#poto Milan

[eleancrvances]

HELLO!!!

(from _broadwayitalia_ on instagram)

[marleneoftheopera]

Ramin Karimloo at curtain call in Milan.

[phantomchristinesuk]

Christines of the Broadway Italia/LetsGo Company productions

Trieste/Milan/Monte Carlo

Amelia Milo (Principale)

Margherita Toso (Prima Sostituta)

Martina Cenere (Seconda Sostituta)

Madrid

Talía del Val (Principal)

Judith Tobella (Alternante)

Laura Enrech (Alternante/Primera Suplente)

Naiomi Weiler Lara (Segunda Suplente)

Marina Brisa (Reemplaza a la Segunda Suplente)

Pictures from performers and productions instagrams

[flagbridge]

POTO Italy Luca Gaudiano Audio Gift

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I figured I would kick off the Holiday season with an audio gift of Luca Gaudiano's evening (second, and last) performance of "Music of the Night" and "Stranger Than You Dreamt It " on October 15, 2023 in Milan, mastered by @or-what-you-will.

[ballerinadellamusica]

Wish the Italian production also announced their understudies like the Spanish one.

So do I, but it’s possible they felt that understudies did not need to officially be announced since each run is 2 weeks at a time and maybe they feel it is unlikely they will need them. Similar to how they have not cast any swings.

Some of the cast has announced themselves that they are understudies with 2 people covering the male roles between themselves.

We are just waiting on people to announce they are Carlotta, Madame Giry & Meg understudies, although I feel I could guess them based on the cast.

The ones we know are:

Antonio Orler - cover Phantom, Raoul & André

Margherita Toso - cover Christine

Matt Bond - cover Firmin & Piangi

As soon as other understudies are confirmed I will be updating on the cast list although this cast is only confirmed for Trieste.

There will be some changes for Milan & Monte-Carlo since some cast have other commitments.

[wheel-of-fish]

hi hi!! Have you been looking at the Milan production? I was at the premiere and it was incredible!!

Hello hello! I'm afraid I haven't been following any of the productions too closely these days—I think it's some combination of burnout and missing broadway and general life stuff. But HOW LUCKY FOR YOU to attend the premiere!! I can only imagine how exciting that must have been. I'm finishing up a little project and then maybe I'll try turning my attention to Milan for a bit!

[ta-divchyna]

The Final Lair in two parts (one file is too big)

11.10. 2023, Milan premier

Ramin Karimloo, Amelia Milo, Vinny Coyle

[ask-muppet-phantom]

muppet erik i think you're very beautiful and very sweet, would love to hang out some time :))

[ladymisteria]

𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔, 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. The Music of the Night is coming to Milan! Don’t miss your chance to see '𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂' at #TeatroArcimboldiMilano from 11 to 22 October!

[eleancrvances]

audio gift!

in honor of the italian production closing in monte carlo tonight, here's an audio gift of the full the phantom of the opera in milan, october 21st 2023's afternoon show!

cast: ramin karimloo (the phantom), amelia milo (christine), vinny coyle (raoul), earl carpenter (andre), ian mowat (firmin), anna corvino (carlotta), gian luca pasolini (piangi), alice mistroni (madame giry), zoe nochi (meg) + full cast in the folder

please credit as eleancrvances's master. you can hear me sob during the end of the final lair i fear...

also some notes because i thought it was a juicy performance, and as far as i know no videos of the milan run exist:

vinny's raoul is a sweetheart but also the king of flapping that long coat like it's a cape. so dramatic

anna corvino has grown way more comfortable with carlotta and was having so much fun tormenting christine during "il muto"

there's applause and some noise during the last section of masquerade because after a brief darkness the lights turned on to reveal the cast had come down among the audience, while confetti fell from the ceiling

ramin sank to his knees after the kiss and remained there for a looong while, in a daze. then he noticed raoul had gone limp and jumped to his feet to take the noose off him, in a "no wait he can't die now i can't have that anymore" way

in this production (like in the restaged uk tour) the phantom has his back to christine when she returns the ring, and delivers the "i love you" not knowing she's there. now, it wasn't done like this in trieste, but at least when i went in milan when raoul says it to christine in act I she has already started to leave the rooftop and he's still on his knees, so he also says it while having his back turned to her... the parallel becomes visual as well. exactly the same blocking. how fun :')

[marleneoftheopera]

More Milan curtain call photos.

