Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.It looks as if a new recording of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical from John Wilson is going to be an annual event. He has evidently won a loyal following from the many years in which he and his orchestra presented Broadway and Hollywood evenings at the BBC Proms.As with last year’s Oklahoma!, Wilson treats Carousel with all the care and respect of a modern classic. This is the first ever recording to include all the music that was heard at the Broadway premiere in 1943 and in the original orchestration, with well over 100 minutes of music across two discs.Additional items include dance sequences, an entr’acte and the full ballet music, together with brief links between scenes. The latter may be surplus to requirements for everyday listening, but they make the recording truly complete.Of all the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Carousel is the one that pushes the boundaries with its extended musical numbers. The focus is carousel worker Billy Bigelow, “a bum with no money”, sung here with bright, keen energy by Nathaniel Hackmann. Sierra Boggess and Mikaela Bennett, Wilson regulars, return as Carrie and Julie. Julian Ovenden makes a brash, ambitious Mr Snow and Francesca Chiejina brings operatic scale to “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.Wilson is inclined to shortchange Carousel’s emotional warmth, but for razor-sharp orchestral playing there is nothing to touch the Sinfonia of London at its virtuoso best.★★★★☆‘Rodgers and Hammerstein: Carousel’ is released by Chandos
