ROYAL ALBERT HALL PHANTOM OF THE OPERA CAST FULLHer voice is talented and full, but not too full the innocence of the character was retained while the maturity and beauty of her voice was expressed. These lend simple elegance, do not detract from the actors, but still lend a full appearance to the stage.Ĭhristine’s first solo, “Think of Me”, is executed beautifully. One also immediately notices the traditional sets blended with a raised orchestra and use of minimalist backdrops. The transition from mundane auction to the collapse of the chandelier leading to an elaborate opening with dramatic musical overtones that are beautifully executed does not disappoint. Eventually, obsession overcomes the Phantom and he kidnaps Christine as his bride (Leroux and Coward 261), leading to a large, grand finale highlighting Christine’s struggle between love and desire, darkness and light.Īct I begins with a beautifully set stage, immediately drawing attention to the striking elegance and intricacies of the props the monkey with cymbals is ornately carved and appears to be handmade. Meanwhile, a childhood sweetheart, Raoul, also courts Christine. He falls in love with her, seducing her with darkness, coaching her, and using his power to ensure she is cast as a lead. He appears to a young novice soprano, Christine Daae (Leroux and Coward 11). The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of an opera house haunted by a dark “phantom” with a disfigured face. These aspects lent a particularly surprising enhancement to an already classic and timeless production, providing a wonderfully stark juxtaposition between the innocence of first love and the darkness of obsession, desire, and betrayal. As a special televised performance, props and sets were designed for close-up viewing, and the regular Royal Albert Hall cast was augmented by special guest performances from original 1986 cast members such as Michael Crawford (the original Phantom) and Sarah Brightman (Christine Daae) (PR Newswire 1). It’s not so much of an issue but Andrew Lloyd Webber’s congratulatory speech involving them both is included.Originally debuted at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London in 1986, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s famous production, The Phantom of the Opera, was re-staged for television in a twenty-fifth anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall (PR Newswire 1). Rounding things off is a five Phantom finale with Colm Wilkinson, Anthony Warlow, Peter Jöback, John Owen-Jones and Ramin Karimloo joining forces for a spectacular ‘Music of the Night’ – original stars Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were also present but the former did not sing and the latter’s performance was not included here, presumably due to contractual issues. And as with any of these big tribute nights, the depth in the ensemble is gobsmackingly good – the likes of Jeremy Secomb, Killian Donnelly, Simon Bailey, and Katie Hall helping to enrich a dream company. Wendy Ferguson’s Carlotta is well-defined too, her comic take on the character fun to listen to, though she doesn’t have much to do, Daisy Maywood’s Meg is easy on the ear and Gareth Snook and Barry James deliver an excellent comic double act as the theatre managers. And Ramin Karimloo’s Phantom is wonderfully vocally textured, moving from seductive charisma in the opening act to lure Christine into his clutches to an increasingly unhinged madness as his love later turns obsessive – the fullness of the score really lets us see his exceptional character work. The adorers are much better though – Hadley Fraser gives an interestingly pitched Raoul who is as conceited as he is charming but sounding good throughout. Christine isn’t the strongest-written of roles at the best of times and Boggess just feels too emotionally vapid to be the inspiration of such all-conquering adoration as she is served with in this story. I just can’t get on with Sierra Boggess’ voice, her soprano voice always erring to the too shrill for my liking and the vibrato she employs has all the subtlety of a jackhammer. I also had mixed feelings about the production itself. Maybe it was a rush job though as the sound quality on this CD really isn’t good enough for it to be genuinely recommendable, even for a live recording. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, The Phantom of the Operadecamped to the Royal Albert Hall for 3 performances, the highlights of which were spliced together to give a full CD/DVD release package which contains as full a rendering of the entire score as it currently available.
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