Carousel, with its uneasy blend of fantasy and drama, is the most difficult of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals to bring off without submitting totally to sentimentality. The National Theatre's triumphant 1992 production, however, not only successfully mined the darker elements of the plot but also preserved the essential poetic charm of Hammerstein's love story. As the wayward Billy Bigelow, accidentally killed during a foiled robbery, and his devoted wife Julie Jordan, Michael Hayden and Joanna Riding are both superb actors and excellent singers, and from their first scene-setting duet ("If I loved you") their obvious attraction for each other makes Billy's attempt to redeem himself through heavenly intervention even more moving and believable. Consequently, as "You'll never walk alone" builds to its heart-bursting climax for the finale, and Billy is at last able to reassure Julie that he really did love her, it's guaranteed there won't be a dry eye in the house! The supporting cast is just as impressive, with Katrina Murphy and Clive Rowe an endearing Mr and Mrs Snow, Meg Johnson a warm-hearted Nettie Fowler and Phil Daniels a thoroughly depraved Jigger Craigin. Though the 1956 film soundtrack remains a sumptuous treat, this compelling cast recording is ultimately the more definitive. --Robert Seeley