Fiddler on the Roof first opened in 1964 in New York. The story of a Jewish milkman who lives in Russia with his family (including three daughters), the original Broadway cast starred Zero Mostel as the milkman. Anti-Semetic notions abound as Tevye and his family find themselves being forced from their village. Tevye's daughters break from their village's "tradition" as they marry for love, not for prosperity. Throughout all of this, a symbolic fiddler lingers over them. Fiddler on the Roof was a notable success, with the original Broadway cast running for over 3,000 performances. It was also the origin of several famous and now-standard songs, such as "Sunrise, Sunset," "Matchmaker," "Tradition" and "If I Were a Rich Man." The music is beautiful, and haunting at moments. This is the original London cast recording and features Israeli actor/singer Topol in the starring role of Tevye. Topol has since gone on to play the part on film and in a Broadway revival, which means his version is by now more familiar than that of the role's originator, Mostel. Topol's Tevye is notably less comic than Mostel's, but he brings great warmth to his performance, and this, not the film soundtrack, is his definitive rendition. ~ William Ruhlmann and Sarah Erlewine