[operachristine]

Hi there! I don’t necessarily trade so this is a long shot. If you’re still gifting could you gift these three?

Nikola Bulatović (The Phantom of the Opera), Marta Hadžimanov (Christine Daaé), Slaven Došlo (Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny), Snežana Savičić Sekulić (Carlotta Giudicelli), Milan Antonić (Monsieur Firmin), Dušan Šida (Monsieur André), Milena Vasić (Madame Giry), Ljubomir Popović (Ubaldo Piangi), Iva Stefanović (Meg Giry) December 14, 2018; Serbia

Juan Carlos Barona, Felicidad Farag, Armando Pita February 7, 2003; Madrid

Yoon Young-seok, Kim So-hyun, Hong Kwang-ho October 3, 2009; Seoul, Korea

Hey! I’m always open to gifting! This isn’t a limited time thing. It’s something for me to do when I really should be updating my trading site which has 3 untitled docs with so many bootlegs I haven’t added yet…….

December 14, 2018; Serbia

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pr1F1LK9E8Kys0W3m3dbJVLu-MKLSAvQ?usp=sharing

February 7, 2003; Madrid

https://www.mediafire.com/file/jpvtz9lwxy1q6hc/El+Fantasma+de+la+Opera+February+7,+2003+2.zip/file

October 3, 2009; Seoul, Korea

https://www.mediafire.com/file/7tvzjhgkt8q9ius/POTO+Korea+2009-10-03+YYS+KSH+HKH.zip/file

[ballerinadellamusica]

Phantom Italy taking risks by not casting Swings, based on how many cast members they have announced, I know they are only open for 2 weeks at a time but is it really worth the risk not having anyone to replace your cast should anything happen.

[glindaupland]

The Phantom of the Opera | Seoul, South Korea | 집팬텀 x 손크리 Review

October 11, 2023 - Evening

The Phantom of the Opera | 김주택 Kim Ju-taek/Julian Kim

Christine Daaé | 손지수 Sohn Ji-soo

Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny | 송원근 Song Won-geun

Carlotta Giudicelli | 한보라 Han Bo-ra

Walked out of the theater, face in my hands, soul in pieces, etc etc. Listen, I've been a POTO fan most of my life and after a while you become used to (?) not easily moved anymore by (?) things in this show even though you still love it deeply. You love and enjoy new casts, but it's pretty difficult for some to stand out enough to squeeze their way into the top tier. So tell me why I haven't cried watching it in at least over a decade and I left this performance with full tears streaming down my face? I need therapy Actually, this pair needs to use their POTO paychecks to pay for my therapy because this is their fault!

My favorite performance and my favorite seat right under the chandelier (things that were way too expensive on Broadway)! Let's pretend I didn't arrive just 7 minutes before the performance after over-estimating the time I had to get there after seeing Rebecca because I was not expecting to have 500 disasters happen to me on the way. But I lived!

Admittedly, at the time of casting I was a bit unsure seeing an opera singer with no musical experience taking on the role. It's not that I automatically assumed the worst, it's just that this brings its own obstacles (the type of singing, acting, etc). But he has really been able to turn that experience in addition to his passion for music into an advantage for himself. He brought such a fresh new interpretation to the role that was so nice to see after being a fan for so long. 🥹 So now I've ended up with a new surprise favorite Phantom in my top ranks. I was very impressed, I'm a big fan now

The Mirror/Angel of Music

KJT Phantom had such a powerful entrance that it gave me chills hearing his booming voice. It sounds crazy. But I loved how clearly his tone shifted after hearing Christine respond to him SJS Christine seemed very worried about disappointing him. I think she tries really hard to gain his favor because she holds him in such high regard.

The Phantom of the Opera

His Phantom is possessive and mentor-like. Already in the title song he's looking at her like he's so proud of the student he's created. At "In all your fantasies-" he sings "I gave you all of those fantasies, all of those secrets-" and when she finishes the line "-you gave them to me" his gaze feels strong and he nods approvingly. Like - Yes, I taught you well. I gave you all of this. When they get off the boat he really turned into a strict teacher with the way he commands her to sing I know title song is pre-recorded, but wow...opera singer pair is so healing for your ears actually. Both Kim Ju-taek and Sohn Ji-soo studied at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, Italy so this was a pair that was meant to happen 🙏 My soul was happy, I was ascending.

