#edyta krzemien

[glassprism]

Has any of the actresses of Christine been a Disney princess at a Disney park? Some seem like they might have tried that out.

I don't know about them being one of the princesses at a Disney park - from what I was reading, the actual requirements for being a park Disney Princess are based far more on looks and age, not singing, acting, and dancing. It's also quite a narrow age range, with most women apparently between ages 18-23 or so, and I think for many aspiring Christine actresses, they'll be far busier, you know, going to school for singing and acting and performing in the shows that will build experience for them to be in theater.

But what is likely? Christine actresses voicing a Disney Princess (or one of the honorary / related characters) in the movies, typically doing one of the international dubs or at least providing the singing. Scrolling through this Wiki, I found:

Emmi Christensson - Belle (live-action remake)

Minnie Driver - Jane Porter (yes I am counting her even though she was Carlotta in the 2004 film and even though Jane is not really a Disney Princess)

Louise Fribo - Belle

Renata Fusco - Pepa Madrigal (I know that's not a Disney Princess but I love Encanto, so she's going on here)

Harriet Jones - Beast's mom (live-action remake, because she deserves it after her role got cut to nothing)

Edyta Krzemien - Snow White

Joke de Kruijf - Cinderella, Aurora, Belle

Myrra Malmberg - Megara

Kiara Sasso - Ariel

Irasema Terrazas - did not voice Princesses but did voice Mother Gothel, among other roles

Hanna-Liina Vosa - Elsa

And I'm sure followers will add a lot more, because the Wiki itself is actually quite bare bones, especially for the older movies (for example, Joke de Kruijf isn't mentioned at all, which I think is a travesty) and I basically ignored the live-action remakes (because I don't like them). So add away!

[ange-de-la-musique]

Some favourite Christine wigs

Susan Cuthbert, Toronto

Sae Yamamoto, Japan

Caitlin Finnie, World Tour

Edyta Krzemien, Poland

Claire Lyon, World Tour

Samantha Hill, Broadway

Lucy St Louis, West End

Emilie Lynn, World Tour

Sarah Brightman, West End

[love-little-lotte]

Favorite Fantines

Hello! I haven’t posted something really good for a while, and I’m quite bored in the meantime. So, I decided I’d post some of my favorite Fantines in the critically acclaimed West End and Broadway musical, Les Miserables.

I’ve already done something like this with Christine Daae from The Phantom of the Opera. It was a really long time ago, and it was only a Top 10. This time, there would be no fixed numbers, and it won’t be in order. I’ll just mention some Fantines that I really like and explain why I like them and why I look up to them.

First up, we have Patti LuPone from the Original London Cast.

You can never really beat the original, can you? She set the tone for Fantine, being the original. I’ve seen a recording of her singing “I Dreamed a Dream” in YouTube and at first glance, I didn’t like her. I didn’t like the way she was singing it, but as time passed by, she became one of my favorite Fantines. I love her the original recording, especially in the “Epilogue.” Her voice is really soft and calming - something that I really want to hear in my Fantines.

Next in the list is Debra Byrne from the Original Australian Cast, and from the Complete Symphonic Recording. 

The first time I heard Debra Byrne’s voice singing the first notes of “I Dreamed a Dream” for the Complete Symphonic Recording, I fell in love. Her voice is soft and calming. And if you listen really closely, you will hear the anguish and desperation in her voice. I love her so, so, so much. And truly, one of the best Fantines that ever graced this Earth.

Now, let’s look at one of my favorite foreign Fantines with Pia Douwes from the 1991 Dutch Cast.

Hmm, how can you even begin to describe Pia Douwes? She’s super amazing. I first got to know her when I was making this comparison video of “I Dreamed a Dream.” I fell in love with her rendition. While Debra Byrne’s version is filled with anguish, Pia Douwes sounded innocent. She brings out the innocent side of Fantine. Take note that Fantine was really young when she got her heart broken and had Cosette, and through Pia Douwes, you can totally understand that. Since then, I’ve been a fan of hers. She also dubbed some Disney characters! 

Now we have Ruthie Henshall, who’s popularly known to be the Fantine in the 10th Anniversary Cast. 

The 10th Anniversary Cast of Les Mis is my favorite cast and recording of all time. And this is also because of Ruthie Henshall. She’s my second favorite Fantine, but she’s really close to my first one. She’s perfect in every way. I particularly love her in the “Fantine’s Arrest” because you can totally hear her anger and then desperation. You totally can’t have a Favorite Fantine list and not include Miss Henshall.

Also coming from the West End is Joanna Ampil.

