#don juan sitzprobe

[operafantomet]

Judith Tobella as Christine in Sitzprobe, Spain ( from her Instagram )

[opera-ghost]

thoughts on march 1, 2023 evening phantom performance

the opening line of my notes on this is literally "julia was amazing, ben was on point! paul was there."

i'm so sorry i just don't like his raoul, he seems really bored during think of me and annoyed during the rooftop scene- two points where he just fell really flat for me. him and julia don't have a ton of chemistry either so it's kinda a perfect storm if you're a phantom/christine fan

i could NOT stop watching ted keegan during hannibal, his reactions were entertaining and he actually encourages elizabeth welch's princess to volunteer for carlotta's role after she leaves. it was just really fun to try and look out for the various characterizations from the ensemble

there was a point in angel of music where the white robe thing got caught on julia's hannibal skirt so it didn't fan out to make the white dress she wears for the first lair. it was still caught when she got up from her seat, but then at the end when polly baird and her held hands, polly very subtly pulled the robe for her and it fell halfway, then fell fully into place a few seconds later. this really does not matter but i find little variations like this really interesting so i'm writing this for the one person out there who likes that stuff too :)

some laughter during the STYDI crawl. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i will live and die by this moment. i can't describe to you the intense joy i got when i first saw jeremy stolle do the crawl live in december- it was so creepy and pathetic, i immediately became obsessed. so yes, even though ben's crawl looks a bit funny comparatively, i will still defend it till my dying breath

kanisha was funny to watch during sitzprobe, her mouth fell open in shock when carlotta was insulting the don juan score. her ensemble character is overall very feisty and i love it

let's talk about ben's PONR. this man was SUFFERING. like hyperventilating, panting, shoulders rising and falling with his chest with such intensity while julia sang her verse and he was on the bench. his fingers were moving so much, he had his palms facing up the entire time so he didn't grip his knees/the robe (thinking about franc d'ambrosio.......) which is really a shame BUT he's still so good. when julia went to feel his mask up at the end of the number (fuck you new PONR blocking), he kind of threw up his hands from his lap in a "you've gotta be kidding me" gesture or like "really? now?" and it was hilarious. he did something similar and threw his hands up a bit when she unhooded him too. these two moves weren't something he did the second night i saw him, so it was an interesting choice i guess? idk the best way i can describe his PONR is just "feral"

not as devastating a final lair as the next night with ben and emilie, but this final lair was pretty good too. when julia said the "please raoul it's useless" line, she had an emphasis on "useless" and said it like an insult, while looking at ben with a kind of frustration. ben's second "i love you" seemed really hard for him to get out which killed me, and he sobbed into the veil too (just less audibly than the 3/2 show). i could probably jog my memory with more notes about this part but i genuinely can't find the emotional strength to put myself through it again

[eleancrvances]

just little notes about poto vienna's september 6th performance just so i don't risk forgetting

lisanne is wonderful and the greatest of the trio. sometimes i think she held back a bit, probably because it was the first performance after the summer break. but just wonderful

not a huge fan of anton's phantom unfortunately (those low notes were rough) but i do like his physicality when he's unmasked, expecially in STYDI. he doesn't fight against his youth (i know he's 38 but his stage age hasn't moved past 25 i fear) but embraces playing a confused young man who's just pretending to be all-knowing and sure of himself

(also he's sooo small expecially next to roy. and he uses that to look like a goblin when he's running around the theatre. he's not scary as in imposing but he's very quick and unpredictable)

speaking of STYDI, lisanne's christine was shocked when she saw him, but only screamed and grew scared when he reacted in anger :))))

milica is just. so good

rob pelzer was genuinely happy for christine when he told her "you have secured the largest role in this don juan" and was generally a very adorable andre, loved him

knew greg castiglioni was italian born the moment he side-eyed reyer and went "capito?" while drinking his tea during the don juan sitzprobe

as always not a fan of the blindfold but i loved how it's through that gesture and by touching his hands that christine recognises him in PONR, anton and lisanne acted that very well

roy's raoul tends to be one of the angry, confident raouls and though it's a common read of the character i just... don't like that. but in the final lair he ended up coming in so confused and scared, he said the first "ich lieb sie" very quickly and plainly, paused just an extra moment, then snapped and yelled "sagt dir das gar nichts, ich lieb sie!" so desperately that it felt like a facade finally dropping

loved how anton phrased "BLEIB bei mir, leb mit MIR"

lisanne kissed the ring before leaving it and anton repeated "ich liebe dich" three times winning extra tears from me

