#poto kristianstad

[operafantomet]

( from Perukmakare on IG )

[marleneoftheopera]

Easter, Phantom style.

[glassprism]

Has there ever been an incident where an emergency replacement in POTO spoke another language? Just found out this happened to Casi Normales!

As in, they were in a production where it's not only not their first language, they don't speak the language at all? Because there many multilingual actors out there! I'm thinking especially of Mercedesz Csampai, who is an absolute freak - born in Hungary, studied in Sweden, continued in the UK, and has further performed in Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Oh and she also knows French and Italian. She was in the Russian production of Phantom, which happens to be one of her native languages, but you could plop her anywhere in Europe and she'd probably be able to get by.

But anyway, I'm sure there has been, mainly because in some productions, like the German ones, they'll have multiple cast members who don't know the language and just learned it phonetically. (I know I remember reading that in one of the more recent Germany productions, I think the Hamburg revival, the language spoken backstage was English because that was actually the common language among them.) There are also productions, like that in Finland, where the entire performance is in English; however, in many of these cases English is studied as a second language, so that might not count for your question. In any case, this should show that it's not just emergency covers who speak another language, it's their regular cast members!

For a good example of this, you can read this post on Raymond Sepe, who had to emergency cover the Phantom in the Hamburg production despite not knowing German and learned all his lines phonetically over the course of four days.

Like, to add to that, the first case I thought of when I read your question was that of Renee Knapp. This was in the early 1990s when there weren't many Phantom alumni to pluck up for emergency covers. She was alternate in the Hamburg production (which was in German) and flew all the way to Australia to emergency cover in the Melbourne production (which was in English). But Renee Knapp is actually American and her native language is English, so it is a different scenario from that of Raymond Sepe's, even if she still had to learn her lines in 72 hours.

But a possible third case and one that's much more recent is John Martin Bengtsson, who played the roles of Phantom and Raoul in Stockholm (Swedish), Copenhagen (Danish), Gothenburg (English), and later Kristianstad (Swedish), and emergency covered the Phantom on the World Tour (English). But I don't know if he doesn't know English at all - as noted above, he performed in Gothenburg, where the entire production was in English.

[phantomchristinesuk]

Christines around the World: 2020

West End

Kelly Mathieson, Bridget Costello & Corinne Cowling

UK Tour

Holly-Anne Hull, Anouk van Laake & Lydia Gerrard*

Broadway

Meghan Picerno, Eryn LeCroy & Elizabeth Welch

US Tour

Emma Grimsley, Kaitlyn Davis & Jenna Burns

World Tour

Claire Lyon, Kaley Ann Voorhees, Clara Verdier, Caitlin Finnie & Megan Ort*

Sweden

Sara Ollinen

Japan

山本紗衣 (Sae/Sai Yamamoto), 海沼千明 (Chiaki Kainuma) & 岩城あさみ (Asami Iwashiro)*

Canada

Anne-Marine Suire & Lucie St-Martin*

Estonia

Maria Listra

Greece

Amy Manford, Celinde Schoenmaker & Glain Rhys*

*did not perform the role during this year

Pictures : Performers social medias (Sinéad Smith, Laird Mackintosh, Jory Rivera, Annie Éthier photographe). Kelly Everitt Associates, Phantom Kristianstad & Phantom Greece/People Entertainment Group instagrams. Teater Vanemuine (Gabriela Liivamägi) Facebook. Shiki Theater Company (Akihito Abe). Operafantomet on tumblr.

[ange-de-la-musique]

Christine dressing gowns in non-replica productions.

(Oslo/Greece, Estonia, Czech, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Finland/Sweden, Hungary)

Bonus! 2004 Movie, “real” dressing gown, “dream”’ dressing gown, and POTO Kristianstad:

[operafantomet]

Character photos of John Martin Bengtsson (Phantom), Hanna Ulvan (Christine) and Jonathan Böiers (Raoul) from Kristianstad, Sweden. Scans from the souvenir brochure.

[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 Kristianstad production (2020-2023):

Apart from the tiny tweak of the auctioneer being a woman, the auction scene itself was rather traditional. But the moment the chandelier came to life and started rising, some columns started tipping over, drapes were removed, and the set was slowly transformed into Hannibal. The original moment was having Raoul stumble around in this set, as if he was reliving some painful memories from his youth. Surprisingly touching staging.

The title song was another original take on a familiar view. For the first half a gate separated the misty stage into two areas. The Phantom and Christine - and a set of doubles crossed the stage, mirroring eachother's moves, which created a sense of a fascinating fairytale world.

Come the actual boat scene, the boat was as simple as two gates rising from the floor. The actors stood more or less still while rocks crossed the stage at irregular intervals, making it look like the boat was moving. Another super simple and super effective trick.

