Weill - Street Scene
Kurt Weill's "Broadway opera" is an amazing mélange of show tunes,  arias, jazz numbers, folk songs, and spirituals, a true musical melting pot that  aptly underlines the rich variety of characters that populate the New York City  tenement block in the 1930s that's the focus of this exceptionally vital and  criminally undervalued work. This 1995 production originated at Houston Grand  Opera, and as presented on disc, it's an exciting way to experience this most  atypical composer's extraordinary musical-theater piece. The acting and singing  of a formidably talented cast, including several excellent youngsters, couldn't  be better, although occasionally their clear diction slips, making one wish for  subtitles (it's sung in English, of course). James Holmes conducts with passion  and precision, and the staging generously evokes a bygone era of American  history, simultaneously looking rundown and part of a dreamscape worth longing  for. The visual and audio presentation is exceptional. Shown in its original  aspect ratio (16x9 enhanced) and heard in full-bodied Dolby 5.1, this is aStreet Scenefor the ages.--Kevin Filipski