[dani-dos-jardins]

Some pictures of Lina Mendes as Christine Daae in the Phantom of the Opera (Brazilian Revival)

[ballerinadellamusica]

Rachel Spurrell new Sitzprobe fitting. Picture credit: Ceris Donovan Twitter

[phantomtrader19]

Phantom of the opera 1st and 3rd preview review

PART 2

Masquerade - WOW I don’t know if it’s the brand new costumes and sets or the cast but I something was different. It had such oomph to it! The lightning was changed to a more intense blue/pink-y red tones which looked amazing! Lyrics I believe were the Broadway lyrics didn’t mind it it didn’t make a difference to be honest. Seemed to be a couple tweaks or new costumes I hadn’t noticed before but would need a photo to confirm. Lucy’s star princess...

I don’t understand as she was in an original dress and it was stunning so I don’t understand the change it just lacked altogether, fun thing I noticed is costume supervisor of 25+ years Ceris Donovan was sat behind me in the show with a note pad taking notes. I do hope they change Lucy back to the original dress! Her hair is in a bun with some hair down and her tiara is more of a centre piece on top of her head that lays flat don’t mind it but not my fave,This could change as the show is still in previews. Phantom as the red death still the same! And still disappears through the trap door and the double appears at the top.

Raoul and Mme Giry’s scene was the exact same except I felt it was a bit more intense which I liked! Francesca Ellis is just an absolute joy to watch her acting is top of the game.

Notes II - very much the same nothing more really to add, just like the original Carlotta and Christine’s stand off is always fun to watch! Lucy again just blows it out the water with the acting l.

Twisted every way - Lucy’s Christine you can tell she’s been pushed to her limits and explodes which was amazing to watch, it was sped up rather a lot which I didn’t mind as it sort of reflected how Christine was feeling and as she began to sing “twisted every way...” the tempo slowed again.

Don Juan sitzprobe - lovely to see all the cast in their gorgeous costumes! James Hume’s reyer is so good. I’m not quite sure if it was done before but when the piano begins to play itself and they company seem rather possessed by the phantoms presence some of the ensemble stand round the piano and their faces are illuminated it was rather creepy but definitely added to the feel of the scene.

Journey to the cemetery - the same as the original no changes

Wishing you were somehow here again - the first opening dialogue (little lotte thought of everything and nothing...”) Lucy said quite quickly like she was completely tormented. This song is where you can notice the reduced orchestra it wasn’t horrific but I miss the old orchestra :( Lucy sounded beautiful once again. The stage appeared to be a little brighter than the original.

Wandering child - the trio version was done and killian, Lucy and Rhys’ voice all blended perfectly. Fireballs still shot from the phantoms staff and the fire still burst from the stage.

Before the premier - exactly the same however the 1st preview the gun didn’t go off.

Don Juan - slowed tempo similar to Broadway as previously the west end done it a little faster which I actually prefer but company’s vocals were amazing! I did notice on the 3rd preview a new costume on James Hume nice little addition :) Lucy’s “dreams of looooveee” flawless.

Point of no return - phantoms part stayed the same but Lucy was a lot more feisty and sassy than I’d seen before and I loved her high kick before she put her leg up on the bench! Christine has her hair down and a rose in. Christine actually knows it’s the phantom after the first verse so it was really interesting to watch the difference in how other Christine’s act not knowing the phantom is under the cloak. Just before Christine’s verse begins just after she notices the phantom is on stage she has a moment of panic and looks helplessly into the audience before singing which added a lot more intensity to this scene. Instead of attempting to run off the stage Christine grabs the phantoms hands and puts them round her waist as they sing the last verse which has been significantly I think maybe to build some more tension. Also the managers, Raoul the policeman and Mme Giry come on stage, Raoul and the policeman immediately back off stage Mme Giry and the phantom have a moment as they obviously remember eachother and another change is Christine seems to tell the managers to back off instead of Andre and Firmin trying to get Christine on stage an interesting choice!

Killian still sings the All I ask of you part as usual and still gives Christine the ring.

