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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2022 16:49:19 GMT
That’s a terrible recording and I can’t see how that would entice an audience to the theatre.
Killian’s voice sounds pretty thin, I can’t imagine him at the bigger moments like “I have brought you” etc
And I agree there’s weird pronunciation going on.
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Post by spathzthecat on Jun 4, 2022 13:00:11 GMT
According to the WestEnd Understudy twitter site both the Main leads have understudies on, For both shows today at
the role of The Phantom will be played by James Gant, For both shows today at
the role of Christine Daaé will be played by Holly-Anne Hull
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 4, 2022 13:05:47 GMT
According to the WestEnd Understudy twitter site both the Main leads have understudies on, For both shows today at the role of The Phantom will be played by James Gant, For both shows today at the role of Christine Daaé will be played by Holly-Anne Hull That will be because they are performing at the Jubilee Concert no?
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Post by spathzthecat on Jun 4, 2022 13:07:26 GMT
Just heard ALW saying they have five stages/shows on, so probably yes. Any chance of Cats sneaking in there somewhere?
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 4, 2022 13:14:16 GMT
Just heard ALW saying they have five stages/shows on, so probably yes. Any chance of Cats sneaking in there somewhere? Bloody hope not.
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Post by richey on Jun 4, 2022 13:27:09 GMT
Just heard ALW saying they have five stages/shows on, so probably yes. Any chance of Cats sneaking in there somewhere? I think they mean five shows in general, not ALW ones. They have advertised performances from Phantom, Six, Hamilton, Lion King and Joseph (ALW has tweeted pics of Jason Donovan wearing the coat which doesn't bode well)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2022 14:16:47 GMT
Just heard ALW saying they have five stages/shows on, so probably yes. Any chance of Cats sneaking in there somewhere? I think they mean five shows in general, not ALW ones. They have advertised performances from Phantom, Six, Hamilton, Lion King and Joseph (ALW has tweeted pics of Jason Donovan wearing the coat which doesn't bode well) I'm guessing these shows broadly cover different decades of the queen's reign Joseph 60s/70s Phantoms 80s Lion king 90s Hamilton 2010s Six 2020s
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Post by Jon on Jun 4, 2022 14:29:50 GMT
Joseph 60s/70s Phantoms 80s Lion king 90s Hamilton 2010s Six 2020s Six is a bit of an odd one considering it debuted in the 2010s but I guess they didn't have many options for 2020 onwards.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2022 15:24:10 GMT
Yeah that's why I said broadly. It's about as close as they can get for musicals currently running that cover as much of the 70 years as possible. Plus six has the female empowerment angle and they're all Queens, so relevant.
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Post by dan28 on Jun 5, 2022 21:29:39 GMT
I never thought about this earlier but I watched the show recently and suddenly I noticed something weird in the story line.
Why does the Phantom actually want Christine to play the countess in his opera "Il muto"? The role of the countess is basically written like an insincere, ludicrous, disloyal witch. All of her lyrics are just terrible. The whole "Poor fool he makes me laugh" scene is about mocking her (bed) partners, the role is basically a funny caricature of a very insincere, unfaithful, woman.
The lyrics and the song itself would never fit christine's voice type and her type in general. And yet, a big portion of the story is about the Phantom demanding and doing everything he can to get Christine in that role. I don't get it, it's not like it's a beautiful role. He probably wrote it for Carlotta anyway?
Anyway, just thought about this. Thought I'd share.
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Post by inthenose on Jun 5, 2022 21:45:10 GMT
The Phantom didn't write "Il Muto", he simply demanded Christine be cast as the lead. In the Phantom universe, the opera is written by "Albrizzio" as seen on paper props (handbills held by Mr. and Mrs. Firmin, for example).
He was basically insisting that his protégé be given every lead soprano role at the Garnier, having proven her skill and popularity stepping in during "Hannibal" (also not written by The Phantom, but by "Chalumeau". Plus the fact he was obsessed by her, natch. Both Albrizzio and Chalumeau are both fictional composers incidentally.
He then disappears and writes "Don Juan Triumphant" specifically to perve on, ahem, I mean seduce, Christine and then do some more murderin'! This was the only opera he wrote in the Andrew Lloyd Webber Phantom lore.
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Post by dan28 on Jun 5, 2022 21:54:13 GMT
Thanks for the explanation. I forgot that the Phantom only wrote "Don Juan Triumphant" and not the other 2.