Joanna Ampil is truly one of the best Fantines I’ve ever seen. Her “I Dreamed a Dream” was totally heartbreaking, and I love every minute when she’s onstage. I’ve only seen a bootleg of her, and honestly, it made me want to watch her live. It kind of bugs me whenever people bring up talented Filipinos in the West End stage and they don’t include her. She’s super underrated, and really, really good. 

And of course, we have one of my favorite Elphabas, Kerry Ellis from the West End. 

I could confidently say that I like watching Kerry Ellis perform Fantine rather than Elphaba. I love her Elphaba, but I love her Fantine more. I love her belts during “I Dreamed a Dream.” It didn’t seem forced, and it just came out naturally. She is utterly amazing and I would really love to see her as Fantine again. Any chance of that happening soon?

And of course, we have another fan-favorite, Lea Salonga, who performed the role during the 2006 Broadway Revival and the 25th Anniversary.

The 2006 Broadway Revival casting choice for Fantine was at first questionable. Who in the right mind would cast Daphne Rubin Vega for it? She wasn’t fit for the role, to be honest. They should’ve just went for Lea Salonga or Judy Kuhn immediately. But hey, that’s just my opinion. 

I’m such a huge fan of Lea Salonga, so needless to say, she’s my favorite Fantine. I love her emotion and her acting whenever she’s onstage. She totally owned the role of Fantine, especially in the 25th Anniversary. She may be quite (dare I say it?) overrated. There are times when I listen to her and be like, her again? Meh. But when I actually watch her in the performance again, I remember how she’s so good and perfect. She’s the Fantine! And I honestly will do everything just to see her play in the role again in the future! 

By the way, have you heard the recording when she infamously swore during “Fantine’s Arrest”? 

Speaking of the 25th Anniversary, we have Madalena Alberto from the UK Tour! 

She. Is. Gorgeous. And talented as heck, too! In my opinion, she definitely looks the part. She’s how I imagined Fantine, even when I was reading the Victor Hugo novel. I love her Fantine, and is truly one of my very favorites. My favorite part of her Fantine is her “Come To Me” because that’s tear-jerking as heck and she’s such a good actress. I don’t see why she’s such an underrated Fantine? She’s in Spotify for goodness sake, so check that version out! 

Betsy Morgan was also casted as Fantine in the 25th Anniverary Tour all the way from the US.

I first knew her from The Little Mermaid when she was understudying Sierra Boggess. Even then, she was super amazing! Betsy truly gave her all as Fantine. At first, she might look like a normal Fantine, but as I reviewed her performance, I came to really love her so much! She can belt, she can act, and damn, she can make you feel.

Another favorite foreign Fantine! Here’s Edyta Krzemien from Poland.

I haven’t seen a video of her (is there an available bootleg? Please do tell me!) but it was enough for me to really love her voice. Her “I Dreamed a Dream” was so powerful. I was actually skeptical before listening to her as Fantine. I wasn’t a big fan of her Christine Daae, but damn, she is such a good Fantine! If you’re not into listening to foreign songs, better listen to her. She might change your mind.

But great Fantines can’t be only seen onstage. In 2012, Tom Hooper directed the film version of Les Mis, and it had Anne Hathaway playing Fantine.

YES! She was a really great Fantine, and she truly deserved that Oscar. Her “I Dreamed a Dream” alone is an Oscar-worthy performance. Her angst and desperation was clearly shown in “Fantine’s Arrest” and she truly gave one of the most heartbreaking scenes during “Lovely Ladies.” She was honestly superb, and she truly shined in the role. Even though she was only onscreen for a few minutes, I left the theatre with her performance still in mind. And that’s how you make a great Fantine, everyone.

Let’s go back to stage Fantines: Celinde Schoenmaker from the West End. 

Before she was an incredible Christine Daae, she was an incredible Fantine. Her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” is one of my favorites. She’s also one of my favorite musical theatre actresses of all time. Her belting is astounding, as well as her acting. Just like Madalena Alberto, she has a sweet, sweet face that really suits Fantine. Her “Come To Me” and “Epilogue” scenes are really amazing too! I have nothing to say anymore. Just go to YouTube and listen to her. You’ll see what I mean.

Last but not the least is Rachelle Ann Go from the West End and the recent Asian Tour.

Though I’ve only seen her “I Dreamed a Dream” and only listened to audios of her other songs, I love her. I can totally feel her emotion whenever she sings, and she’s an amazing belter. Her voice is crystal clear, and there’s no doubt how talented she is. She’s a very powerful actress, and a great casting choice for Fantine. Hope to hear more about her in Hamilton!