Down once more - the same as it was before. Rhys does the jump from the bridge which I was really happy about!

Final lair - I loved the blocking choice that presumably came from Broadway of the phantom dragging Christine on stage and throwing her to the ground it really makes you feel as if he’s completely lost it! Lucy’s fiery-ness really comes out in this scene. The mirror bride doll is silver with no wig or facial features for obvious reasons. Killian’s acting is fantastic in this scene he’s so mocking but you can see how destroyed he is. Rhys I think could’ve done a little more acting when he had the Punjab lasso round his neck but again he will settle into things soon enough. Lucy’s “you deceived me!” Was amazing she really seemed angry and devastated. The kiss was perfect. Lucy seems to want to go back to comfort the phantom but Rhys holds her back and they run off. When she returns you can see she is trying to hold back her motions and then hurriedly runs off. Killian’s last note was beautiful! The show still had its iconic Meg moment at the end no changes there!

Overall this cast is absolutely stellar! A must see, the show still has the original elements but definitely refreshed and some revised parts which I didn’t mind I still loved it! I think my favourite out of the trio is Lucy she just embodies everything Christine should be and her acting is some of the best I have ever seen.

Please show the cast and crew as much love as you showed the previous cast and crew none of this is their doing ❤️

[phantoonsoftheopera]

In the show, they make a big deal about how the Phantom’s “Don Juan Triumphant” is written in a style quite different than what is familiar at the time, which is why Piangi has difficulty with the score during the sitzprobe scene. “Whole-tone,” I’ve heard it described as (something that wouldn’t come onto the scene until about a decade after the story was set), or “modern.” So along those lines, imagine... “Don Juan Triumphant”... but it’s K-pop.

[boxfivetrades]

Jeremy Secomb as part of the Chorus in Sitzprobe/Don Juan Rehearsal

[arrcayde]

Friday, 24th of January and Saturday, 25th of January. Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Greece.

spam ahead (including a photo dump with my holiday pics xxxx), with my bad formatting too and spouting of random thoughts.

I am SO SORRY for how long this turned out, i am a rambly mess who doesn’t know how to edit.

Oh yeah, I also didn’t record anything from the show because I’m deathly afraid of ~~~~ushers~~~~

I will start with saying the instagram people for the production are so nice and will answer any question you have (from my experience. i asked them a LOT)

Had all the main leads on, Amy the Friday and Celinde the Saturday.

Amy Manford and Celinde Schoenmaker were both amazing as Christine, though they do seem to both be directed as being helpless for a good chunk of the show. It is really great in Point of No Return when they go full on ‘fuck it, lets give the Phantom what he wants and overwhelm him’, including a brutal chucking of a bowl of oranges across the stage. During Wishing and Wandering Child there were some moments were ummm the idea of suicide was floating there, with her getting close to the edge at the beginning of Wishing, and in Wandering where Christine is entranced by the Phantom and stands on the edge and teeters back (I was scared shitless). Also during Il Muto, both did a funny high pitched ‘hee-hee hee hee’ after getting poked in the bum by the Poor Fool himself, which made me laugh so hard.

Lara Martins was AMAZING as Carlotta, fainting with the sandbag dropping down during Think of Me, and slapping someone sweeping the floor for daring to be present near her after Prima Donna. (Also she had a weird fake dog which was weird but oh well)

Arvid Larsen as Andre was hamming it up every scene he was in and I LOVEDD it, always bowing down to Carlotta and (not sure if right word but) disciplining Firmin’s attitude. Also his Torero masquerade costume, had his trousers all the way up to his nips lol.

Ben Forster as the Phantom is.,,,, um,, well I guess Ramin had a big influence on him? He was a great singer, though very pop sounding. I think I read/saw somewhere on Instagram that he saw this production as deconstructing the ‘magic Phantom’ of the replica into a more emotional human character, and I do kind of see it but um,,, constant anguish is a bit much?? I was low-key hoping for an understudy to go on to see something a bit different the second night alongside Celinde.

Nadim as Raoul, he was there yes. I do like they decided to give him a bit more of a clear arc, with him checking himself out in the mirror during Little Lotte and then going up to beat up the Phantom in Wandering Child (though the Phantom had a KNIFE , a PHANTOM KNIFE). He did seem a little bit bored but I think that was part of the character at the beginning, like he was a playboy who hasn’t heard no or had a girl disappear on him.

