mezzo soprano, in the role of the bishops sister, and Samantha Lavender in the lovely tune "Eternally".
The story, shortly told: The year is 1537. Maria Vittoria, a rich Italian girl, is to wed an even richer German bankier, but she already loves another German - her father confessor Bishop Daniel. Luckilly, he loves her too, and they run away to his hometown Heidelberg. But the bishops sister has planned that Daniel is to become a Cardinal, or even a Pope, and a mistress is not the way of getting there.. So she secretly poisons Daniel, and claims that Maria is a witch and that she has bewitched him. How it ends? You'll never know unless you buy this CD...
Of course the CD has a few bad sides. Some of the songs is musical theatre at it's worst ("Little Witch", "True believers"), but they represent such a small part of this amazing musical, so don't mind them.
The double CD also contains two small books, one with a picture from every scene from the musical, and one libretto with the lyrics and all of what is happening which you can't understand with the CD alone. The cover is just too awful; I bet a lot of people didn't buy the CD because of it... Don't mind that either.
I hope you'll enjoy it as much as me!

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A Sheer Disaster of Musical Theatre!
I purchased the complete London Cast Recording, on 2 cds, of `Which Witch' some time ago - just out of curiosity. I love musicals that come from countries outside the U.S. (`Kristina fran Duvemala', `Elisabeth,' and `Tanz der Vampire' to name a few). I was excited to hear what this so-called "operamusical" had to offer.

After many listens, the one conclusion I have come to is that in a collection of about 100 musicals, `Footloose' is the only one that comes close to the tragic trash that is `Which Witch.'

What is saddening, is that there are some fundamentals of a great musical within this dribble, but the execution, many moments within the score, and banal lyrics distract from any enjoyment and worth that is contained within its pages.

The absolute worst aspect of this recording is the leads: Benedicte Adrian and Graham Bickley.

Adrian has a beautiful voice, but as a creator of the show (she co-wrote the score) she should have recognized her vocal limits and altered the score, or had another actress sing the lead.

Adrian could not handle the "operatic" demands of the role she helped to create. This is especially evidenced in "The End." I saw a story on Playbill Online - just search for `Which Witch' it's the only story. Reportedly, as the show prepared to close, tickets were offered to other West End shows to fill an otherwise almost empty theatre. During the performance, Adrian struggled during "The End" brutally botching the high notes. Things got out of control. The audience (made up of the cast and crews of other shows) began to ridicule and jeer Adrian during her performance, causing the actress to flee the stage in tears. I sympathize with her - but she should have quelled her ego enough to recognize her vocal limits. Had she, this horrible incident would not have happened.
Furthermore, the demands of being a major creative force and the star of the same show proved too much to handle - they probably would be for anyone.

There are some moments Adrian shines and sings so gentle and beautifully, "Midsummer Night" is one of them. It's simply gorgeous in music, lyric, and singing. This is the greatest moment in this show.

Bickley is an utter disaster in singing off key and with no emotion what so ever. `Which Witch' was Bickley's follow up to his previous theatrical disaster, `Metropolis.' Unlike in `Which Witch,' Bickley sung beautifully in `Metropolis.'

Together - the pair are completely unconvincing as forbidden lovers. They fail miserably in such "love" numbers as "Yours," "You Are My Love," and "Daniel Do Not Die." Lyrically these songs come across as some type of bad joke with totally sophomoric lyrics. The only moment where I think these to "work" together is in "Confession" - although again - an emotionless performance on the part of Bickley.

As a whole the rest of the cast appears adequate but dry. "Malleus Maleficarum" opens the show so blandly, without any type of energy. It sets the tone for the really dull performance to follow. Choral numbers as a whole are all like this - not driven, no emotion, no wow! "Spectral Evidence" is pretty cool lyrically and performance wise. It is definitely a highlight - one of the few highlights in this show. "Burn the Witches" and "Hallelujah" are triumphs. What a terrifying ending. Here the emotion and power is in full force. What happened during the previous 44 numbers?

The score and lyrics can be heavily criticized here. They tried to incorporate too many musicals styles and it fails. The classical elements are simply stunning - but the rockish numbers are silly and ridiculous.

The previous reviewer compared this to 'Les Miz' and 'Phantom of the Opera.' While Andrew Lloyd Webber was a musical THIEF (Music of the Night - really written by Puccini - listen to 'The Girl of the Golden West') with Phantom, it is in a different league than this dribble. To compare this garbage to 'Les Miz' that's just a plain insult.

"Les Miz" is one of the greatest masterpieces of the musical theater. 'Which Witch' is one of the worst of musical theatre.

I am still amazed that not one person involved with this show did not recognize that:

1....2. Adrian & Bickley were wrong for their roles.
3. They should have pulled it out of London to heavily revise it as it had potential.

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Magic!
I first heard this magic music in 1995, at a friend of mine. From the very start, it kept me thrilled! I later heard that the show didn't succeed in London, and I honestly can't understand why. It contains so many strong songs, like the playful "Si Si", the floating "You are my love", the amazing "Eternally", the rocking "Executioner", the stunning "The End" and the monumental "2.665.866.746.664 little devils"! The heroine Benedicte Adrian has a brilliant, if slightly nasal, voice, and the male principal Graham Bickley is great. And Billy Hartman is COOOOL! If you love "Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Miserables", I guess you'll love "Which Witch" too. I recently got a VHS from a live performance (which is even better than this CD!). I am honestly thrilled and amazed! Or, to quote on of the London reviews: "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered... am I"