Angela Lansbury Dissects The Cast Album Recording Process

By: Jan. 30, 2014
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Legendary Broadway and Hollywood icon Angela Lansbury dissects the process of recording a cast album and reflects on her own most notable recordings as part of a new interview featurette.

The elegant and erudite triple-threat multi-Tony Award-winner shares her immeasurable insight, relating, "Generally, when you make a cast recording your rendition of a song is pretty well set - you don't change anything. The composer is sitting there; the conductor is listening - everybody is on their toes; they want you to give the performance that you give onstage. Now, that always isn't easy...."

Additionally, Lansbury says, "You don't fool around - you don't change anything. And, if you do change something, just for the sake of the microphone or whatever, it's miniscule - it's nothing very much."

Plus, Lansbury shares of listening back to her recorded work years later, "It's quite an eye-opener in many respects. I hear things now that I find interesting because, with me, it's a progression - I start with ANYONE CAN WHISTLE and then I go to MAME, then I go to DEAR WORLD, then I go to PRETTYBELLE and then I go to GYPSY, of course, and then I go to SWEENEY TODD."

"It's totally different," Lansbury concludes of each and every experience - then and now.

More information on Masterworks Broadway is available at the official site here.

View the new featurette on cast albums with Angela Lansbury below.



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