There were the projections during the Overture and Ent’racte. They didn’t really add or detract from anything?

The dressing room mirror is tiny so thats fun.

Masquerade was amazing, I loved the turntable where Christine and some of the ensemble act like a music box (and the ending where there is the call back to that with Old Raoul). The mirrors weren’t there but I actually loved it with just the columns, it made the room feel expansive and not as ‘restricting’ as the brick wall on the inside of the stair-drum-turntable thingy (I will get to that) which was in the background of a lot of scenes. Costumes were great, I loved the way the costumes were translated into a more simplified colour palette, it was BEAUTIFUL.

Loved the rooftop in general, especially with the snow.

The Don Juan Triumphant set was umm a bit bare, and the sitzprobe for it was good with the ensemble being scared into singing, rather than possessed (alongside their ‘Don Juan Triumpher’ sheet music!).

They seemed to love throwing stuff from above, with what looks like random bits of dandruff coming down whenever the Phantom is supposed to be near (I think??? or they just cant control the snow??). The rose petals (with the beautiful rose covered curtain) in Prima Donna was great, as was the snow in Wishing. The confetti bombs in Masquerade was good but um a bit much and then its just on the stage for the rest of the show hmmm.

The stairs, I am conflicted on. I think its great that there’s another setpiece for some bits (like Why Have You Brought Us Here, and Journey to the ‘Graveyard’ / Rooftop), but the steps have the brick texture, so when used to go into the Phantom’s lair and the rooftop, it can be a bit weird. It isn’t like the black box travelator where it is left up to you to decide what it is, its visually a decrepid brick wall so you see the same thing for going up and down in the Opera House (do I make sense here, jesus my brain is fried). The inside of the stairs is a grey brick wall, which turns out to be the background for the lair, the rooftop and Christine’s dressing room so I do get a bit more sick of it.

The Curtain was loud, and the chandelier um,.,,,, made a noise and lowered slowly.

The audio was a bit off sometimes: you could tell the title song may have been pre-recorded, that the ensemble are in a separate room during ‘Track down this murderer’,, and that the audio is bouncing off the Phantoms mask during ‘Why so Silent?’.

LOVED the costumes of the production, the more limited colours (except in Hannibal) worked well though sometimes could look a little bit too drab and grey, like really old instagram posts from 2012 that we used to put a lot of filters on and make look all grey and vintage (I am beyond guilty of this)

Thessaloniki has some nice museums, I’ve only been Greece once before but didn’t see much of the historical stuff, so it was nice to see.

[glassprism]

Review - Phantom of the Opera Restaged Tour: July 21, 2019 (matinee)

My first live show of Phantom!

THE SHOW Prologue + Overture: Genuine goosebumps here at the Overture. The "journey to the past" aspect looks even better live. One lyric change that I hadn't noticed before was that Raoul said "Leave it" (instead of "Boy!") after winning the monkey music box. Hannibal: Trista Moldovan as Carlotta was the show stealer, and got lots of laughs. She was hilariously abusive with the ballerinas, shoving them out of the way or smacking them with her skirt. She also had a great moment with Andre during her 'Think of Me' when she got her scarf stuck on his face and continued singing while tugging quite forcefully at it. I was also quite happy to catch Kaitlyn Davis and Emma Grimsley as the Princesses; Davis in particular had some nice background moments, chatting up the managers during Carlotta's scene. I had a bit of a tough time spotting Jenna Burns in the corps, but finally caught her when I saw she was the only dancer not going en pointe.

This was also the moment where I felt myself starting to compare the show a little too much to the Copenhagen bootleg I’d just seen the day before, and finding what I was seeing onstage to be lacking. However, yelling “LOWER YOUR STANDARDS” at myself fixed that, and the show became much more enjoyable.

