Frank Wildhorn is a topic of conversation I tend to avoid among theatre enthusiasts. People love him or hate him, it seems. Critics point out his lyricist choices, and this might be one reason why I love non-english versions of his shows. What are they saying during the Prolog? No idea! But it sounds great! I have to be in a certain mood to listen to Wildhorn, and, as you’ll read in a moment, have very mixed feelings about him as a composer.

Count of Monte Cristo is an obvious choice for Wildhorn, the composer known for turning lush literature classics into colorful, outrageous, and lavish scores. Does this show have Wildhorn’s signature power ballad duets with beautiful harmonies (but Linda Eder should actually be singing everything)? Yes! It does. But I can eat up Wildhorn’s melodies like candy, full disclosure. He is my Broadway bubble gum.

Ein Leben Lang, the opening power ballad, sounds like it was cut from Jekyll and Hyde, but it’s a lovely enough melody for me to give it a pass. The musical spaces between the inevitable power ballads are what I find most interesting about this album. Wildhorn steps, ever so slightly, out of his music(al) box, and delivers something more varied. And again, it’s in German so the lyrics are wonderful (I don’t speak German).

I will admit that I typically don’t listen to a Wildhorn song here and Wildhorn song there. When my musical urges point toward Wildhorn, I usually opt to listen to the entire show, rather than highlights, or skipping around. His songs do sometimes get lost within themselves, but I do think the overall musical narrative is consistent with Wildhorn’s brand, and I don’t think that it’s a bad thing.

The track Könige starts with a simple standard power ballad melody, but builds into, what turns into, the climax of the score. I assume it’s the Act 1 Finale. It starts and continues as a solo number, and a second man enters the musical dialouge by the end of the second verse. As the song builds, with no vocal harmonies thusfar, there is a key change near the end that initiates a beautiful moment between the two men singing. They break from their solo verses, and begin a call and response version of the chorus, each man harmonizing with the others’ response, until the song resolves and you are left with chills down your spine. Side note: this German Swiss recording of this particular song blows all the other versions of this song out of the water.

I am aware of the criticism that Wildhorn receives, but I do find his music interesting enough to listen through an entire album, multiple times. I mean from Jekyll & Hyde to Dracula to Civil War, these melodies of his get stuck in my head quite a bit, and I don’t mind listening through an entire Wildhorn album when I get the power ballad itch.

If you haven’t heard Wildhorn’s version of Count, check the link above.

xoxo AB