[ballerinadellamusica]

Upiór w Operze Obsada: Upiór: Damian Aleksander/Tomasz Steciuk Christine Daaé: Edyta Krzemień/Paulina Janczak/Kaja Mianowana Raoul de Chagny: Rafał Supiński/Bartłomiej Łochnicki/Łukasz Talik Carlotta Giudicelli: Magdalena Masiewicz/Katarzyna Trylnik Ubaldo Piangi: Krzysztof Stankiewicz/Przemysław Borys Richard Firmin: Grzegorz Pierczyński/Maciej Nerkowski Gilles André: Tomasz Steciuk/Jakub Wocial/Wojciech Dmochowski Meg Giry: Hanna Różankiewicz/Dorota Baiłkowska-Krukowska Madam Giry: Anita Steciuk/Anna Sztejner Joseph Buquet/Licytator: Bogdan Kordy/Adam Węgliński Lefèvre: Maciej Nerkowski/Bogdan Kordy/Bartłomiej Łochnicki/Rafał Supiński Monsieur Reyer: Jakub Wocial/Krzysztof Szyfman

Picture credits: Oifp.eu-m. Heller Facebooks-Edyta Krzemień, Paulina Janczak & Kaja Mianowana

[ara-rose]

Ok, I don’t often post, but this is AWESOME! 

[operafantomet]

Hi Operafantomet, you were once asked about coloratura sopranos who played Christine. Edyta Krzemień was one of them - on this Youtube video (watch?v=Hnu_dgcId04) you can hear how she sings famous Queen of the night aria and other coloratura pieces. And here (watch?v=nOOELmx7-R8) you can hear how her light and ethereal voice just floats!

Thank you so much! Looking forward to listen to it. I love a good coloratura. 

[lozard]

Christine & Johanna (7/??)

Edyta Krzemien

[glassprism]

What If Scenario. The Pandemic never happened, but the renovations at Her Majesty’s eventually did. During that time, they put together a concert-like production of Phantom like they did with Les Mis in 2019. Who would you have cast in each part? Feel free to include Ensemble & Understudies

I think I answered something very similar before where I said that I'd love to have had an international celebration, with recent, fan-favorite, or long-running members from productions all over the world given an opportunity to perform and do, like, one song each, along with the then-current cast at the time. So I guess it might be something like:

Phantom: Josh Piterman (London), Ben Crawford (Broadway), Derrick Davis (national tour), Osamu Takai (Japan), Alexander Goebel (Vienna), Colm Wilkinson (Toronto), Peter Karrie (Canadian tour), Peter Joback (Stockholm), Ian Jon Bourg (Germany), Anthony Warlow (Australia), Henk Poort (Scheveningen), Juan Navarro (Mexico City), Hans Peter Janssens (Antwerp), Tomas Ambt Kofod (Copenhagen), Hong Kwang Ho (Seoul), Juan Carlos Barona (Madrid), Sandor Sasvari (Budapest), Saulo Vasconcelos (Sao Paulo), Damian Aleksander (Poland), Carlos Vittori (Buenos Aires), Marian Vojtko (Prague), Stephen Brandt Hansen (Estonia), Ivan Ozhogin (Moscow), Ilkka Hamalainen (Helsinki), Adrian Nour (Bucharest), Nikola Bulatovic (Belgrade), Vladimir Grudkov (Sofia), Jonathan Roxmouth (World Tour), Espen Grjotheim (Oslo), Ben Forster (Greece), Killian Donnelly (UK Tour)

Christine: Kelly Mathieson (London), Meghan Picerno (Broadway), Emma Grimsley (national tour), Sae Yamamoto (Japan), Luzia Nistler (Vienna), Rebecca Caine (Toronto), Teresa DeZarn (Canadian tour), Emmi Christensson (Stockholm), Valerie Link (Germany), Ana Marina (Australia), Joke de Kruijf (Scheveningen), Irasema Terrazas (Mexico City), Inneke van Klinken (Antwerp), Sibylle Glosted (Copenhagen), Kim So Hyun (Seoul), Julia Moller (Madrid), Barbara Fonyo (Budapest), Lina Mendes (Sao Paulo), Edyta Krzemien (Poland), Claudia Cota (Buenos Aires), Monika Sommerova (Prague), Maria Listra (Estonia), Tamara Kotova (Moscow), Sofie Asplund (Helsinki), Irina Baiant (Bucharest), Mirjana Matic (Belgrade), Vesela Delcheva (Sofia), Claire Lyon (World Tour), Astrid Giske (Oslo), Amy Manford (Greece), Holly-Anne Hull (UK Tour)

