| "Who more winning than magnetic character-leading man Mandy Patinkin,
riding high from his newfound fame as a concert entertainer (and a new
Emmy for "Chicago Hope"), to plumb heretofore hidden depths of Sancho?
...As for Mr. Patinkin: in duet, his keys are lowered, the better to
create a balance with Mr. Domingo--rendering a tenor part into a baritone
part, which is truly odd, considering how pure a tenor Patinkin is.
Patinkin's solo songs ("I Like Him", "A Little Gossip") remain in their
original keys, but here they suffer by way of simple miscasting. The
role of Sancho is that of a comic foil, usually played by the kind of
actor who has a natural, burlesque reflex. Irving Jacobson on Broadway,
Bernard Spear in London, James Coco in the misbegotten movie. Mr. Patinkin,
though, is a cerebral actor, intense and complicated--his kind of funny
is a very different brand than Sancho's. And of course, his performance
is overintellectualized. It doesn't come from a natural place; instead,
he affects a teeny-tiny Spanish-accented voice--and it sounds like an
affectation; thus, everything that follows is labored and disingenuous."
--Aisle Say Review
"It seems obvious that "Man of La Mancha" is a natural for Placido
Domingo, who has long had a special taste for musical theater works
with Spanish characters and scenes. But who could have predicted that
it would turn out so well - not only Domingo's work in the title role,
but the whole cast right down to a couple of small parts that are taken
(and well taken) by his sons. The music of "Man of La Mancha" can benefit
from classically trained voices, unlike some other Broadway music, and
the singers for this production are superbly chosen, including Mandy
Patinkin as Sancho Panza, Julia Migenes as Aldonza, and Samuel Ramey..."
--Washington
Post
"Recorded six years ago for Sony but held up because of murky
legal snafus, this disc takes you back to when Broadway scores were
re-recorded by opera stars for no particular reason and with mixed results.
This one stars Placido Domingo as Don Quixote. Vocally he's just fine;
dramatically, he's mawkish. Julie Migenes is her hyperdramatic self
as Aldonza, and the vocal gear shifts are jarring. As Sancho, Mandy
Patinkin sings in a creaky, old-man voice and has never been more eccentric.
Could be a fun party record." --USA
Today
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