449 posts
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Post by SageStageMgr on Sept 5, 2018 17:22:56 GMT
Anybody seen the new Phantom yet this week? What's he like? Yes I saw his first night so hard to judge on the first performance but there were a few missed notes and cues. Vocally he was nowhere near the strongest Phantom I've seen. He was also very angry, he threw Christine around the stage so much in the finale that I felt myself cringing every time she fell to the floor! I missed the vulnerable side to Phantom. I'm heading back on 4th October to see the U/S Raoul so will get to see how he's changed in the part then. Which notes and cues, out of idle curiosity? |
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449 posts
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Post by SageStageMgr on Sept 5, 2018 17:23:59 GMT
I have a question about the current London cast. I think Amy Manford is wonderfully cast, she has the look, poise and sound of a Christine. The tone of her voice has the right balance between innocence and classical strength. This role needs to radiate youth and beauty and is quite difficult to cast but they hit the nail right on its head here. Without being disrespectful to another performer, it kind of startles me that the first cast Christine, Kelly Mathieson, does not fit the role at all in my opinion. No doubt she is a well trained singer, but the sound of her voice is too mature for the role, too trained, has a color that does not suit the role, and she does not look like a Christine in the slightest. About every chorus girl looks more like a Christine than she does. She is actually the ideal Madame Giry too me, in terms of voice, poise and look. I think this is really a pity, as they feature this lady on the promotion pictures and the commercial etc, which does not reflect well on the show. This is not at all her fault, but I kind of blame the casting directors. She does what she can and she is very talented, just not right for the role. I have seen the show on Broadway and in London many times (as well as other places in the world) and I have seen many wonderful Christines. A strange thing I noticed that a few years back on Broadway they used to cast Christines that looked and sounded like Madame Giry's too (Rebecca Pitcher for example) and in London they used to cast more truthful to the character. They broke this habit on Broadway with the wonderful Kaley Ann Voorhees, another girl who is a real Christine in my opinion, but now it seems they break the habit in London too, but then the other way around? I really don't understand this. I’m sure someone had this exact discussion earlier in the thread 😊 |
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182 posts
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Post by tom on Sept 5, 2018 19:00:20 GMT
I have a question about the current London cast. I think Amy Manford is wonderfully cast, she has the look, poise and sound of a Christine. The tone of her voice has the right balance between innocence and classical strength. This role needs to radiate youth and beauty and is quite difficult to cast but they hit the nail right on its head here. Without being disrespectful to another performer, it kind of startles me that the first cast Christine, Kelly Mathieson, does not fit the role at all in my opinion. No doubt she is a well trained singer, but the sound of her voice is too mature for the role, too trained, has a color that does not suit the role, and she does not look like a Christine in the slightest. About every chorus girl looks more like a Christine than she does. She is actually the ideal Madame Giry too me, in terms of voice, poise and look. I think this is really a pity, as they feature this lady on the promotion pictures and the commercial etc, which does not reflect well on the show. This is not at all her fault, but I kind of blame the casting directors. She does what she can and she is very talented, just not right for the role. I have seen the show on Broadway and in London many times (as well as other places in the world) and I have seen many wonderful Christines. A strange thing I noticed that a few years back on Broadway they used to cast Christines that looked and sounded like Madame Giry's too (Rebecca Pitcher for example) and in London they used to cast more truthful to the character. They broke this habit on Broadway with the wonderful Kaley Ann Voorhees, another girl who is a real Christine in my opinion, but now it seems they break the habit in London too, but then the other way around? I really don't understand this. I thought Kelly’s voice was very strong and I have no problem with a soprano who actually has some weight behind their voice but the fact that she did the Sarah brightman cadenza in think of me annoyed me. I liked her voice but her acting was very annoying and amateurish (wide eyed and over the top arm flailing) |
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396 posts
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Post by djp on Sept 9, 2018 1:11:13 GMT