'Think of Me': Decently acted, no complaints here. I'm glad that Christines are no longer waving their arms around like a deranged seagull (I think we can thank Katie Travis for that?); from where I was sitting it's much less movement, but also makes them look much more elegant, in an understated sort of way. I was not a big fan of Jenna Burns's voice, though it's grown on me a bit now; something about the theater's resonance made her sound kind of throaty and sharp, and this was the song where I first noticed it. Dressing Room: Not too much to say, other than the managers being completely drunk off their butts! I was pleased to catch a glimpse of the Phantom as a stagehand; in fact, I'm not sure how anybody can miss him, because he lingers a VERY long time as he passes by Christine. First Lair: Very fine entrance by Derrick Davis, his voice booming out into the theater. The title song was about as expected, though I remember the girl next to me laughing when the Phantom swept over the music stand so enthusiastically that he threw a bunch of music sheets onto the ground. Said girl also clearly said "WTF?" during the blindfold scene in MOTN, which... yeah, totally agree. With all that said... Derrick Davis's acting was a highlight, and he's clearly doing all he can to salvage the blocking. As noted above, he very hesitant, even jumpy, in Christine's presence. There was one point where he moved to take Christine's arm and I could clearly see him reach out, pause, then slowly move to touch her. When Christine "trips" (very poorly and I definitely heard someone in the audience snort at that, but what can you do), it looked partially because it was the Phantom jerking back from touching her, and again there was a visible hesitance when he reached out scoop her up again. Jenna Burns was also pretty good here; I liked how she cradled her head against the Phantom's shoulder before he had even put her to bed. I don't like the idea of it (why are you going to sleep? You are in a strange lair with a strange man!), but she executed it well. Moving onto to 'Stranger Than You Dreamt It'... I thought Davis was much less violent than I remember him, or other restaged tour Phantoms, being (though maybe it's because the last restaged Phantom I watched was Chris Mann, who tried to upper cut Christine in this scene). His "chasing" of Christine was fairly slow and his grabbing her head didn't even look all that threatening. Nor was he all that angry, which was probably my only major criticism of him, that he could have let loose more here. I remember wondering if it was because it was Jenna Burns's first show and he was being more careful with her, or was just less comfortable and less willing to do something risky with her. Interestingly, Christine actually stood up to give him back his mask, which I thought was a nice attempt to shift the power dynamic a bit, though at this point it's too little, too late. (Oh restaged tour, you messed up the dynamic irreparably when you had the Phantom stand through most of this scene, Christine getting up for 10 seconds ain't going to change that.) 'Notes I'/'Prima Donna'/Il Muto: Not a whole lot to say here, except that David Benoit as Firmin was obsessed with money and publicity to the point where it was amusing, almost drunkenly happy with all the negative press the show was getting ("It's PUBLICITY! And the take is VAST!"). Also, due to the angle I was sitting at, I probably saw more of Carlotta, and Trista Moldovan, than I ever wanted to see when she was undressing. One thing that was cool, and which doesn't pop up often on the boots I have, was seeing the Phantom walking around atop the catwalk during the note reading scene. Il Muto was good as well, with Don Attilio getting a lot of laughs. I'm pretty sure Carlotta physically shoved Christine's Pageboy off the couch, which was also amusing, and Jenna Burns had some rather funny and realistic reactions when the cast was trying to recover from the Phantom crashing the opera. Rooftop: Not a lot to say here. I liked how Jenna Burns played the line, "Raoul, I've been there, to his world of unending night!" Instead of chasing him down like other Christines do, she kind of pushed at him but still clung to his arm - so angry but also yearning for comfort, I guess. She didn't play up the "suicide jump" too much, which might explain Jordan Craig's less-than-caring reaction - instead of kneeling and reaching for Christine, he stood for quite a while, just singing lackadaisically to her. The chandelier fall was pretty awesome, lots of sparks and crashing noises, but I don't think it dropped any plastic bits, because I ran down to the lower level to try and grab some but couldn't find any. On the other hand, I got a decent photo of the chandelier practically hanging over the front row. 