Copenhagen March 21. 2009 (Enevold - Bokor - Kofod)

Originally Scorp posted the most wonderful... erm... review of a performance we saw together at Det Ny Teater last year. It disappeared with POL, alas. I posted a review too, which I have saved in my computer, so here goes:


COPENHAGEN - March 21. 2009 (evening performance)


PHANTOM: Flemming Enevold
CHRISTINE: Teresia Bokor
RAOUL: Tomas A. Kofod
CARLOTTA: Eva Malmgren
ANDRÉ: Morten Staugaard
FIRMIN: Steen Springborg
PIANGI: Fernando Concha
MADAME GIRY: Marie Bo
MEG GIRY: Jennifer Wagstaffe
AUCTIONÉER: Uffe Henriksen
REYER: Kim H. Henriksen
BUQUET: Jørgen Brorsen


Met up with Scorp and his parents before the show, VERY cosy! We sat in the restaurant underneath the theatre, and me and Scorp did some major Phantom nerding, it was awesome to phan nerd with someone so knowledgeable. Although I felt sorry for his parents, having to listen to us rambling on.... Ha-ha-ha.

I had a great seat in the stalls, row... 8, I think.


AUCTION:
I love the... bitterness Raoul (Tomas A. Kofod) displays when pushing the music box away. His nurse seems very proud that she's able to win him all the stuff he wants, curious and cute acting choice.

HANNIBAL:
I love a tiny little detail Eva Malmgren (Carlotta) does - she kinda wrinkles her nose when she's particularly satisfied about something. She looks so cute! And I love her coloratura parts. The perfect Carlotta.

TOM:
Teresia Bokor has got such a full and nice voice, so well trained, so youthful. Her Christine appears so happy to be able to perform too, she sparkles. I like what she does with the cadenza, singing it partly legato and partly staccato.

ANGEL OF MUSIC / LITTLE LOTTE:
Bokor was a bit overpowering (vocally) compared to Meg. But it's cool to see such a petite Christine next to a "normal sized" Meg. Meg (Jennifer Wagstaffe) is actually rather tall in Denmark.

It's so nice to hear the name "Lotte" being pronounced correctly... (correctly, as in the Scandinavia way, and not "Lottie" or "Laddie"....)

MIRROR:
I've grown more and more fond of Flemming Enevold's Phantom. His style is just wicked. Very Leroux-ish, very unique. Often he's doing stuff which makes me think "he'll never pull it off, never", and then.... and then he DOES pull it off, in a most excellent and unexpected way. He also got a wonderful voice, when he booms out certain notes it's like... it comes from within... it's so hard to explain, but it's powerful to listen to.

His phrasing in the Mirror scene is impossible to predict, it bothered me at first, but now I love it.

The dressing room set seemed to fall apart... the door and a bit of the floor came loose from the rest of the set, making it wobble. It was particularly noticeable when Tomas "hitting-the-door-very-hard" Kofod came back and started schmacking the door... It was also noticeable when they rolled it off stage, because they had to take a bit of a U turn out on stage, behind the doubles going down the staircase.... Classy!

TITLE SONG:
"...i denne labyrint er natten blind... Jeg sanser operafantomet der, dypt i mitt sinn"

Sometimes I swear it's impossible to hear if they sing in Danish or English. Not because of bad pronounciation, but because the Danish translation sticks very close to the English original in places. The title song in particular. I like what translator Karen Hoffman has achieved with the Danish libretto.

Oh, and Bokor's cadenza is glorious.

MOTN:
I can't believe how different Flemming Enevold is from Peter Jorde. Same costumes, same sets, the same blocking... and yet their Phantoms doesn't even remind of eachother, in terms of approach, interpretation and singing style. It's what makes live theatre interesting.

Enevold is a seriously powerful Phantom in MOTN, and the "beeeee" note rings in the theatre for a long time. I also love his last lines, because he adds an extra note to "...the-e-e music of the Night...". In Norwegian it's called "påslag", I wish I knew the correct English terminology...

I still love how he pulls away from Christine after the first almost-kiss. And how he presents the Mirror Bride. Like he's proud. And I love... yeah, everything.