I have a question about the current London cast. I think Amy Manford is wonderfully cast, she has the look, poise and sound of a Christine. The tone of her voice has the right balance between innocence and classical strength. This role needs to radiate youth and beauty and is quite difficult to cast but they hit the nail right on its head here. Without being disrespectful to another performer, it kind of startles me that the first cast Christine, Kelly Mathieson, does not fit the role at all in my opinion. No doubt she is a well trained singer, but the sound of her voice is too mature for the role, too trained, has a color that does not suit the role, and she does not look like a Christine in the slightest. About every chorus girl looks more like a Christine than she does. She is actually the ideal Madame Giry too me, in terms of voice, poise and look. I think this is really a pity, as they feature this lady on the promotion pictures and the commercial etc, which does not reflect well on the show. This is not at all her fault, but I kind of blame the casting directors. She does what she can and she is very talented, just not right for the role. I have seen the show on Broadway and in London many times (as well as other places in the world) and I have seen many wonderful Christines. A strange thing I noticed that a few years back on Broadway they used to cast Christines that looked and sounded like Madame Giry's too (Rebecca Pitcher for example) and in London they used to cast more truthful to the character. They broke this habit on Broadway with the wonderful Kaley Ann Voorhees, another girl who is a real Christine in my opinion, but now it seems they break the habit in London too, but then the other way around? I really don't understand this. I’m sure someone had this exact discussion earlier in the thread 😊 Its a recurring problem of Christines who sound , and are , and sometimes look, too old and, vocally, or physically wimpy, Phantoms. Note the comparison here when Geronimo and Katie Hall sing their bits of POTO www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00008l8 11-20 mins in. But they whisked her off to to lead the tour and deprived London audiences, ,and he didn't stay anything like as long as the matching domestic equivalents have . |
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716 posts
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Post by indis on Sept 9, 2018 6:23:36 GMT
would have loved Geronimo to stay longer - he and Harriet Jones were so amazing together!
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58 posts
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Post by zermatt on Sept 9, 2018 12:40:39 GMT
I’m sure someone had this exact discussion earlier in the thread 😊 Its a recurring problem of Christines who sound , and are , and sometimes look, too old and, vocally, or physically wimpy, Phantoms. Note the comparison here when Geronimo and Katie Hall sing their bits of POTO www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00008l8 11-20 mins in. But they whisked her off to to lead the tour and deprived London audiences, ,and he didn't stay anything like as long as the matching domestic equivalents have . Geronimo played the Phantom for 2 years! Has anyone other than John Owen Jones done longer? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2018 18:37:21 GMT
Couldn't find an appropriate thread in International (all location specific) so posting here:
February 2019 - The Phantom of the Opera World tour begins.
Current dates:
Manila - Feb 28th > April 7th
Singapore - April 24th > May 12th
More to be announced.
This is billed as a tour of the West End and Broadway production - so the original!
There are rumours of a UK tour so maybe that will fall off the back of this run.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2018 21:33:55 GMT
I'm always suspicious of some world tours. Alot of them tend to be a tour of Asia and one or two venues other than that so I never get that excited about it. 😂
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367 posts
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Post by raider80 on Oct 17, 2018 14:55:03 GMT
I have a question,
The show just celebrated its 32 birthday and I was wondering if the show is using the same set since opening or have they been quietly refreshing or replacing most of it? Even the most well maintained pieces must slowly start showing their age. And, I would love to know if the automation software has been updated?
I know the Broadway production is still using the same chandelier but it's an open secret that they have a new chandelier in storage somewhere in Jersey and I heard a rumor, (So I might be dead wrong) the automation is still ran on Windows 95!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2018 15:18:42 GMT
I have a question, The show just celebrated its 32 birthday and I was wondering if the show is using the same set since opening or have they been quietly refreshing or replacing most of it? Even the most well maintained pieces must slowly start showing their age. And, I would love to know if the automation software has been updated? I know the Broadway production is still using the same chandelier but it's an open secret that they have a new chandelier in storage somewhere in Jersey and I heard a rumor, (So I might be dead wrong) the automation is still ran on Windows 95! To my knowledge everything substantial is still original with a couple of exceptions. The Chandelier is on its second iteration. The sound system had an overhaul and digitization in 2008, and looks to have had a second refresh with new desk and playback software recently. Most lighting fixtures are original (some fixtures now worth alot of money compared to their value when rigged in '86). The candelabra and opera house boxes are still 'driven' by human force substage. Last time I was there I remember thinking the Dressing Room cart seems quite noisy and definitely aged. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2018 16:28:09 GMT
To add to Shusher's post, I was sat front row last weekend and I definitely noticed that pieces of set such as the dressing room and the opera house staircase do sound really noisy. In the scene after Masquerade with Raoul and Madame Giry, there was a lot of background noise as the staircase was taken off.