The Phantom's lair had some surprises in store. Whereas the floating candles reminded of the Restaged Tour, more or less, the amount of "spare masks" the Phantom had stacked up on each side was downright impressive. Extra cred for the creepy doll at the floor, which at one point got up and danced a violent waltz with Christine, making her faint...!

As for the Phantom himself, creating a horizontal half-mask instead of the usual vertical one felt more original than say making the mask grey or golden. It felt like a proper reinterpretation of the look (moreso than the leather coat, which Estonia and Serbia had also proudly featured). Extra bonus for a flawless mask fit.

Fast forward to the Masquerade scene, having Red Death 1. Crash through a giant mirror wall, and 2. Disappear in a twirl, just leaving his cloak / costume behind was the definition of magic tricks. Alas I only ever found photos of the in-between action, but it gives a glimpse of the mirror wall and the skull head costume.

In the same vein, the Phantom disappeared in a similar manner, walking through the scattered back wall, lit up by bright yellow light as it happened. I'm not quite sure what to read into that. Flames of hell? Redemption? Anyhow...

(for more of my thoughts of the production, have a look at this sort-of-review from when I saw the production in 2023)

[operafantomet]

Almost two years later, and I still haven't gotten over how wildly different the wig-work was for Sara Ollinen (left) and Hanna Ulvan (right) in the Swedish Kristianstad production...!

[operafantomet]

Any productions where in masquerade everyone else's costume are really bad but the main trio's are okay?

As in, non-replica productions? I would probably say the Swedish production in Kristianstad. Whereas I liked the idea for Raoul (white Hussar) and the Phantom (Red Death), and to some degree Christine (blue butterfly)...

...and whereas I liked some of the ideas (bunny manager, clowns, woman in tailcoat), it mostly felt like a budget version with store-bought masks and generic skirts and jackets.

The good parts of this production didn't really lay in their costumes, rather in some really clever stagings and a stellar cast. Which means it doesn't always translate well into photos. Masquerade is a good example of that. Who'd think Red Death would come crashing through a mirrored wall, for example?

Another that comes to mind is the Mediterranean version (Italy, Monaco, Spain). There too I liked a lot of the principal costumes - the Victorian ballgown Christine wore, Raoul's classic tailcoat:

Red Death's ambiguous hooded red velvet coat:

And also Meg's "Monkey Girl" attire (echoing that of the monkey musical box), as well as Firmin's epic frilly dress:

But I didn't care too much for the ensemble costumes here, nor the general set-up. I do appreciate the Venetian carnival flair with the robes, masks and hats, but I would either love to see a lot more gold and glitter, or more personality. And... it was so glaringly obvious each cast member danced with a dummy on wheels. A good idea on paper, but it felt quite odd after a minute or so. Bonus point for trying something brand new, though.

It also leaves the question of why Christine and Raoul missed out on the invitation's specifications for attire. Here everyone is robed, even the managers in the beginning, heck even Red Death. And yet Christine and Raoul is in their Victorian finery. Christine and Raoul always miss out, don't they?

But in large I think Masquerade is one of those scenes non-replica production is "all in" on and does well. Give or take the budget, this scene really allows creativity to flow.

[operafantomet]

Here it is, the most secretive and stubborn Phantom production I know of: That of Kristianstad, Sweden.

It premiered in early 2020, was closed down, set its repremiere for 2021, was closed down, set its repremiere in 2022, was closed down, and finally got its full run in 2023. Produced by Emil Sigfridsson, and directed by David Rix, it had scenography by the producer and director as well as Filip Hällefors, and costumes by Fia Persson. Conductor was veteran Julian Biggs, and Nils-Petter Ankarblom. Revamped deformity and mask was by Thomas Foldberg.

The original cast featured Joel Zerpe as the Phantom and Sara Ollinen (redhead) as Christine. The final run had John Martin Bengtsson as the Phantom, and Hanna Ulvan (blonde) as Christine. Jonathan Böiers was principal Raoul for all cast combos.

Due to the topsy-turvy run I don't think a full photoset was ever shared anywhere. Bits and bobs was used in promo work, some was shared by cast members, some by newspapers, some in the souvenir brochures, but finding good photos of all scenes has been near impossible. Here's a best of, with the majority taken by Amanda Sigfridsson (first auction set one is mine).

[operafantomet]

Do you prefer larger or smaller stages, Like the Swedish production?

