Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast Recording)

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Tony winners Patti Lupone and Michael Cerveris star in this daring 2005 Broadway revival, with ten actor-musicians serving as onstage orchestra. Director John Doyle, says the New York Times, “grasps the wondrous multifacetedness of Mr. Sondheim's most ravishing score.”

Description

Nonesuch released the cast album from the current critically acclaimed Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, in January 2006. Originally produced in 1979, Sweeney Todd had not been seen on Broadway in more than 16 years. Tony Award winners Patti LuPone (Evita) and Michael Cerveris (Assassins) lead the ten-person cast as Mrs. Lovett / Tuba, Percussion and Sweeney Todd / Guitar. The record was produced by Tommy Krasker.

Directed and designed by John Doyle, with music supervision and orchestrations by Sarah Travis, Sweeney Todd received numerous accolades since its  opening at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in October 2005. The New York Times’ Anthony Tommasini says, “Whatever Ms. Travis’s scoring loses in strength it gains in subtlety. Mr. Sondheim’s curious contrapuntal inner voices come through vividly, which brings out the music’s transfixing strangeness. Also, because the balances favor the singers, Mr. Sondheim’s ingenious lyrics leap off the stage at you. Though I will never tire of hearing [Jonathan] Tunick’s remarkable orchestration on the original cast album, I find Ms. Travis’s work revelatory.”

Rounding out the cast—which is entirely composed of musician/actors, who also act as the orchestra—are: John Arbo (Jonas Fogg / Bass), Donna Lynne Champlin (Pirelli / Accordion, Piano, Flute), Diana DiMarzio (Beggar Woman / Clarinet), Manoel Felciano (Tobias / Violin, Clarinet, Piano), Alexander Gemignani (The Beadle / Piano, Trumpet), Mark Jacoby (Judge Turpin / Trumpet, Percussion), Benjamin Magnuson (Anthony / Cello, Piano), and Lauren Molina (Johanna / Cello). The Sweeney Todd book was written by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond.

Sweeney Todd is based on the 19th-century legend of a London barber, who is driven to crime when a malevolent judge takes his wife and child from him. His plan for revenge includes a cutthroat partnership with Mrs. Lovett, an enterprising businesswomen, who is soon producing the tastiest meat pies in London.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s previous Nonesuch recordings include Into the Woods (2002), The Frogs / Evening Primrose (2001), Saturday Night (2000), and Bounce (2004).

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Tommy Krasker
Recorded November 14-15, 2005, at Avatar Studios, NY, NY
Engineered by Tom Lazarus
Assistant Engineers:  Peter Doris, Chad Lupo
Edited by Bart Migal at Classic Sound, NY, NY
Mixed by Tom Lazarus at Classic Sound
Mastered by Joe Lambert at TruTone Mastering, NY, NY

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Design by Think Studio

Recording executive producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

79946

Number of Discs in Set
2discs
ns_album_artistid
105
ns_album_id
598
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Stephen Sondheim
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Patti LuPone, tuba, percussion
Michael Cerveris, guitar
Mark Jacoby, trumpet, percussion
Donna Lynne Champlin, accordion, piano, flute
Manoel Felciano, violin, clarinet, piano
Alexander Gemignani, piano, trumpet
John Arbo, bass
Diana DiMarzio, clarinet
Benjamin Magnuson, cello, piano
Lauren Molina, cello

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597994629BUN
Label
MP3
Price
13.00
UPC
075597994667
Label
CD+MP3 (SALE)
Price
0.00
UPC
075597994629
  • 79946

News & Reviews

  • Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim died at his home in Connecticut today at the age of 91. "An intellectually rigorous artist who perpetually sought new creative paths, Mr. Sondheim was the theater’s most revered and influential composer-lyricist of the last half of the 20th century," writes the New York Times in its obituary. Several Broadway, film, and original cast productions of his works have been recorded for Nonesuch Records, including A Little Night Music, Road Show, Sweeney Todd, Company, Bounce, Into the Woods, The Frogs, Evening Primrose, Saturday Night, and Gypsy. His songs have also been featured on Nonesuch albums by Mandy Patinkin, Audra McDonald, and Dawn Upshaw.

