Chandos to release world premiere recording of Oklahoma!

Chandos Records is set to release the first ever recording of the complete original score of Rogers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! this Friday (15 September). Performed by Sinfonia of London, led by conductor John Wilson, the world premiere release will coincide with the 80^th anniversary of the work’s premiere performance.

The musical’s original orchestrations, scored by Robert Russell Bennett, have been restored by Bruce Pomahac, who was director of music for the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization for more than 20 years. This week’s recording features soloists Nathaniel Hackmann, Sierra Boggess and Rodney Earl Clarke alongside the Sinfonia of London, which rose to fame in the 1950s and was relaunched by artistic director John Wilson in 2018, going on to win three consecutive BBC Music Magazine Awards and a recent Gramophone Award.

Wilson said: ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! is often cited as the seminal work in the history of the musical - the piece which took us from musical comedy to integrated musical theatre where narrative and characters were developed through song and dance.  It is astonishing that we have had to wait 80 years for a complete, Overture to Exit Music recording - but here it is. To my ears, this great masterpiece in its original instrumental clothing sounds as fresh as the day it was written.’

This autumn Wilson will also embark on an 11-date UK tour with Sinfonia of London later this year with concerts at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Sage Gateshead and Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. The tour, which focuses on music from the Golden Age of Hollywood, will feature performances from special guests Kim Creswell and Jamie Parker.