"The Swedish production" might be a bit wide term, as there has been four different Swedish production:

The original Stockholm production 1989-1995

The non replica Finnish / Swedish one in Gothenburg 2017-2018

The Stockholm revival 2016-2017

The non replica Kristianstad production 2020-2023

Of these, the latter was definitely the smallest, playing in a theatre with a seating capacity of 362. Which of course meant all seats were fairly close to the stage. It was a lovely Art Nouveau theatre, grand in style but small in size, I liked it a lot. Photo I took there:

The Stockholm revival played in Cirkus Teater, with a seating capacity of 1,644. It's a circular auditorium, where many will be placed far at the side or quite long away from stage. I have seen both POTO and Chess there, and whereas the building itself is stunning in its turn-of-the-century-circus vibe, it is not my favourite venue for theatre. It's so many levels and stair and fences and whatnot, and a sound more suited for concerts. But it's a cool allround experience to go there, including its location at an idyllic peninsula. Photo from TripAdvisor:

The original production played in Oscarsteatern, which has a seating capacity of around 950, but again with an intimate layout where most seats are close to stage. I did not see this production, alas, but friend Josefine loved it there, and sometimes compared it to Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen (which I adore). From their website:

The Finnish / Swedish version played at the Gothenburg Opera's main stage, with a seating capacity of around 1,300. I also didn't see this production, but I have seen Sunset Boulevard there. It's a brand new building, a fairly tall auditorium, but with a smart horseshoe layout and a feeling of sitting close to the stage still. From their website:

As a general note, I do tend to enjoy smaller theatres more, due to the proximity to stage. More facial expressions, more details, more concentrated sound, more acoustic sound. Ob the other hand, I think a production like POTO needs a bit of stage and space. So I probably prefer the mid/large size theatres, like Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen and His Majesty's Theatre in West End. But it also depends on the production.

[operafantomet]

NATIONS HOSTING BOTH REPLICA AND NON-REPLICA POTO

United Kingdom: The UK saw the world premiere of ALW's POTO in 1986. They've also since seen the RAH staging (2011), the original UK Tours (1993-2000), the UK Tour Revival (2000), and the West End Revival (2021). It was also in the UK the new Restaged Tour was first launched (2012-2013).

United States: The US was the first opening outside the UK, premiering in 1988, and also had three national tours (1989-2010) and the Las Vegas Spectacular (2006-2012). They furthermore hosted the Restaged Tour (2013-2020).

Austria: Austria was the fourth country to host the original staging (1988-1993). In 2024 they welcomed back the musical, this time as the Restaged Tour.

Canada: Canada was the fifth country to host the original staging, in 1989. The production ran for a whopping ten years, closing in 1999. There were also various Canadian tours (1991-1998), touring nationally and internationally. They later hosted multiple visits of both US Tour and the Restaged Tour.

Australia: Australia was the eight country to host the original staging, opening in Melbourne in 1990 and later turning into a Australian and NZ Tour (until 1998). The musical would return many times as a leg of the World Tour. Uniquely, they also hosted the first out-door version at Sydney Harbour in 2022, as well as staging the Restaged Tour in Sydney and Melbourne (2022-2023).

Spain: The original Madrid production ran from 2002-2004. When POTO returned in 2023 it was in the form of the new "Mediterranean" version opening in Trieste in Italy the same year. The production also visited Bilbao, before returning to Madrid.

Dubai: The first POTO production to hit Dubai was the World Tour in 2019. In 2024 POTO returned, this time as a part of the Middle East Tour, presenting the Romanian/Norwegian production.

Switzerland: The original Basel production ran from 1995-1997. This year POTO returned in the form of the Romanian/Norwegian production, touring the Middle East and Europe.

Sweden: Sweden was the sixth country to host the original staging, in Stockholm for an impressive six years (1989-1995). They also later did a revival (2016-2017). They furthermore hosted the Finnish/Swedish version in Gothenburg (2017-2018), as well as a unique new staging in Kristianstad (2000-2003).

Soon to be added: Belgium (1999-2000 / 2025). Ireland was also meant to host the UK Tour Revival in May 2020, but for obvious reasons that was cancelled. They had previously hosted the Restaged Tour in 2012-2013. (Also, I have not included concert versions)

[operafantomet]

How would you rank each non-replica on a scale of creativity/original ideas?

That is a good question with many possible answers! Mostly because there are "good" creative/original ideas and "bad" creative/original ideas out there, and some of the most creative ones may also be the one I dislike the most... For example, if going by creativity and originality alone, Estonia would be very high on the list. But I'm not really loving the production overall, so I wouldn't say it's the best original take on POTO. If that makes sense. But if ranking the productions purely by how different they are and how hard they have worked on not looking like the original, I would say:

ESTONIA: Inter-war setting, rather bleak in its colour scheme and overall design, with one helluva mirror-discoball lair design, leather-coat Phantom, Vivienne Westwood-esque Il Muto, Moulin Rouge-ish Masquerade, 1990s Haute Couture Don Juan... There's so much to say. Definitely original, and not just giving "we had a low budget" vibe.