  • Steve Reich will publish Conversations, a new book, via HarperCollins' Hanover Square Press, on March 8, 2022. In the book, the composer speaks with collaborators, fellow composers, musicians, and visual artists influenced by his work—including Nonesuch Records Chairman Emeritus Robert Hurwitz, Jonny Greenwood, Kronos Quartet's David Harrington, Stephen Sondheim, Nico Muhly, Brian Eno, Michael Gordon, and others—to reflect on his prolific career as a composer as well as the music that inspired him and that has been inspired by him. The New York Times calls it "a surprising, enlightening series of conversations that shed new light on the music and career of 'our greatest living composer.'" The New Yorker says: "Through this series of insightful, wide-ranging conversations starting from his student days to the present pandemic, we gain a compelling glimpse into the mind of 'the most original musical thinker of our time.'"

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch released the cast album from the current critically acclaimed Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, in January 2006. Originally produced in 1979, Sweeney Todd had not been seen on Broadway in more than 16 years. Tony Award winners Patti LuPone (Evita) and Michael Cerveris (Assassins) lead the ten-person cast as Mrs. Lovett / Tuba, Percussion and Sweeney Todd / Guitar. The record was produced by Tommy Krasker.

    Directed and designed by John Doyle, with music supervision and orchestrations by Sarah Travis, Sweeney Todd received numerous accolades since its  opening at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in October 2005. The New York Times’ Anthony Tommasini says, “Whatever Ms. Travis’s scoring loses in strength it gains in subtlety. Mr. Sondheim’s curious contrapuntal inner voices come through vividly, which brings out the music’s transfixing strangeness. Also, because the balances favor the singers, Mr. Sondheim’s ingenious lyrics leap off the stage at you. Though I will never tire of hearing [Jonathan] Tunick’s remarkable orchestration on the original cast album, I find Ms. Travis’s work revelatory.”

    Rounding out the cast—which is entirely composed of musician/actors, who also act as the orchestra—are: John Arbo (Jonas Fogg / Bass), Donna Lynne Champlin (Pirelli / Accordion, Piano, Flute), Diana DiMarzio (Beggar Woman / Clarinet), Manoel Felciano (Tobias / Violin, Clarinet, Piano), Alexander Gemignani (The Beadle / Piano, Trumpet), Mark Jacoby (Judge Turpin / Trumpet, Percussion), Benjamin Magnuson (Anthony / Cello, Piano), and Lauren Molina (Johanna / Cello). The Sweeney Todd book was written by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond.

    Sweeney Todd is based on the 19th-century legend of a London barber, who is driven to crime when a malevolent judge takes his wife and child from him. His plan for revenge includes a cutthroat partnership with Mrs. Lovett, an enterprising businesswomen, who is soon producing the tastiest meat pies in London.

    Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s previous Nonesuch recordings include Into the Woods (2002), The Frogs / Evening Primrose (2001), Saturday Night (2000), and Bounce (2004).

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Patti LuPone, tuba, percussion
    Michael Cerveris, guitar
    Mark Jacoby, trumpet, percussion
    Donna Lynne Champlin, accordion, piano, flute
    Manoel Felciano, violin, clarinet, piano
    Alexander Gemignani, piano, trumpet
    John Arbo, bass
    Diana DiMarzio, clarinet
    Benjamin Magnuson, cello, piano
    Lauren Molina, cello

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Tommy Krasker
    Recorded November 14-15, 2005, at Avatar Studios, NY, NY
    Engineered by Tom Lazarus
    Assistant Engineers:  Peter Doris, Chad Lupo
    Edited by Bart Migal at Classic Sound, NY, NY
    Mixed by Tom Lazarus at Classic Sound
    Mastered by Joe Lambert at TruTone Mastering, NY, NY

    Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

    Design by Think Studio

    Recording executive producer: Robert Hurwitz