The Phantom of the Opera - His Majesty's Theatre

I haven't seen this cast yet and am avoiding spoilers by listening to clips etc, but I precisely feel the exact opposite to you in terms of opinion.

I much prefer the better trained, more classical sounding Christines. It's a joy to hear the score sung properly, how Lloyd Webber intended. All of the early Christines were proper singers - Sarah Brightman, Claire Moore, Rebecca Caine. This trend followed right through the 90's and early 00's, brilliant singers like Myrra Malmberg, Lisa Hull, Deborah Dutcher to name just a few.

The current fad in theatre, and has been for a decade or more, is for younger, prettier people to get certain roles regardless of technical ability. Style over substance. Drama school leavers are cheaper, for one thing.

The early Phantoms, for instance, were all older guys to try and emulate the older Father figure dynamic of the story. Compare Dave Willetts or Simon Bowman to, say, Peter Jöback or Ben Forster. Sometimes this dissonance in casting policy extends to the *same cast* - take Scott Davies' presence for example.

The idea of Christine being "sweet" as a priority now is one built on societal ideals rather than theatrical credibility. Taste gets shaped based on experience.

The best Christine I've ever seen live was Elizabeth Loyacano on Broadway, who definitely falls within "those 40 year old Christines from a few years back". Compared to, say, Robyn North or Leila Benn Harris, she is Maria Callas.

As for the Broadway cadenza, do you mean the end of "Think of Me"? Having been involved in the rehearsal process for this show, I can tell you that this is the choice of the MD, who works with the singer to find which version is most appropriate. I've heard the "Broadway" version done numerous times by many Christine's in the West End and not always by the best singers. Also, it is approximately 15 seconds out of a two hour show.