The Music of the Night

Even though he put himself in this mentor position with her, I think at this point in the run he had softened up a bit. By the time he started his last lines before MOTN, his eyes were brighter and filled with adoration and fascination. He worships her, but his feelings aren't quite romantic yet (something Ju-taek said himself about his interpretation). KJT Phantom has hidden himself from the world and buried himself in music to keep himself safe. So it's everything to him, his biggest priority, the most important thing in the world. So Christine is precious to him more as his muse, as the key to making his music - his whole purpose - come to life. He has to shape and tune her into the perfect instrument. I have to talk about his voice more god he really had fantastic control. I think he sounded heavier and leaned into the big full operatic voice most of the time in the early Busan days, but there was more nuance here. His stability in his higher register had improved and it didn't feel like the light notes got shaky or were cut off too soon. I got chills after his big powerful note in MOTN because of the gentle way he sang the next line. "마침내 내 것이 될 순간 / The moment you'll finally be mine - he put the whispered emphasis on "finally" this performance. He finally had what he needed to complete his music. The way he acted when he came close to her was like she was a precious treasure he had handle very carefully. SJS Christine has fantastic chemistry with him. She's more trusting and swayed by the Phantom more easily. His passion for music really seemed to draw her to him. At times though, it felt like he was under a spell himself as well. He had a lot of power, but getting close to her you could sense he was a little bit overwhelmed with the slightest hand trembling. There were moments of "distractions". He doesn't act overly flustered, but when Christine almost kissed him he gasped a bit when pulling away. Like "Okay wow! Uh, time to move along, learn how to redirect that passion elsewhere~" I cannot blame her for being so very into his whole thing though. Regardless of his real intentions, if someone was looking at me and treating me like that I'd definitely be like "what are we" If I'm forgetting something (feel free to correct me, I have the worst memory sometimes) but I noticed that the Korean lyrics actually don't have the Phantom mentioning "love" in Act 1? I believe the first time he actually used this was when he was plagiarizing Raoul proposing to Christine after PONR. So it made his interpretation work pretty well in my opinion. But also, king...then what the hell kind of weird artistic (?) symbolism (?) are you going for with this bride replica for your student. Christine, this is a symbol of...uh...you devoting your life to music with me? : ) Yeah okay that's normal!

You can listen to a TV performance of Music of the Night here for a little taste! It's amazing, but I think he sounds even better now. Some of his gestures and expressions here are a little similar to his actual performance, but obviously not fully like it

Stranger Than You Dreamt It

So he definitely has a frightening temper, but you can tell his outbursts are very fear-driven. The beginning of STYDI sounded threatening and cold, but halfway through that wall he put up started to crack and reveal this vulnerable insecure side of him. Throughout the show, he basically acts like a wounded animal that lashes out in defense, but then cowers and shrinks in fear immediately after. He would snap, but then be close to falling apart moments later. Quite a rollercoaster! Christine had been looking away at the ground, but she finally slowly turned to face him with teary eyes. As soon as he met her eyes he started realizing the position they both were in and looking a little regretful. She moved like she wanted to go comfort him after he turned around, but stopped herself and reached for his mask instead. It was after receiving the mask that it seemed like his feelings actually began to shift into something new. ...Oh well! Time to smack whatever the hell this feeling is away, I'm taking you back upstairs!

All I Ask of You (Reprise)

To him, he gave her the most beautiful gift and instead of devoting herself to him and his music, she was ungrateful and used it against him. Just threw it away for some stupid boy! He has no idea he actually just wants to be in the stupid boy's position! You have feelings for her now! Anyway he's mostly very fragile in this part and I thought his transition to rage during Christine and Raoul's singing was very smoothly done. Honestly though first moment I saw him I just thought of him saying he has to be really still or else the angel starts swaying and then everyone's paying attention whatever the hell is going on up there instead of Christine and Raoul because it was making some slight movement above me 🤭

Wandering Child/Bravo Monsieur

Oh, I loved the difference between these parts. He starts this off so warmly and delicately. It's after Raoul demanded him to stop that he became hostile with a very stern, dark, and deep voice. The way he growled Christine's name when calling her before 'Bravo Monsieur' was harsh and commanding like he was getting impatient. Major temper issues! He sounded like he was scolding them for disobeying him at the end in scary teacher mode. The audacity trying to act like an authority figure so much...

