Editorial Reviews

Do I Hear a Waltz? is a musical adaptation of Arthur Laurents' 1952 play The Time of the Cuckoo (which also was the source for the 1955 film Summertime) about a middle-aged American spinster who encounters romance during a vacation in Venice, with a libretto by Laurents and songs composed by Richard Rodgers to lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim previously worked with Laurents on West Side Story, Gypsy, and Anyone Can Whistle, and he was a protégé of Rodgers' longtime lyricist, the late Oscar Hammerstein II. Despite the pedigrees of the creators, the show opened to negative reviews, which is explained only partly by the score as heard on this cast recording. Elizabeth Allen, in the lead role, was criticized with backhanded compliments for being too young and attractive for the part, flaws not apparent on the album. Sergio Franchi, as her romantic partner, also came in for criticism, but comes off much better here. And the small supporting cast, featuring Carol Bruce as the proprietor of a pension, is also impressive. But the songs, for the most part, are not memorable. Certainly, there are no hits to add to Rodgers' lengthy list. Curiously, as a lyricist, Sondheim is more reminiscent of Rodgers' earlier partner, Lorenz Hart, in that he is more distinctive when being witty in a patter song like "This Week, Americans" or "What Do We Do? We Fly!" than in the romantic ballads. Do I Hear a Waltz? is actually a bittersweet story in which love and marriage come in for considerable criticism, rather than a conventional romantic comedy, and the words sometimes seem to undercut Rodgers' melodic music. William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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