Following their success with a 1985 studio recording of West Side Story, opera stars José Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa reunited to sing the roles of Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque for CBS Records. To suit their ranges, Jonathan Tunick carefully retooled the Robert Russell Bennett orchestrations where necessary. The recording features jazz great Sarah Vaughn as Bloody Mary and Mandy Patinkin in a passionate performance as Lt. Joe Cable. CBS-Fox released a documentary on the recording, produced by BBC.