"Kismet" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Kismet (Original Broadway Cast Recording) — 2000 Remastered Edition" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

How did a 19th-century Russian symphonist end up writing Broadway earworms? Kismet (1953) adapts melodies by Alexander Borodin into a lush, witty musical about a wily poet (Hajj), his daughter Marsinah, and a Caliph in disguise. The Original Broadway Cast recording—headlined by Alfred Drake, Doretta Morrow, Richard Kiley, and Joan Diener—became the canonical way most listeners met “Stranger in Paradise,” “Baubles, Bangles and Beads,” and “Not Since Nineveh.”

In 2000, Columbia/Columbia Broadway Masterworks (Sony) issued a remastered CD edition with bonus material, bringing mid-century mono into crisp relief and returning a bestseller to circulation for a new audience. The album remains the most direct document of the show’s original sound: Borodin’s themes reshaped by Robert Wright & George Forrest, with book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis (from Edward Knoblock’s 1911 play).

Questions & Answers

What exactly is the “2000 edition”?

A Sony/Columbia Broadway Masterworks remaster of the 1953 Original Broadway Cast album, issued with bonus tracks and refreshed notes.

Who are the principal singers on the cast album?

Alfred Drake (Hajj), Doretta Morrow (Marsinah), Richard Kiley (Caliph), Joan Diener (Lalume), with the original orchestra and chorus.

Where do the famous tunes come from?

Melodies are adapted from Borodin (e.g., “Polovtsian Dances” and the String Quartet No. 2), fitted with new lyrics by Wright & Forrest.

Is this the same as the 1955 film soundtrack?

No. The film has its own studio soundtrack; the 2000 CD is the Broadway cast remaster.

Is there a complete modern studio set?

Yes—JAY Records’ “First Complete Recording” (1989) documents the full score with extended material, complementing the OBC.

Was there a notable 2000s stage revival?

City Center Encores! presented a high-profile concert in 2006 (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie), though no commercial album followed.

Notes & Trivia

• The 2000 OBC remaster is commonly listed with a May 30, 2000 street date and carries “bonus tracks/remastered” language in retail metadata.
• “Stranger in Paradise” repurposes Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2 (Andante); “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” reworks his String Quartet No. 2 (Scherzo).
• Alfred Drake’s Hajj set a vocal/character template later echoed in revivals and concert versions.
• The show’s “Arabian Night” setting spawned a 1978 reset, Timbuktu!, moving the action to the Mali Empire with largely the same tunes.

Genres & Themes

Broadway operetta sheen → Destiny with a wink. Big melodies and choral swells cloak a con-artist comedy in romantic grandeur.

Borrowed classical DNA → Prestige and familiarity. Recognizable Borodin themes give instant melodic authority while new lyrics sharpen character beats.

Dance-driven exotica → Spectacle as story engine. Percussion and modal color paint bazaars, palaces, and moonlit gardens without leaving a proscenium.

Tracks & Scenes

“Sands of Time / Overture” — Orchestra
Where it plays: Prologue curtain rise; the musical’s world unfurls with a stately, fragrant sweep.
Why it matters: Establishes the show’s operetta frame—lush strings, glittering winds, and Borodin-by-Broadway harmony.

“Rhymes Have I” — Hajj (Alfred Drake)
Where it plays: Early marketplace: Hajj improvises doggerel to charm, hustle, and survive.
Why it matters: Character thesis: words as currency—and Drake’s patter sells the con with class.

“Baubles, Bangles and Beads” — Marsinah & Ensemble
Where it plays: Bazaar flirtations; trinkets shimmer as real feeling sneaks in.
Why it matters: A Borodin scherzo reborn as seductive shop talk; a staple of the American songbook.

“Stranger in Paradise” — Caliph & Marsinah
Where it plays: Moonlit garden encounter between disguised lovers.
Why it matters: The show’s signature duet—long-line lyricism, instant classic.

“Not Since Nineveh” — Lalume & Ensemble
Where it plays: Palatial revel; Lalume boasts about pleasures the ancients would envy.
Why it matters: Joan Diener’s showcase: comic wordplay over exotic swagger.

“Fate” — Hajj & Ensemble
Where it plays: Hajj bluffs destiny into cooperating—half prayer, half hustle.
Why it matters: A thematic hinge: mock-devout humor that the score treats seriously.

“And This Is My Beloved” — Marsinah, Caliph, Chorus
Where it plays: Betrothal-tinted reverie that deepens the central romance.
Why it matters: A soaring confirmation aria; the counter-melody writing is catnip for cast albums.

Trailer note: Mid-century film trailers helped canonize these tunes; their popularity fed back into stage revivals and reissues.

Music–Story Links

Hajj’s patter songs render survival as art; Marsinah and the Caliph’s duets promise a social order kinder than the one we see. Lalume’s sultry numbers make palace politics feel like choreography. When the chorus swells, fate feels negotiable—exactly the joke the book keeps telling.

How It Was Made

Music adaptation & lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, drawing chiefly on Borodin; book by Charles Lederer & Luther Davis. The OBC was recorded in 1953 soon after the Broadway opening and became a recurring catalog title. The 2000 remaster on Columbia Broadway Masterworks improved transfers and appended bonus material; label notes and library records document the edition.

Reception & Quotes

The OBC has long been the gateway recording for the score; later sets (JAY’s complete, film soundtracks, and concert revivals) broaden the picture without displacing it.

“A colorful and tuneful evening of fun.” Masterworks Broadway notes

“Glorious melodies… revived in concert with star power to spare.” Encores! coverage

Additional Info

• Other key recordings: JAY Records “First Complete Recording” (1989); various reissues of the OBC on Sony/Columbia; film soundtrack editions.
• Concert highlight: City Center Encores! (Feb 9–12, 2006) led by Paul Gemignani; no commercial cast album.
• Spin-off/reset: Timbuktu! (1978) re-sets Kismet in West Africa, reusing most numbers with new book/lyrics adjustments.
• Songbook reach: “Stranger in Paradise” and “Baubles…” generated extensive pop covers throughout the 1950s–60s.
• Rights/licensing: Stage performance materials are licensed by MTI.

Technical Info

• Title: Kismet (Original Broadway Cast Recording) — Remastered Edition
• Year / Type: 2000 / Cast album reissue with bonus tracks (originally recorded 1953)
• Music (source): Alexander Borodin
• Adaptation & Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest
• Book: Charles Lederer, Luther Davis (from Edward Knoblock)
• Label/Imprint: Columbia Broadway Masterworks (Sony) / Columbia
• Key numbers on the album: “Sands of Time/Overture,” “Rhymes Have I,” “Baubles, Bangles and Beads,” “Stranger in Paradise,” “Not Since Nineveh,” “Fate,” “And This Is My Beloved.”
• Related: Film soundtrack (1955, MGM); JAY Records complete studio set (1989); Encores! concert (2006).

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Masterworks Broadway album notes; NYPL Research Catalog entry for the 2000 Columbia/CBM issue; retail/label metadata for release date; CastAlbums/Discogs discography; Encores! coverage; MTI licensing notes; JAY Records complete set details.

November, 12th 2025