13 - West Side Story and the Voice

Summary

Bernstein wrote for the voice with a keen understanding of how drama becomes heightened through music. Since West Side Story broke the mould of traditional musical theatre, the vocal demands are equally non-traditional. By examining the vocal writing, one can understand Bernstein’s sense of character and how each musical number propels the story through song. This chapter begins by exploring the vocal writing in depth, specifically the roles of Maria, Tony, Anita, and Riff. The vocal lines reveal the need for specific vocal production, including classical, mix, and belt styles. The second part of the chapter analyses specific performances of those roles in the original Broadway cast recording, the 1984 recording conducted by Bernstein himself with opera singers, the 2009 bilingual Broadway revival, and briefly considers vocal performances from the 2021 film adaptation. The chapter further explores the artists’ stylistic vocal choices and their process for creating these sounds.