Carousel (Arkiv version)

A handsome, shiftless amusement park barker, Billy Bigelow. A sweet and gentle homespun mill girl, Julie Jordan. A New England fishing village. A carousel. These are the uncommon ingredients combined in Carousel. Derived from Ferenc Molnár’s “Liliom,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel remains one of their most irresistible creations and greatest successes.

When Julie Jordan falls in love with ne’er-do-well Billy Bigelow, the townspeople’s predictions of disaster fail to dissuade her. She marries Billy, who has his own dire warnings from the jealous Mrs. Mullins, owner of the carousel. Soon, because he’s now a “married man,” Billy is no longer a drawing card at the amusement park. He loses his job, begins berating his bride, goes steadily downhill until . . . he learns he is to become a father. To raise money for the coming child, Billy agrees to help a treacherous pal, Jigger, with a holdup. The robbery leads to a murder and Billy kills himself to avoid capture.

In the closing scenes of Carousel, among the musical theater’s most extraordinary and appealing, Billy Bigelow returns to earth to gain his daughter’s happiness . . . restore his wife’s faith in her love for him . . . and redeem his own soul.

A Note About the Bonus Tracks
The four bonus tracks included here represent the first authorized digital release of excerpts from two early studio recordings of music from Carousel. The abridged version of “If I Loved You” features Doretta Morrow and John Raitt. “What’s the Use of Wond’rin’” is sung by Morrow. Jay Blackton conducts orchestra on these tracks, which first appeared on a 10-inch RCA Victor LP released in 1953. The extended version of “If I Loved You” and the complete version of Billy Bigelow’s “Soliloquy” that follow are taken from a complete recording of Carousel produced by RCA Victor in 1955 with Lehman Engel conducting, featuring American opera stars Robert Merrill as Billy and Patrice Munsel as Julie. Richard Rodgers himself wrote a short liner note for this recording, which he ended with the words, “It is my hope that you will enjoy the splendid artists who have made this album as much as I enjoy them.”