'Masquerade': The main things I noticed was that Jenna Burns appears to have Katie Travis's / Eva Tavares's Star Princess dress, so boo, no shiny old school Star Princess for her. The second was that Derrick Davis's pants were rolled up high, and I mean quite high - his boots didn't reach where the pants ended, and he did not have any stockings on. I saw leg. I saw SKIN. It was bizarre and I have no idea if that's normal or just a mistake. 'Notes II'/'Twisted Every Way': Not too much to mention, again, except that Jenna Burns's slap needs more oomph to it. I didn't even hear a smack; she could have been slapping air for all I knew. There was a pretty cool effect with the speakers in 'Notes I', where they had the Phantom's voice coming from different speakers to give the effect that he was "moving" somewhere above the audience. The sitzprobe scene was good, mainly because there was a moment where the entire ensemble lost patience with Piangi being unable to sing "tangled with Don Juan" on the right note and shouted "TAN!" at him. Also, I noticed that one of the candles on the piano didn't light, so there was only one candle erupting flames. Still pretty good though. As expected, Meg was completely and ludicrously stand-offish to Christine after the rehearsal, but what was hilarious was that Christine began singing TO her ("In sleep he sang to me..."), leaving me wondering if the two were trying to play up some kind of lesbian relationship between the two (not that I'd be opposed to that...). Graveyard: Not a whole lot to say here either, though I did think Jenna Burns did a good job with this song; I think it was maybe her strongest yet, and I enjoyed how, like a few other Christines before her, she played up the anger Christine felt at her father ("Her father promised her... Her father promised her!"). She could have sustained the last note a bit longer, but that's a very minor complaint. The pyro was cool. And the gunshot effect in 'Seal My Fate' was shockingly loud, and made quite a few people giggle nervously. 'Point of No Return': Jenna Burns did nicely here, I enjoyed how she was practically laying down on the table during the, er, strawberry dangling over her mouth bit. She did start struggling away from the Phantom a bit too early - like, before the Phantom had even put his hands over her face, but like Grace Morgan and Katie Travis before her, she made it quite obvious that she knew he was the Phantom and that she was checking if anyone else did. Oh, and Derrick Davis knelt down when he proposed to her. Jenna Burns took off almost a bit too fast; it didn't give a lot of time for Derrick Davis to react to the unmasking, and he had to go tearing off after her rather quickly. This, hilariously, meant that it looked like Raoul shot the Phantom rather than the policeman behind the Phantom. 'Final Lair': Some great moments here. Derrick Davis was suitably jerky and crazed, Jenna Burns defiant and strong. (Jordan Craig was there. You know, off in the corner the tour relegates Raoul to.) I thought, again, that Davis was a bit less violent than in other videos or compared to other Phantoms; the biggest example of this is when he tossed Christine on the bed, he didn't hold her down (much) or even climb on the bed, just kind of stood shouting at her. It wasn't GREAT, but it's an improvement. He also gave a very loud gasp when he realized he was strangling Christine. Also, my favorite moment of Davis's acting - right before the kiss, as Christine is circling the Phantom, he tried to cover up his deformity from her. It was probably my moment of strongest sympathy for him. Happily, his reaction to the kiss was not as hilarity-inducing as it was on the video him, where he basically flung himself onto his belly to get away from Christine. There was some flailing and pushing away, but it looked more natural. Though I think I saw him crawl under the bed when the mob came in. Ah, the magic of theater.

