The 2015-2016 theatre season saw us witnessing the fifth Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. This means it is now proceeded by Show Boat, The Threepenny Opera and Porgy & Bess as the musicals most revived on Broadway. There have been many more than five recordings of the show’s score and so with the requisite cast recording release of the revival, the question comes….do we really need a new revival of Fiddler on the Roof?
A better question – why not? Fiddler’s place as one of the essential American musicals is inarguable and arriving two years after the 50th anniversary of the show feels apt. A new fiddler to carry on the tradition. For musical theatre lovers the biggest draw for this revival wasn’t even Bartlet Sher (director extraordinaire) but Danny Burstein in the centre as Tevye. Burstein remains one of Broadway’s finest thespians and the promise of his Tevye in itself seemed to validate the promise of this new revival. In typical Burstein fashion, from the opening lines Burstein establishes his Tevye as a sensitive one. He is warmer, more charming more sensitive and it makes for an interesting recording. His best moments come in the end in the devastating "Tevye's Denial", featuring Burstein doing career best emoting. To be sure, he acquits himself of all the “on the other hand” comedic monologues but he thrills on the more dramatic one. Burstein is a fascinating singer not just because of his excellent voice but because of his ability to turn a lyric into something different with a change in emphasis. It’s the tool that makes him a standout on the Follies revival and it’s what works for him here. A favourite moment is in “If I Were A Rich Man”. Tevye sings, "And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men, several hours every day. / That would be the sweetest thing of all" and the line becomes not another example of Tevye's outlandish ideas about what being rich means, or misunderstanding what religious scholars do but becomes an aching, potent longing of a poor man to be closer to god. It's key to what makes Burstein works, changing focus. And, incidentally it becomes key to what works about this recording.
What emerges as most interesting about this Fiddler recording is how the most compelling – if not necessarily – the best moments come from the fringes. For example, on first (and second, and third) listen it’s difficult not to be drawn to the “Tevye’s Dream” number not for Burstein’s excellent navigation of Tevye’s sly tall tale but for my favourite individual solo of the recording, Jessica Vosk as a temperamental Fruma Sarah. Of all the Fiddlers, Vosk’s vocals emerge as my favourite of this risen, vengeful wife. She nails the comedy and biting horror of Fruma Sarah’s place in the narrative but also manages the excess. The idea of her role in this dream is to match Tevye’s outlandishnes and she gets it in a way that’s particularly enchanting. The other Jessica in this numbers comes out looking well, too. As a pure singer Jessica Hecht as Golde is not the finest vocalist but her effectiveness as a performer in Tevye’s Dream (excellent on dialogue) is paramount. She nails Golde’s tiredness, her love for Tevye yes but also her exhaustion with him. Later in “Do I Love You” she does sing less accomplished-ly like Burstein but what works about her on the recording is that she telegraphs those emotions just through her voice. It’s fine work.
And, beyond Jessica Vosk’s fantastic vocals the recording is at no short of excellent female voices. Alexandra Silber, Samantha Massell and Melanie Moore as the three daughters have beautiful voices and it’s great they have been committed to longevity in this recording. The arrangement for “Far From the Home I Love” is not my favourite but its delivery is earnest and sincere and the girls all sing beautifully, Moore in particular has a beautiful voice that demands a solo number of her own in some musical one day. Like with Vosk, it’s curious I left the recording satisfied and hoping to see the two of them with more chances to showcase their talent.
And, in its way, what an odd reaction to this Fiddler. With my mind off the centrre and drawn to the edges. Not that the centre isn’t good. Burstein is typically excellent. Perhaps it is indicative of the depths of this musical, each recording presents something different and of course the production here is fine. The orchestra sounds gorgeous and the sound is pristine and the digital recording comes with a note from Sheldon Harnick the last surviving member of the original creative team. This Fiddler is its own treasure.
But, is this ultimate Fiddler, though, you may ask? Is anything? This humongous musical cannot be tamed by a single cast recording; not by Zero’s, not my Topol’s, not by Alfred’s. The nature and beauty of theatre is we keep getting to see songs and characters reinvented. And it’s a delightful norm of theatre that lends us this new recording which does credible justice to the excellent score. For lovers of Burstein, those interested in new female voices, and those in love with Fiddler, why not pick up this recording to take a new look at the score and revel in the great Broadway tradition of new recordings.
Yay, tradition!
*proceeds to do the bottle dance*