FINLAND / SWEDEN: 1980s costume vibes, gold mask, rock'n'roll, huge sets, tiny chandelier, gigantic orchestra, for the most actual opera singers in the leads. This one felt odd more than anything. But original? Very much so.

KRISTIANSTAD, SWEDEN: Definitely a production on a budget, but yet checking off all the boxes of what you'd expect of a POTO production. And with some super original ideas for some key scenes - Raoul stumbling around in the falling sets during the Overture, the elegant double staging in the boat scene, the rarities in the Phantom's lair, Red Death crashing through a mirror and later disappearing in mid-air... They had so many cool lil' details going on. In style fairly 1880s, and with a cool horizontal half-mask for the Phantom. I really appreciated this one.

SERBIA: One could maybe argue this was more low-budget than original...? At least the basic black set with few changes and the many low-key costumes didn't feel like the biggest effort out there. But different? Oh definitely.

BULGARIA: Pretty much the same comments as Serbia. However, the Phantom's fruit crown in PONR can never be unseen. Neither can the monkey musical box which seemed to have lost its will to live. Memorable for sure.

ROMANIA / NORWAY / GREECE / TOUR: Whereas the basic drum set was fairly similar to the Restaged Tour, it felt like an original production still. Some independent interpretations of the Palais Garnier (including featuring a huge window as a mirror substitute for Christine), more Edwardian flair of the costume design, and a kick-ass chandelier - grand, fun, and with some cool and independent directing ideas throughout. The idea of never leaving the opera house, for example, was interesting. Very enjoyable overall.

MEDITERRANEAN: Basing nearly the whole set design within a rectangular, turnable box on stage was a neat and cool idea. This, combined with oh-so-Victorian costumes and so many nods to Phantom history, felt original and clever. Also some stunning original visuals, like the Phantom's lair with the Piraniesi-esque labyrinth backdrop. Speaking of original, it probably looked very as expected with its heavy victoriana flair - but to me that's not a negative thing.

POLAND: One could argue this in large was a carbon copy of the 2004 movie. The costumes in particular, but also directing elements like including a sword fight in the Mausoleum scene. But the sets - oh, those beautiful sets! Also a wild chandelier crash.

SYDNEY HARBOUR: A really hard one to rank. The world's first outdoor production (ORIGINAL!), with sets looking like Bjørnson's design on steroids (not as original), with 1860s flair costumes (hello 2004 movie) with a dash of LND Australia (not as original), but then a flying gondola over burning water (ORIGINAL!), a huge cast (very RAH), and performing come rain or sunshine (ORIGINAL!). Something old, something new... But definitely a cool one for the Phantom portfolio!

RESTAGED TOUR: I was a bit in doubt on how to rank this one. I mean, the costume design is in large not new, it's Maria Bjørnson's costumes. But then new set design, new directing and new choreography. With various degrees of success. To me the most original idea is the drum set structure, and also some new magic tricks and added moments. I'm not loving the directing choices, as it makes both the Phantom and Raoul rather unloving candidates for Christine - why would she pick either of them? Also felt too much like a nod to Love Never Dies to appear truly original. So yeah, mostly for the sets.

HUNGARY and CZECH REPUBLIC: Whereas the productions themselves may not look the same, they both feel like two similar takes, to loving interpretations of the original, sticking to the same colour schemes and with a heavy Victorian flair. Directing wise they also feel like the same landscape. I appreciate both a lot, and especially Hungary has some clever ideas going on. I also loved how they picked Palais Garnier as a base - but totally different areas or angles of the Palais Garnier than what Bjørnson did. But if going purely by originality they don't move too far outside the box.

NEW ROMANIAN PRODUCTION: Nearly impossible to rank. AI design with some tweaks, which has resulted in a sort of amalgamated combo of all the non-replica production set design, with a sprinkle of Maria Bjørnson design on top. With some playing-card-odd costumes. Some visuals are stunning, some are very traditional, some are way out there. Yeah, I have no idea how to rank this one.

(and of course this is just my impression of them - have in mind that I've only seen three of them live, and if I see more of them in the future I may feel different about this ranking)

[glassprism]

John Martin Bengtsson and Hanna Ulvan - ‘Final Lair’

Kristianstad production; February 2023

[glassprism]

John Martin Bengtsson and Hanna Ulvan - ‘Music of the Night’

Kristianstad production, February 2023

[marleneoftheopera]

Production shots from POTO Kristianstad ‘s first run in February 2020 featuring Joel Zerpe and Sara Ollinen.