The Point of No Return

Once again he tried really hard to be controlling, but he was fighting being controlled by her himself (something that she doesn't realize of course). "The moment my fate is about to be sealed - I won't regret this" he sings as the last lines of his part. Ohoho, I think he is definitely regretting it from the start though, let's not lie. He already was kind of wriggling and having difficulty facing her before she reached for him I really like the detail where he mirrors Christine when she entwines her fingers together for the choreo (singing "내 곁에, 내 품에 / beside me, in my arms" -> “defenseless and silent”). It looked like he was trying to keep himself composed and focus on everything playing out exactly as he planned so he could ignore that he had just cornered himself. Always, always trying to push his feelings down with distractions or anger!! He kept reaching for his face and cloak when he wasn't sure what to do with his hands. He's very restless and sort of glanced to the side nervously a few times too like he needed to know what she was about to do at any moment Poor Ji-soo struggled getting his hood off. You could hear the mic getting smacked loudly on the first attempt. I actually got kinda worried she would knock off the mask early, but it was fine! But lol what could the Phantom be thinking in universe Anyway it felt like this was finally the moment he started to understand what this feeling he had was all along. He wanted her for more than his music. And since he had no idea how to express his feelings because he barely even understand what the hell they were until now...uh...shit quick! Let's steal lines from the guy who did know what he was doing! Okay, but I have to admit that the way he screams "안돼! / NO!" is really funny. He sounds like a possessed rooster. Dinosaur? Eh, same thing

Final Lair

Category 10 emotional disaster no survivors and the ground is radioactive after. You can really see the internal conflict in the smallest of changes on his face. There was so much uncertainty about his actions and a weird guilt creeping up. He hesitated and had a panicked look for a moment when she said she didn't fear his face anymore. Quickly, he snapped out of it and continued in a rushed sloppy manner like he hadn't heard her. He couldn't believe her rejection was for any reason other than his face. Or maybe he couldn't allow himself to believe it. Every rejection she gives him, every cold word made him look more and more doubtful which only made him increasingly desperate. He actually can't handle upsetting her now. If he doesn't shout and unleash his emotion as rage it seems like the only other way to do it would be with tears. Oh man and he lunged at Raoul when he asks him why he should force her to choose a lie like he's trying to strangle him and shut him up. He was so frustrated growling loudly when Christine got in the way. When Christine tells him "음악의 천사 위선자여! 믿었는데 그댈 / Angel of music, you hypocrite! I trusted you!" -> (“Angel of music you deceived me! I gave my mind blindly!”) he usually replies with “믿었다... 날...믿었다고... / Trusted...you trusted me“ in disbelief. When he looked at her you could see in his tearful eyes - You trusted me? Did you really? So then why all of this, why not me? - In this moment he looked like he already knew what his choice would have to be in the end. So when she told him he wasn't alone, he was shaking his head just before she turned him around. No, I will have to be alone in the end because I have to let her go During the second kiss, he almost fully surrendered. His expression was so calm for just a moment and his hands hovered so close to her back before one strayed up quickly to gently but quickly pull her away from his face. He couldn't let it continue. He looked at her hands then quickly covered them both with his when he registered what she had just done. He then reached up to his own face as he stumbled away. When he looked between Christine and then Raoul his face actually looked so mortified and ashamed at the situation he had created. His eyes were wide and his hand reached up to his mouth for a moment like the truth of the situation hit him, like he had finally woken up. I think now he was more disgusted at his own actions than he was of his face. He realized in the end what the problem really was. While he sang that he loved her smiling, SJS Christine shook her head like she wasn't ready to leave him forever. She kissed his hands and they took a long time to separate. He was trying to show her that it was okay, that she needed to leave, but they practically needed to peeled away from each other with how long they dragged it on. He kissed the ring when she was gone. Actually, Ju-taek said he wishes the way he could say "I love you" could be "I'm sorry" in this moment. Like "I'm sorry for being selfish, I'm sorry for only using you and not treating you like a person. Now I know I love you, so you have to go" Oh, I was going to be sick!!! Forgive any awkwardness in translation, but this part - "share each day with me, each night, each morning"- from my understanding is like: CHRISTINE: 말해줘요 그대 단 한 사람 / Tell me you’re the one and only RAOUL: 결코 변치 않을 한 사람 / The only person who will never change CHRISTINE: 세월 흘러도 나를, 나만을 -> this is followed by "사랑해줘Love me" in AIAOY so if not cut off, it would fully be "Even as time goes on, love me, only me") So when she watches the Phantom it looked like she's asking him to keep loving only her forever. She does this with every Phantom, but because he actually turns around and locks eyes with her as she does it, it was extra painful. He really did hear it, he wasn't too lost in his crying to miss it.

