Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! was first performed in 1943; and was a significant turning point in the history of musical theatre. It was the first musical to put drama and plot to the fore; portrayed by rounded; believable characters.

It swept aside traditions that had their roots in vaudeville – star turns; comic sketches; and endless lines of high-kicking chorus girls. Oklahoma! does feature dance; but in the hands of the choreographer; Agnes de Mille; this was idiomatic to the plot; and revolutionary in terms of the fifteen-minute dream-sequence ballet at the close of Act I.

The first collaboration between composer and writer; the show was a hit; running for more than five years on Broadway; and paving the way for their masterpieces to come. John Wilson’s long-held fascination for researching original musical theatre scores of this period and bringing them anew to modern audiences reaches a milestone with this world première recording of the original score in its entirety (no cuts) and in the original orchestrations for twenty-nine-piece orchestra made by Robert Russell Bennett for the original production.

His outstanding cast features Nathaniel Hackmann; Sierra Boggess; Jamie Parker; Louise Dearman; Sandra Marvin; Rodney Earl Clarke; Nadim Naaman; and Leo Roberts; ably supported by the ‘Oklahoma!’ Ensemble – twenty-two artists drawn from London’s West End.

Wilson comments: ‘I love the connective tissue of the piece; the scene-change music; the ballet; the songs that sometimes get cut; the underscoring. And when so many vastly different new versions are appearing on stage; it’s more important than ever that we have a document of the actual source material.’

Now recorded in Surround Sound and Dolby Atmos, the work is released on double Hybrid SACD. Looking back, and composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II, who controlled the rights to their record-breaking, landmark musical Oklahoma!, took their time putting together a film version, with the movie not arriving until 12 and a half years after the show’s Broadway opening.

But, of course, the songwriters’ unusual power over the production assured that whether it be the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack or this, the Original Score, it would be more faithful than most Hollywood treatments.

The result is an outstanding rendering of the score that gives it a bigger, broader interpretation and has continued to sound impressive over the decades, which may be one reason why the album, which topped the charts upon release and sold more than two million copies, has remained in print continually since it first appeared.

Now with everything added that had, for the most part, been left by the wayside on other compilations, most of what has now been re-incorporated are instrumental underscoring for dance sequences that borrowed from the melodies of the songs (in particular, the 14-minute Out of My Dreams Ballet).

Of course, Roger’s and Hammerstein’s music and lyrics are timeless. The title tune, Oh What Beautiful Morning, Surrey With the Fringe on Top, People Will Say We’re in Love, Everything’s Up-to-Date in Kansas City, I Cain’t Say No, and the others keep playing in your memory long after you’ve heard them.

Disc 1:
Overture - Act I No. 15 Lonely Room
Overture; No. 1, Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’; No. 2, Laurey’s Entrance; No. 3, The Surrey with the Fringe on Top; No. 4, Kansas City; No. 5, The Surrey with the Fringe on Top (Reprise); No. 6, I Cain’t Say No!;No. 7, I Cain’t Say No! (Encore), No. 8, Entrance of Ensemble; No. 9, Many a New Day; No. 10, Many a New Day (Dance and Reprise); No. 11, It’s a Scandal! It’s a Outrage!; No. 12, People Will Say We’re in Love; No. 13, Change of Scene; No. 14, Pore Jud is Daid; No. 15, Lonely Room.

Disc 2:
Act I No. 16 Change of Scene - Act II No. 30 Exit Music
No. 16, Change of Scene; No. 17a, Dream Sequence Melos; No. 17b, Dream Sequence Out of My Dreams; No. 17c, Dream Sequence Interlude to Ballet; No. 17d, Dream Sequence Dream Ballet; No. 18, Entr’acte; No. 19, The Farmer and the Cowman; No. 20, Farmer Dance; No. 21, Change of Scene; No. 22, All er Nothin’; No. 23, Change of Scene; No. 24, People Will Say We’re in Love (Reprise); Nos. 25 & 26, Change of Scene; No. 27, Oklahoma; No. 28, Oklahoma (Encore); No. 29, Finale Ultimo: Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ / People Will Say We’re in Love; No. 30, Exit Music.

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