Anyway, the audience was quite enthusiastic, laughing and clapping at all the right parts, and both Jenna Burns and Derrick Davis got standing ovations. A couple other notes: there were some costumes on display outside, so I snapped some photos of those - nothing anyone hasn't seen before, but it was good to get up close to them. Carlotta's black-and-white costume seemed a particular favorite, judging by the comments I heard. I bought myself a souvenir brochure and a charm bracelet that's way too big for my teeny wrist, but whatever, I now have Phantom memorabilia! I also managed to stagedoor for a bit. Unfortunately there was apparently something of a cast party going on inside, so people were slow to come out and I had to leave after only getting a couple of signatures. But I still met Jenna Burns (she was the first out, was very sweet and took time to talk to everyone in line) and Kaitlyn Davis (who, given she had "only" been in the ensemble that performance, seemed a little hesitant to sign anyone's stuff until I screwed up my courage and went "ARE YOU KAITLYN DAVIS", at which point she did sign, so yay. Though I did not tell her that she's emailed me before asking for video of herself, despite being rather tempted to do so).

So, overall... THE ACTORS Derrick Davis: Probably the highlight of the show for me. He's my favorite of all the Phantoms I've seen in the restaged tour and he lived up to my expectations, and he added in even more touches of hesitation and unsureness. There was also a nervous jerkiness to his movements, especially in 'Final Lair', that reminded me vaguely of Leroux!Phantom. Only major criticism of him, as already noted, was his a-bit-too-restrained STYDI. Otherwise, he rocked the role, and I'm quite glad to have seen him. Jenna Burns: Her very first performance, rather extraordinarily lucky of me, so I cut her a lot of slack. Having said that, she has good potential. Vocally she wasn't quite my favorite, sounding a lot like Jordan Ensign in having a bit of this sharpness in her voice throughout, though at least her vibrato wasn't so strong. Strangely she sounds better on audio than when I heard her live. Her acting was pretty good, she did everything right and was responsive to her co-actors. The main thing she needs to improve on is making it her own - she basically went through the blocking and while she acted it quite well, there wasn't anything memorable about it. I did think she was also rushing through it a bit, starting up each line without taking the time to pause and breathe and let the moment sink in, but again, that's something that comes with time. Overall, I could definitely tell she was new in the role, but there's some good stuff there once she takes the time to dig it out. Jordan Craig: Pretty much a Raoul who exists and not much else - but when it comes to the restaged tour, I'll take it. In retrospect, I think the reason I rated him so high (or at least, higher than the previous restaged tour Raouls) is because he's less aggressive than all of them - at least he's not grabbing Christine's head all the time or acting completely condescending to her. I did not care much for his voice, which sounded oddly tinny, but his acting was not egregiously bad and he had a couple of good moments (like holding Christine's hands a little longer than necessary in 'All I Ask of You') Trista Moldovan: A complete hoot, and has improved so much since I saw her on video. She's in good voice, but I remember her most for her comedic moments, acting the complete diva with all the other cast members. While I might be misremembering, I also thought she snuck in some extra lines in Italian, particularly in Il Muto when the Phantom interrupts the scene. David Benoit and Rob Lindley: Another hilarious set of cast members, both of them playing up the contrast between Firmin's business-like personality and Andre's more artistic, easily flustered temperament. Lindley's Andre was extremely funny during Il Muto too ("Yes, THANK YOU!!" as one of the fops refused to go offstage). Susan Moniz: I generally don't have much to say about Madame Giry, but I did notice that Giry in this production seemed much more... present, if that's the right word. I kept noticing her lurking in the corners or sides of the stage, just observing the proceedings in typically ambiguous manner. The most memorable was in 'Point of No Return' when Christine pulled the hood off the Phantom; I saw her emerge along with the police, which was rather interesting. Phumzile Sojola: A skinny Piangi, if I'm not mistaken! I didn't notice him that much, but he had some good moments in Hannibal ("Rommmmaaaaa! Rommmaaaa! It's very hard for me!") and was a worthy lapdog and fanboy of Trista Moldovan's Carlotta, who in turn was very defensive of him. SarahGrace Mariani: A sassy little Meg, pulling faces and, like her mother, lurking around in the background and trying to stay in the scene even when Madame Giry kept trying to shove her off. Voice could have been better - it was pretty heavy on the vibrato - but I don't expect good singing voices from Meg at this point.

The ensemble too was very strong; I remember M. Reyer was quite funny, in an overbearing and aggressive sort of way. Everyone seemed really into their role, always doing something in the background, to the point where I sometimes forgot to watch the principals because I was too busy looking at what one of the ballerinas was doing. Overall, a memorable day and a good performance for my very first live show!

[andrewlloydwebber]

Rebecca Luker made her Broadway debut as an ensemble member and the understudy for Christine Daaé in the original Broadway company of The Phantom of the Opera, eventually becoming the alternate Christine and later principal Christine. Photos of her in the ensemble are hard to find, however her track was:

“Princess” in the mock-opera Hannibal (who is angling to replace Carlotta after she storms out)

“The Mirror Bride” in the First Lair scene (the creepy doll in a wedding dress made to look exactly like Christine. She lunges forward and causes Christine to faint)

“Triangle Girl” in Masquerade (part of the “Little Band”, she wears an elaborate headpiece and plays the triangle)

“Don Juan Rehearsal Lady” in the Don Juan Sitzprobe scene

“Page” in the mock-opera Don Juan Triumphant

And back into the Princess dress for the curtain call

[operafantomet]

Following up the post about the most original non-replica productions, here's a photoset on moments I thought rather original in the POTO Mediterranean production (Italy, Spain, Monaco):

Having some key scenes from the first act re-enacted - in slow-motion and in reverse from the chandelier crash and up to Hannibal - during the Overture was definitely something I have never seen before! Quite odd, yet cool and fascinating.