Raoul: Danny Whitehead (London), John Riddle (Broadway), Michael Maliakel (national tour), Kanji Ishimaru (Japan), Thorsten Tinney (Vienna), Laird Mackintosh (Toronto), Kip Wilborne (Canadian tour), Anton Zetterholm (Stockholm), Nicky Wuchinger (Germany), Alexander Lewis (Australia), Peter de Smet (Scheveningen), someone who's not Jose Joel (Mexico City), Michael Shawn Lewis (Antwerp), Christian Lund (Copenhagen), Son Jun Ho (Seoul), Armando Pita (Madrid), Zoltan Miller (Budapest), Nando Prado (Sao Paulo), Marcin Mrozinski (Poland), Nicholas Martinelli (Buenos Aires), Tomas Vanek (Prague), Koit Toome (Estonia), Evgeny Zaycev (Moscow), John Martin Bengtsson (Helsinki), Florin Ristei (Bucharest), Slaven Doslo (Belgrade), Denko Prodanov (Sofia), Matt Leisy (World Tour), Carl Lindquist (Oslo), Nadim Naaman (Greece), Rhys Whitfield (UK Tour)

Is that way too many cast members? Probably! Are there even enough scenes for each of them to perform together? Unlikely! Did I give up doing supporting, ensemble, and understudies because it was too exhausting? Definitely! Do I even know who some of these people are or if they want to come back at all? Not really!

But you have to admit - it's a huge and very international cast!

[angedelmusique]

It was so amazing!!!

I love the decorations.

13 days.

The Phantom - Damian Alexander

Christine - Edyta Krzemien

[ballerinadellamusica]

Upiór w Operze - Obsada w Terminach

7 kwietnia - Damian Aleksander, Paulina Janczak, Bartłomiej Łochnicki, Magdalena Masiewicz, Przemysław Borys, Maciej Nerkowski, Tomasz Steciuk, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anita Steciuk, Adam Józef Węgliński, Bogdan Kordy, Krzysztof Szyfman

8 kwietnia - Tomasz Steciuk, Paulina Janczak, Łukasz Talik, Magdalena Masiewicz, Przemysław Borys, Maciej Nerkowski, Jakub Wocial, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anna Sztejner, Adam Józef Węgliński, Bogdan Kordy, Krzysztof Szyfman

10 kwietnia godz. 10:30 - Damian Aleksander, Edyta Krzemień, Rafał Supiński, Magdalena Masiewicz, Krzysztof Stankiewicz, Maciej Nerkowski, Jakub Wocial, Dorota Białkowska-Krukowska, Anna Sztejner, Adam Józef Węgliński, Bogdan Kordy, Krzysztof Szyfman

10 kwietnia godz. 19:00 - Damian Aleksander, Edyta Krzemień, Łukasz Talik, Magdalena Masiewicz, Przemysław Borys, Maciej Nerkowski, Jakub Wocial, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anna Sztejner, Adam Józef Węgliński, Bogdan Kordy, Krzysztof Szyfman

11 kwietnia - Damian Aleksander, Edyta Krzemień, Łukasz Talik, Magdalena Masiewicz, Przemysław Borys, Maciej Nerkowski, Tomasz Steciuk, Dorota Białkowska-Krukowska, Anna Sztejner, Adam Józef Węgliński, Bogdan Kordy, Jakub Wocial

12 kwietnia - Damian Aleksander, Kaja Mianowana, Bartłomiej Łochnicki, Magdalena Masiewicz, Przemysław Borys, Maciej Nerkowski, Tomasz Steciuk, Dorota Białkowska-Krukowska, Anna Sztejner, Bogdan Kordy, Rafał Supiński, Jakub Wocial

13 kwietnia 10:30 - Damian Aleksander, Kaja Mianowana, Bartłomiej Łochnicki, Katarzyna Trylnik, Przemysław Borys, Maciej Nerkowski, Jakub Wocial, Dorota Białkowska-Krukowska, Anita Steciuk, Bogdan Kordy, Rafał Supiński, Krzysztof Szyfman

13 kwietnia 19:00 - Damian Aleksander, Edyta Krzemień, Rafał Supiński, Katarzyna Trylnik, Krzysztof Stankiewicz, Maciej Nerkowski, Jakub Wocial, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anita Steciuk, Bogdan Kordy, Bartłomiej Łochnicki, Krzysztof Szyfman

14 kwietnia - Damian Aleksander, Edyta Krzemień, Rafał Supiński, Katarzyna Trylnik, Krzysztof Stankiewicz, Grzegorz Pierczyński, Wojciech Dmochowski, Dorota Białkowska-Krukowska, Anita Steciuk, Bogdan Kordy, Maciej Nerkowski, Jakub Wocial

