Masterworks Broadway have been busy of late. In their quest to release some older gems on CD, some on CD for the first time, they have recently presented us with four new releases, almost at once.

The first 'new to digital' release is the 1962 Broadway cast of the musical Bravo Giovanni. Based on Howard Shaw’s novel The Crime of Giovanni Venturi, about a restaurant owner whose business is threatened when a fast-food place opens down the street, Bravo Giovanni opened on Broadway in May of 1962 and received Tony nominations for Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Conductor and Musical Director. The cast featured Metropolitan Opera baritone Cesare Siepi, and Broadway veterans Michelle Lee and George S. Irving, as well as Lainie Kazan in her Broadway debut. This digital release of Bravo Giovanni includes a bonus track of Michelle Lee singing one of the show’s stand out songs, 'Steady, Steady' from her 1966 solo album A Taste of the Fantastic.

This is not the first time this has been released since its original LP release on Columbia. It was released on CD by DRG around 10 years ago, and leaves me slightly puzzled why it was considered a candidate for re-release by Masterworks Broadway. I'm not aware of any remastering that's taken place since the DRG release, and there is no difference in the bonus tracks included - i.e., just the one. I tend to think that the people who wanted this in digital form will have bought the CD long ago, so I'm struggling to see the market. Also, I am not aware of any availability of digital booklet - I wasn't supplied one with the release - so you may have to rely on the excellent Broadway Masterworks website for more information if this is your first Bravo Giovanni experience.

The score is a brassy affair, of that there is no doubt. Its style is (not surprisingly) Italian and is extremely operetta influenced in places. It made a refreshing change to your normal Broadway musical, and is certainly a move away from what was Broadway at the time. It's a highly listenable show, but not something that is a vehicle for any hit numbers. In fact, despite several listens, I found the score pretty unmemorable. It's well performed, as you would expect, and they are the stars of the show, rather than the score.

I loved the opening number, which set the scene well, and also the number that is also included as a bonus, 'Steady, Steady'. I also enjoyed 'If I Were The Man', which is a very pleasing ballad, and a rather cleverly constructed 'The Argument' but as I implied above, this isn't going to be a recoding I rush back to.

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Ian Gude