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58 posts
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Post by zermatt on Nov 1, 2018 15:09:39 GMT
I have a question, The show just celebrated its 32 birthday and I was wondering if the show is using the same set since opening or have they been quietly refreshing or replacing most of it? Even the most well maintained pieces must slowly start showing their age. And, I would love to know if the automation software has been updated? I know the Broadway production is still using the same chandelier but it's an open secret that they have a new chandelier in storage somewhere in Jersey and I heard a rumor, (So I might be dead wrong) the automation is still ran on Windows 95! There is almost no automation at Her Majesty's. Pretty much everything is operated manually, because Her Majesty's is a listed building - they are not allowed to replace winches, fly towers etc. with computers and automation. This is one reason there are hardly any show stops at Phantom, and also means Phantom has one of the largest backstage crews of any show in London - it's all operated by hand. People pull ropes and wind winches to make those scene changes happen. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2018 7:53:45 GMT
Hey raider80 - Phantom London have been doing a live backstage tour on their instagram stories. If your quick and head over there soon you'll get a glimpse of some of the substage hardware and rigging used for the sceneic elements of the show. I'm sure you'll find it fascinating as theres some posts from action mid-show, but act quickly as the feed is only live for 24 hours after posting. www.instagram.com/phantomlondon/ |
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1,996 posts
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Post by distantcousin on Nov 15, 2018 13:51:06 GMT
How is Tim Hower doing? I'm intrigued as to whether to take the plunge on seeing his performance....
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270 posts
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Post by stageyninja83 on Nov 16, 2018 5:03:16 GMT
New Phantom takes over in a little over 3 weeks and no 'Official' announcement anywhere that I've seen. Wonder when they'll make one.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2018 10:58:24 GMT
New Phantom takes over in a little over 3 weeks and no 'Official' announcement anywhere that I've seen. Wonder when they'll make one. Really? TH only came in in September and usually the principals take on a 6/12 month contract. Where’s the word of a cast change in December come from? |
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840 posts
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Post by Steffi on Nov 16, 2018 11:00:31 GMT
David Thaxton is taking over for 6 months, then Tim returns in May.
Tim is doing the Mike and the Mechanics tour in the Spring.
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270 posts
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Post by stageyninja83 on Nov 16, 2018 14:39:19 GMT
David Thaxton is taking over for 6 months, then Tim returns in May. Tim is doing the Mike and the Mechanics tour in the Spring. Yeah but my point was there has been no official announcement. Thought they would have announced something by now. |
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716 posts
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Post by indis on Nov 16, 2018 15:39:28 GMT
David Thaxton as Phantom? oh dear, personally i would have thought him to be Raoul, but not Phantom  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2018 16:49:13 GMT
David Thaxton is taking over for 6 months, then Tim returns in May. Tim is doing the Mike and the Mechanics tour in the Spring. Yeah but my point was there has been no official announcement. Thought they would have announced something by now. Did they not announce that when they announced the cast change earlier this year? Certainly sounds familiar. |
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349 posts
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Post by kimbahorel on Nov 16, 2018 17:08:51 GMT
I guessed this David as the Phantom (not here on my twitter). But no announcement yet though??
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591 posts
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Post by lou105 on Nov 16, 2018 17:21:42 GMT
They definitely said TH was only there until early December, because I took note of that, but not sure what else they said.
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270 posts
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Post by stageyninja83 on Nov 16, 2018 17:33:41 GMT
Yeah but my point was there has been no official announcement. Thought they would have announced something by now. Did they not announce that when they announced the cast change earlier this year? Certainly sounds familiar. I saw a post on Instagram at the time from an account in Germany but not anything official. |
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581 posts
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Post by princeton on Nov 16, 2018 21:35:15 GMT
The official press release (on 1 August) said: "As THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA heads in to its 33rd year, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh are delighted to announce that Tim Howar will play ‘The Phantom’ for an initial run from 3 September – 8 December 2018 at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London"
No official announcement since then about post 8 December.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2018 12:36:32 GMT
New Phantom takes over in a little over 3 weeks and no 'Official' announcement anywhere that I've seen. Wonder when they'll make one. You’ve got your official announcement on social media channels now. |
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