15 kwietnia - Damian Aleksander, Edyta Krzemień, Bartłomiej Łochnicki, Katarzyna Trylnik, Krzysztof Stankiewicz, Grzegorz Pierczyński, Wojciech Dmochowski, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anita Steciuk, Bogdan Kordy, Maciej Nerkowski, Jakub Wocial

21 kwietnia - Damian Aleksander, Edyta Krzemień, Rafał Supiński, Magdalena Masiewicz, Krzysztof Stankiewicz, Grzegorz Pierczyński, Tomasz Steciuk, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anna Sztejner, Bogdan Kordy, Maciej Nerkowski, Krzysztof Szyfman

22 kwietnia - Damian Aleksander, Paulina Janczak, Rafał Supiński, Katarzyna Trylnik, Krzysztof Stankiewicz, Grzegorz Pierczyński, Tomasz Steciuk, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anita Steciuk, Bogdan Kordy, Maciej Nerkowski, Krzysztof Szyfman

28 kwietnia - Tomasz Steciuk, Paulina Janczak, Bartłomiej Łochnicki, Magdalena Masiewicz, Przemysław Borys, Maciej Nerkowski, Wojciech Dmochowski, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anita Steciuk, Adam Józef Węgliński, Bogdan Kordy, Krzysztof Szyfman

29 kwietnia - Tomasz Steciuk, Paulina Janczak, Bartłomiej Łochnicki, Katarzyna Trylnik, Przemysław Borys, Maciej Nerkowski, Wojciech Dmochowski, Hanna Różankiewicz, Anita Steciuk, Adam Józef Węgliński, Bogdan Kordy, Krzysztof Szyfman

(Phantom of the Opera - cast and dates, April)

[24601moredawn]

2010/09/28 - ROMA - Warsaw, Poland Damian Aleksander (Valjean), Lukasz Dziedzic (Javert), Edyta Krzemien (Fantine), Ewa Lachowicz (Eponine), Kaja Mianowana (Cosette), Marcin Mrozinski (Marius), Lukasz Zagrobelny (Enjolras), Tomasz Steciuk (Thenardier)

[operafantomet]

Christine’s Masquerade costume in the ALW musical, stage and screen

[lesmisconfessions]

[glassprism]

Hi! Do you know of any actress that has played both Christine and Fantine?

Yeah, several; while it's not as common as Christine and Cosette, it's definitely happened. I know we've had Marina Prior, Claire Moore, Lisa Vroman, Carmen Cusack, Rumi Iryo, Jana Werner, Kathy Voytko, Edyta Krzemien, AJ Callaghan, Celinde Schoenmaker, Sierra Boggess, Katie Hall, Holly-Anne Hull, and Olivia Brereton. There are probably way more among the understudies and international productions. But hopefully that at least shows you that there are several actresses who have taken on both roles.

[glassprism]

Hi glass! This is in response to the ask about the haunting title song cadenzas-- I have always found Dale Kristien's to be haunting, as well as Katie Knight Adams, I think because hers sounds more strained it gives it this imperfect quality which feels like horror, a sharp juxtaposition w the beautiful music, and then her e6 is almost like a scream. I've always found that quality to be haunting! Do you know of any other Christine's who have a similar quality with it? Xx

I think I take the opposite view of "haunting", heh. I kind of go back to both the Leroux novel and the original intent of the song, in which Christine is implied to only reach such spellbinding heights when under the Phantom's spell and to even be a little scared of how fast she's improved ("I scarcely recognized my own voice when I sang"). This is further emphasized by some actresses who will clutch their throats in shock after hitting the high note.

So for me, what I want to hear is something that sounds inhumanly perfect; Christine is so entranced at that moment that her voice isn't fully her own, she's hitting notes she never has and she's doing it better than she ever has, and it scares her. I get the dissonance, and that certainly has an appeal and a horror of its own, but it's also not something I can see the Phantom being proud of, ha. Basically, I want to hear something that makes me go, "Wow, that was so beautiful it was scary", not "Ouch, my ears are bleeding".

But if it's the latter you want, then (using my own comparison video here) I guess Nicky Adams is also a good choice. Andrea Maho right after her makes a good approximation of a scream, and Barbara Fonyo right after her wavers out entirely (not a good choice on my end, should have picked a better audio). Mia Karlsson also doesn't sound too great, which I think was the fault of the production using an older pre-recording of her from back in her understudy days. And a lot of the Polish Christines (Edyta Krzemien, Kaja Mianowana, Paulina Janczak) sound kind of thin, probably because they were pretty young and also told to imitate Emmy Rossum.