Mandy Patinkin.(Sound Recording Review)

* "SINGS SONDHEIM" Ford, piano. Texts. Nonesuch 79690

This two-disc celebration of Stephen Sondheim was recorded live in concert in February 2002 at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. Sondheim's work is a gift to singers, satisfying on every level; the music is challenging, and the combination of intellect and emotional clarity in his characters is unparalleled. Veteran Broadway divo Mandy Patinkin's rangy voice remains agile and retains its distinctive sound. While he's toned down his mannerisms, he still occasionally uses the strikingly different colors in his voice somewhat arbitrarily, shooting from his reverberant middle voice into his trademark high croon. In the song "Johanna," from Sweeney Todd, he seems to switch characters mid-line: he's the Judge when he bellows "Till I'm with you then," and Anthony, or even the boy Tobias, when he pops up into his nose for "I'm with you there." This schizophrenic quality works to better effect when he actually portrays Johanna in "Green Finch and Linnet Bird," which he imbues with more manic desperation than most sopranos dare to. It's even more shocking, though arguably appropriate, in "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," which he interprets as someone who actually has gone crazy, complete with rabid mutterings.

A lyricist as clever and purposeful as Sondheim demands complete accuracy, and Patinkin is not always careful with the small words, where Sondheim often hides a subtle turnaround. (Note "Rich ...