#poto sweden revival

[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.

[phantomchristinesuk]

Christine in the ballet: around the world

1- Sarah Brightman - 1986

2- Jill Washington - 1989

3 & 4- Gina Beck - 2008 & 2010

5- Emmi Christensson - 2016

7- Julia Udine - 2013

Years are from the brochures they first appeared in (approximately)

Pictures from various souvenir brochures

[ballerinadellamusica]

Hanna Ulvan as Christine, Stockholm Sweden.

[nymphiamanakete]

Soo it seems you can download 2 songs of the swedish phantom cast on the swedish spotify - anyone who lives in sweden who is willed to share for international fans?

[fredrikb71]

Emmi before 100th performance in Stockholm.

[marleneoftheopera]

ATTENTION ALL PEOPLE SEEING THE SWEDISH REVIVAL

please get audio, we will be forever grateful. sincerely, the phantom phandom

[heaven-by-the-sea]

Poto Sweden - tv spot

[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)

[ballerinadellamusica]

The phantom of the opera Stockholm, Sweden. The flower and the goldfish! Jessica Hill and Suzy Halstead. Picture from Hanna Ulvans facebook

[operafantomet]

JOHN MARTIN BENGTSSON AS THE PHANTOM

LEFT: Alternate in Copenhagen 2018-2019

MIDDLE: u/s in Stockholm 2016-2017

RIGHT: Principal in Kristianstad 2023

BONUS: Emergency cover in the World Tour April/May 2019

[operafantomet]

Karolina Andersson as Carlotta in the POTO Stockholm revival (photo by Matthew Murphy, my scan)

[operafantomet]

Cloak swirl of doom! Peter Jöback and Emmi Christensson in the Stockholm revival, 2016 ( Photo by  Stina Stjernkvist through x )

[operafantomet]

What do you think of Emmi Christensson's Stockholm rooftop dress?

Ooooh, that one. An interesting case of a merge of two styles. The base is a UK one, made of mint/pink metallic fabric. It’s possibly the same dress she wore in West End with the decorations removed, but also possibly a brand new one they didn’t decorate, much like some of the new UK costumes in the World Tour. The dress was instead dorned with World Tour decorations and petticoat.

Left: Robin Botha in Johannesburg, middle: Emmi Christensson in Stockholm, and right: Emmi Christensson in West End.

Up close, I LOVE it. the darker decorations makes it sharper in look somehow, not as girlish. I also love the combo of the icy mint cloak, rather than the greener mint ones in West End. But I think the petticoat was too big for the dress. The World Tour ones has been large and fluffy and rather circular in shape, while the UK ones has been 18th century “panier” style, mostly wide over the hips. And the big petticoat under the smaller skirt gave it a sightly forced silhouette:

But other than that... I rather like it. With a smaller or more panier-like underskirt it could have been quite an awesome one.

[operafantomet]

Did John Martin Bengson ever go on as Raoul in Stockholm or Copenhagen?

I don’t think so. Main reason might be that he was first cover (later alternate) Phantom and second cover Raoul. I remember he talked about an incident in Stockholm in the podcast Phantomology, where Glenn Edell had to fill in for Raoul at a short notice, I wanna say a bit out in the performance even. JMB was so happy it wasn’t him who had to dive into the task. Then a short while later he was told to prepare for the role of the Phantom, as he was to take over for Peter Jöback mid-performance...

(Glenn Edell, Emmi Christensson and John Martin Bengtsson)

But John Martin Bengtsson did play Raoul a time or three in understudy rehearsals, both in Stockholm and Copenhagen. And of course, he was principal Raoul in the non-replica version in Gothenburg. So he definitely knows the part.

[operafantomet]

Addition to the World Tour costumes in the Stockholm revival

US Star Princess tiara

US Hannibal “Slavegirl” tiara

US Hannibal “Slavegirl” tiara

US Countess costume for Carlotta

World Tour Wishing dress remodeled to resemble the US ones

UK dressing gown

UK Aminta costume

UK Rooftop costume, but with World Tour decorations + cloak

[operafantomet]

do you know who was the alternate christine in the stockholm revival? i can't find this information anywhere :I

I don’t blame you for not finding any info, cause they didn’t have an alternate in the revival. Emmi Christensson was the principal, and technically she did all performances. But both her understudies - Micaela Sjöstedt and Hanna Ulvan - got to perform a handful of shows.

Micaela Sjöstedt also went on to play principal Meg Giry in the Finnish/Swedish non-replica production, at the Gothenburg Opera House. Here she even (emergency?) covered the role of Christine - this time in English. :)