Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 - Original Broadway Cast Recording

"Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" is a rock opera stylized with pop effects. Its classical leanings indicate an influence by decadent Russian art songs. It sounds like Tolstoy meets "The Threepenny Opera." The script is an adaptation of Volume 2, Part 5 of Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace."

"Great Comet of 1812" was written and composed by Dave Malloy ("Ghost Quartet," "Preludes") in 2012. It was directed by Rachel Chavkin ("Hadestown," Artistic Director of "The TEAM"). It stars Josh Groban in his Broadway debut as Pierre, and Den�e Benton ("The Book of Mormon") as Natasha. The album was recorded at DiMenna Center New York in February 2017.

The Broadway recording by Reprise Records is aurally a superior recording to the original cast recording by Ghostlight records. Recording artist Kevin Killen and his team did a killer job with the mixing; the audio clarity is top notch; the cast sounds very pretty. Yet, to those who relished the raw edges and brasher vocals of the original off-Broadway cast recording, the Broadway recording will disappoint. We cannot even tell if the cast is playing their own instruments. By taking this musical to Broadway, its dirty edge is buffed to a high Hollywood gloss.

In fact, the Broadway recording of "Great Comet" sounds like a Disney musical. Josh Groban is its princely star. Groban has a gorgeous crooner voice. He could make the phone book sound lyrical, but his work on this CD doesn't capture the tortured ethos of outsider Pierre. He could learn much from cast members Grace McLean (Marya Dmitriyevna) and Nicholas Belton (Old Prince Bolkonsky) who give us a taste of what it is to act through their vocal lines.

Den�e Benton sings beautifully as Natasha. She gracefully shapes "No One Else" with princess-like innocence. Unlike Groban, her character arc is one countless ingenues have navigated before. Her sweetness comes across with no difficulty.

The two-CD recording includes the usual booklet. The front has a helpful family tree identifying the many relationships between the many characters. Lyric transcriptions for the tracks take up the majority of the book. In the back is a brief, uncomplicated show synopsis that asks more questions than it answers. It ends with cast, musician and crew credits. There are no fun, provocative production photos.

"Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" earned 12 Tony nominations for 2017. Honors include nominations for Best Musical, Best Lead Actor in a musical (Josh Groban), Best Lead Actress in a musical (Den�e Benton), and Best Direction of a Musical (Rachel Chavkin).

"Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812"
Created by Dave Malloy
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
Reprise Records (NYC)
https://joshgroban.lnk.to/GCCastRecording
2-CD album
$18.99