But the Phantom also sings something like "The role of the countess is about charm and appeal" and therefore casting Christine in this role is ideal, and Carlotta being silent is ideal too, but the role is not about charm and appeal at all and not ideal for Christine at all. But maybe he is just trying to find reasons for himself to cast her in every lead, even if it's not suitable.
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Post by inthenose on Jun 5, 2022 22:05:07 GMT
Thanks for the explanation. I forgot that the Phantom only wrote "Don Juan Triumphant" and not the other 2. But the Phantom also sings something like "The role of the countess is about charm and appeal" and therefore casting Christine in this role is ideal, and Carlotta being silent is ideal too, but the role is not about charm and appeal at all and not ideal for Christine at all. But maybe he is just trying to find reasons for himself to cast her in every lead, even if it's not suitable. I think that's exactly it. He can't stand Carlotta , and given that the opera is to be performed anyway, he wants "his girl" in the lead. It's also a great opportunity to give the Prima Donna of the last five seasons/three years (both are cited in "Hannibal Rehearsal") a literal silent role. Certainly "ideal" from his POV! It is also possible that the Countess has "charm and appeal" in other scenes/arias, we see only a few minutes of her on stage and have no idea of her character arc, with the bedroom scene taking place explicitly in Act I of "Il Muto" (he jumps to the ballet in Act III after the interruption). It could also be that he finds the Countess charming and appealing as she is, given his experience with the public hasn't been all sunshine and roses. Or it could be that he doesn't know the opera at all and is guessing.
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Post by dan28 on Jun 5, 2022 22:20:27 GMT
Great insights! It's interesting to think about these things. About your last part, it could also be that he finds the Countess charming and appealing as she is because she cheats on her current partner with someone else (given the fact that the Phantom is "the third wheel" too and Raoul is that partner in his mind).
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Post by spathzthecat on Jun 6, 2022 20:13:41 GMT
Tonight will be the DEBUT of Emma Harris (@emsharris) in the role of MADAME GIRY at
@phantomopera #2ndcover #debut
Emma covered and played the role of Meg Giry 24 years ago and makes HISTORY as being the first person to play both Meg AND Madame Giry!
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Post by Dawnstar on Jun 6, 2022 20:31:16 GMT
I feel old! Though admittedly I saw her as Meg in 2009-10, not 24 years ago.
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Post by sukhavati on Jun 7, 2022 7:07:07 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if they just used the recording they use during the show That is exactly what I presumed they did, since that's pre-recorded anyway.
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Post by steve10086 on Jun 7, 2022 11:44:38 GMT
I thought the way events like the Jubilee concert work is that all the acts record their “live” vocals in advance, and these are played on the night with the acts singing along on top of them. Pretty sure that’s how it worked at the London Olympic ceremonies too.
So I was thinking, it’s a coincidence that Phantom probably needed to record something for the Jubilee concert, and just a few days before a brand new “cast recording” of the song is released.
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Post by spathzthecat on Jun 8, 2022 19:31:41 GMT
The Phantom of the Opera star makes West End history in the show Doing the double for the first time!
Emma Harris made West End history last night!
Harris, who has appeared in Cats, Chicago and several productions with the Royal Ballet Company and The Birmingham Royal Ballet, is currently part of the company and second cover for Madame Giry in The Phantom of the Opera.
As revealed by WestEndCovers, Harris, who also played Meg Giry 24 years ago, went on for Madame Giry for the first time in London.
Information taken from What's on Stage
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Post by richey on Jun 15, 2022 17:35:47 GMT
So bizarrely the show is being advertised on one of the giant electronic billboards alongside the M60 near Stockport. I did a double take as at first I thought it was promoting a tour coming to Manchester but no, it quite clearly had Her Majesty's Theatre London on the bottom of the ad.
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Post by tom on Jun 20, 2022 14:15:31 GMT
Disappointing cast "change" news. Killian and Lucy both staying on.
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Jun 20, 2022 14:51:14 GMT
80% of the cast seem to be staying on. Ah well, at least I won't have to spend money to see a brand new cast.
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Post by anthony on Jun 20, 2022 20:48:18 GMT
A lot of understudies tonight for some reason! Over half of the cast out.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 20, 2022 22:02:21 GMT
A lot of understudies tonight for some reason! Over half of the cast out. Probably Covid
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Post by anthony on Jun 23, 2022 21:28:19 GMT
Shame that Rhys is leaving. Genuinely think he's the best thing about the production at the moment. Probably the best Raoul I've ever seen - genuinely just embodies the role!
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