For quite a few mirror set designs it is obvious Christine will step through it at one point. Not here. Cause how in the world will she get up there? Ah, of course by stepping at the chair, then the dressing room table, lined up like a staircase... Cool take on it.

Whereas the First Lair was pretty conventional in staging and directing, the set design was out of this world. OK, so "only" a backdrop, but to amazing effect. Very Piranesi "imaginary prisons" look to it - and with that glowing, candle light lit organ in front. Loved it. Loved it a lot.

The Phantom swinging back and forth, like a Tarzan stuntman, during the Il Muto ballet - as a foreshadowing of poor Buquet who will swing across stage in a similar manner in a few seconds. Not my favourite take on it, but A+ for creativity.

The whole of AIAOY taking place on a narrow ledge, which made it both more restrained than usual, and a bit more intimate - with Raoul acting like Christine could really fall down (or jump for that matter) any second. So most of his singing is about trying to get her into safety, while she is utterly despairing:

The Phantom riding the crashing chandelier. Truth be told, a bit less impressive live than in photos. In photos it looks like a giant drop, but live it was more a case of a chandelier moving forward, then pyrowork. Yet... Even if it's been a part of the Phantom repertoire in movies and artwork, and even if Las Vegas had a stunt man appearing hanging from the chandelier, it was cool to actually see it done in a stage production.

Each cast member dancing with a cloaked dummy on wheels in Masquerade. Again - maybe not my favourite thing, I didn't find it super convincing. But original? OH YES.

ENDLESS LOVE FOR ANDRÉ'S FLOUNCED DRESS! And for dressing Meg Giry like a perfect bigger version of the Monkey Musical Box, with a yellow tutu:

The slow motion fighting with chairs and vocal scores in the Don Juan sitzprobe, while Christine walks slowly away with a red rose, starting on the WYWSHA intro? Fascinating.

The Phantom in giant black wings flying away during the Mausoleum scene? What even? (no, it did not make more sense live)

Then a bunch of tricks for the Final Lair, first and foremost Raoul trapped in a magical lasso hoisting him up in the air, supported by the bed frame. Originally topless (Trieste), later (Madrid) wearing a shirt. Ar'right. Then the Phantom disappearing by laying down in the bed and disappearing in the sheets when the mob enters the lair. Rather cool trick because it wasn't obvious how it was done. Alas no photos of that, but at least one of the trapped Raoul:

All in all a production full of surprises and unique moments, even if some other scenes were more or less the same or very similar as the replica version. I liked it a lot! For more thoughts and moments, you can have a look at the review I wrote here)

[operafantomet]

Speaking of POTO Prague, I always felt some of the ensemble costumes were better than the leads... e.g. Meg's DJT costume (or many other DYJ bodices)> Amnita, DJT rehearsals female ensemble costumes... And usually it's the opposite. What do u think?

I always felt all the female DJT costumes were too similar to eachother, to be frank... They all have that long bodice with V-shaped opening, continuing into a flounced skirt of to or three different colours. The costume of Meg and Christine are not too far apart, except the colours:

Meg's also have shoulder straps and a mock blouse. Mock blouses on similar V-opening bodices can be found in the other Don Juan women's costumes too, along with flounced skirt:

So if anything I would have loved to see some different skirts and maybe a jacket or two, just to spice things up. But I DO agree that there are some gems amongst the ensemble and supporting cast costumes overall. Some favourites:

The Hannibal princesses:

The Hannibal Slavemaster:

The Sylvan Glades:

Several of the Don Juan Rehearsal (Sitzprobe) attires:

(overall I do think costume designer Roman Solc has been quite attentive to the lead roles, though... From the Phantom and Christine to Meg and Piangi)

[boxfivetrades]

Greg Mills’ one-man chorus in Sitzprobe/Don Juan Rehearsal

(x)

[ballerinadellamusica]

phantom of the opera Stockholm slutar om 8 dagar, och idag är bilderna av swing och understudy Hanna Ulvan. det här är del 2 av 2. Bilderna är från följande Instagram-konton: Hanna Ulvan 7 föreställningar kvar

phantom of the opera stockholm ends in 8 days, and today comes part 2 of a photoset of swing and understudy Hanna Ulvan. Pictures are from the following Instagram accounts: Hanna Ulvan 7 performances left

Originally posted on Instagram on 7th May 2017