The Oscar-winning songwriter of the song “When You Believe” from the musical “The Prince of Egypt,” Stephen Schwartz, explains to The Messenger how the two recorded the song—from different parts of the globe.
When Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey—possibly the two most important voices of their generation—joined forces on Stephen Schwartz’s Academy Award-winning song “When You Believe” from the 1998 animated picture The Prince of Egypt, magic happened in the late 1990s.
But Schwartz exclusively tells The Messenger that, for logistical reasons, the late Houston was not present in the studio with Carey when it was originally recorded.
“To be completely honest, I never was in the room with Mariah,” Schwartz says to The Messenger. The Prince of Egypt: The Musical, which is a live recording on London’s West End, will be made available digitally by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on Tuesday.
He clarifies that Carey was in Spain during the time the recording was made.
“She entered the Spanish studio and I believe collaborated virtually with the pop record’s producer, Kenny Edmonds, better known as Babyface,” he says. Whitney’s task was to sing to that after that.
Houston was called in to record solo while this was going on across the pond. Schwartz recalls, “When Whitney came in and sang to that, I was in the studio because it was done in the States.”
“She was so impressive to me, first of all for her willingness to do whatever was asked of her and her ability to harmonize flawlessly with Mariah’s vocals, as only Whitney Houston can pull off these vocal tricks that Mariah performs. She was therefore able to both harmonize with them and sort of follow them. And I was really impressed by Whitney’s professionalism and her overall pleasant demeanor while working in the studio. I will never forget that.
Admirers of the renowned duet will have the opportunity to hear “When You Believe” and the complete Prince of Egypt score when a live recording of Schwartz’s stage production, starring cast members from the West End, is made available digitally this week.
Under the direction of Schwartz’s son Scott, a revised production of The Prince of Egypt debuted in February 2020 at the Dominion Theatre in London. After six weeks of performances, the musical had to close due to the unfavorable timing of its West End premiere, given the widespread COVID-19 pandemic.
But the performance returned in July 2021, and it ran until January 8, 2022. The video performance was released on BroadwayHD last month, and on October 19 it was shown in theaters. On Tuesday, it will be accessible to fans worldwide.
Schwartz considers that one of the main reasons The Prince of Egypt was filmed for home viewing audiences was because “people couldn’t get [to London]. “When the show was about to conclude its year, there was a lot of interest from those who wanted to see it but couldn’t, and now there’s this new genre of live stage productions being captured on video.
He continues, “I think it was a really beautiful production, so I’m delighted.”