I was sitting there destroyed, but at least curtain call was cute! After Ju-taek kissed Ji-soo’s hand he paused like he realized something and turned around to face Won-geun. He looked at his hand and then back at his eyes and stretched out his hand hoping for Won-geun to put his there. ....But Won-geun is a jerk and slapped his hand away lol. Accept the love! Don't be rude! There's different ways this has gone it's so silly. After Ju-taek kept blowing tons of kisses into the crowd

Anyway to conclude this half of his Phantom reviewing, I'm grateful for Lucy's recommendation to me (to see this pairing specifically). I had been tempted to see him with both Christines because I had grown attached to his Phantom during my wait and it pushed me into giving in and adding this performance to my schedule. It was so wonderful to have my live experiences end up exceeding expectations! ❤️ But this means there's one more KJT Phantom show review too! I can wrap up my thoughts there

[harrowscore]

It’s been some days, but can I ask your opinions about Phantom in Milan?

yes of course!! so, here are the things i enjoyed:

the performances were all very solid. ramin karimloo's voice has grown far better with time - he was never one of my super fav phantoms of all time but i always enjoyed him and it was really a treat to see him live. amelia milo is a lovely christine, and vinny coyle was also good as raoul. ah! and i got to see earl carpenter as andré (he's a superb actor and singer, and acting wise probably my fav erik ever)

the audience was on fire and very enthusiastic. the performers received multiple standing ovations at the curtain call - it was really a magical experience

in general the new staging, costumes, coreography were alright, and tbh far better (for the most part) than the restaged tour lmao. sure, the black angel wings of doom in the graveyard trio scene + the yellow coat/giant hat combo in ponr were a Choice but honestly? i didn't mind it so much, it kinda worked on stage.

in general i obviously prefer the original production but this was still a worthwhile experience. even my dad (who can't understand one word of english but was already vaguely familiar with the plot) absolutely loved it - he even said it was the best thing he saw in milan lmao. now he's a poto fan too sdfghjfjf

so tl;dr: they did a lot of things right. what i disliked instead:

in the graveyard scene... well it really doesn't look like a graveyard, to the point that my brother (who like my dad is familiar with the musical and even read the book many years ago) didn't understand that it was supposed to be a graveyard at all lol. the scenography was very bare ngl (they possibly saved some money for the abovementioned black angel wings of doom lmao)

i thought the staging for aiaoy was a bit... heh. basically raoul and christine don't really touch/hug each other until the end of the song (with the big damn kiss etc.) and it was a weird choice since this is supposed to be a romantic scene; in fact it kinda reminded me of the restaged tour version. same with motn (erik & christine don't have any physical contact until the famous 'touch me, trust me' bit, while in the og there's this interesting thing where he barely touches her at all/she leans into him etc. until the climax) but it makes more sense here. i mean, this is just a pet peeve of mine, both scenes were fine. as you pointed out it's been some days since i saw the show so maybe i'm misremembering it all. if anyone out there has a better memory than i have and wants to correct me you're free to do so lol

in the final lair scene, after erik lets christine & raoul go, she does return to give him back the ring but whereas in the original they face each other here she just. leaves it there (tho she looks emotional) while erik is facing the audience and singing 'i love you'. again, this doesn't ruin the show or anything but i prefer the more intimate scene from the original.

obv there were a lot of changes/additions to the og production and i can't list them all (i suppose other phans already did) but imho it's one of the most 'loyal' non-replicas out there, and while the original brilliant is still. you know. the og brilliant and all in all superior/far more spectacular this did not disappoint 💜