this is an entirely excellent cast, both vocally and dramatically...But it’s also Wilson’s keen sense of style, and equally that of his orchestra the Sinfonia of London, that bring home the bacon...By spotlighting the verve, swagger and sheer mellowness of Don Walker’s orchestrations, the result is that the richly ambitious score has surely never sounded better.

The focus is carousel worker Billy Bigelow, “a bum with no money”, sung here with bright, keen energy by Nathaniel Hackmann...Wilson is inclined to shortchange Carousel’s emotional warmth, but for razor-sharp orchestral playing there is nothing to touch the Sinfonia of London at its virtuoso best.

It’s the stylistic rightness of the band sound that made Oklahoma! and now this so special. So much inner detail. Wilson’s signature brilliance of articulation makes everything so bright and clear.

I could easily expend my entire word-count on the myriad details which Wilson draws out from the opening Carousel Waltz, a little masterpiece of music-drama all on its own, and the orchestral riches don’t recede once the singers take centre-stage...The cast, largely made up of Wilson regulars, has no weak link. At the heart of it all is Nathaniel Hackmann as Billy, a far more complex assignment than Curly in Oklahoma!, and one which he grabs by the scruff of the neck.

The cast, including Nathaniel Hackmann’s petulant Billy and Mikaela Bennett’s beautifully sung Julie, is first-rate, with Francesca Chiejina bringing just enough operatic weight to Nettie Fowler. What’s most striking, however, is the stylishness of Wilson’s conducting and the warmth and sweep of the orchestral playing...as a document of the full Carousel score, and a source of its highlights, it’s hard to imagine this being bettered.

Who wouldn’t be swept along by this performance, the scene set with the opening Carousel Waltz and its old-school sound, luscious strings and delicious swing, carrying us all the way through to the stirring finale as the ‘Carousel Ensemble’ voices swell. The fantastic orchestral playing – taut, colourful, joyful – is one reason for this recording’s success...The cast is crystal clear throughout, and, for the most part, thoroughly act their roles.

Trenchant playing from the Sinfonia of London, with impressive attention to detail all elegantly performed in a disc that will delight.