STYDI:
Enevold's singing was all over the place. Some weeks ago it would have bothered me, now I simply love it. I don't even know who or what to compare Enevold's Phantom to. His approach to the role is quite extraordinary, his manneristic style unique. Just... bravo!

NOTES / PRIMA DONNA:
La-la-la.....

The vocals in this number seemed a bit low for the eveing performance, actually. All the voices drowned in eachother, at least until the "Light up the stage with that age-old...."

IL MUTO:
Teresia Bokor does the best Maid/Serafimo boy! She is seriously boyish and funny.

During the quick Carlotta change, something happened with her mic. You could hear it well WHEN she was changing, and also during most of the "il Muto". It was disturbing. Towards the end they seemed to have switched to the spare mic, I wonder why they didn't do it sooner.

Eva Malmgren did a wonderful coloratura work this time around as well, and she and Christine is truly snuggly and flirty. He-he. The wig never seems to sit properly on her head, it appears to be constantly falling off. I love how she makes a point out of it, pushing it back into place in an annoyed manner. And her croaking is excellent!

Morten Staugaard (André) usually pulls the "getting the ballet started and stumbling off stage" very far. This time around it looked like he took it even further: when running into the third ballet girl, he actually fell on his bottom... I think it was an accident. Ha-ha. Cute. I still love his clumsy dance steps and his "hiding-his-face-in-the-program" bit.

ROOFTOP:
I personally think Teresia Bokor lacks a bit in the acting department in some scenes. She has some magnificent moments on stage, and vocally she's top notch (like.... serious top notch). But the acting is a bit emotionless at times, a bit too similar - or too off. The rooftop scene (before AIAOY) is such a place. She's walking through emotions. I want more genuine feelings from her.

But AIAOY was very, very cute. And Tomas A. Kofod is such a great Raoul, but since I've said that in multiple reviews already, I won't go on about it here...

I GAVE YOU MY MUSIC:
From my seat the security device the Phantom wears on the angel was very visible. It looked like a giant belt.

I love the start of this scene, with only the Phantom's white hand being visible, overlapping the hand of the golden angel. Enevold also does some powerful singing here. Me likey.

I've forgotten to mention this previously, but I also dig how the eyes and the mouths of the golden angel figures lit up, they look so evil! Do I remember correctly about this not happening in London?



ACT 2

MASQUERADE:
....paper faces on parade, Masquerade....

I have nothing else to add....

NOTES / TWISTED:
La-la-la....

WYWSHA / WANDERING CHILD:
I love Teresia Bokor in WYWSHA. She gets to play off Christine's vulnerable side, and also display her voice to the full.

The toned-down fire-shooting-stick thing bothers me a bit. It never looks right, and the small "pffffts" isn't threatening at all. At the same time I can understand that they don't want to set all kind of headwear (hats, wigs etc) on fire.... so....

PONR:
As mentioned in my other reviews, I love the Spanish flair the Danish Christines adds to the choreography. Bokor takes it even further than Mia Karlsson, and she also appears more laidback, more... drunk actually. He-he. Yet her Christine seems very determined. This is my favourite Teresia Bokor scene... She plays it very well.

Oh, and her Aminta costume is so gorgeous, especially all the red details, but also the multiple flounced layers in the skirt (I think there's two more layers than Mia Karlsson's dress).

I love Enevold's "heavy" singing voice here, but also how he "glides" into the notes. Very seductive. The vocal transaction from "...say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime....." to "...anywhere you go, let me go to...." is also SO powerful, cause he starts off so soft, and ends so strong.

FINAL LAIR:
Again strong Leroux vibes from Enevold's Phantom. I'm not sure he's actually read the book or TRYING to be the Leroux Phantom, I think it's by accident. But he's reaching the core of the character, being manneristic, unpredictable, not stressing the beautiful and elegant sides of the Phantom. Me and Scorp complimented him on this after the show, and although he looked more confused than happy about it, it felt good to tell him that his Phantom IS unique.

There were less "fighting" going on between Enevold and Bokor this time, maybe she is tired of being constantly bruised? She's still fiesty, not not as much as first time I saw her and Enevold.

Aaaaw, the kiss.... And the return of the ring.... Just beautiful. Enevold's Phantom appears aged here, not in a negative way. More in a... Leroux way? Does that make sense?

Rest of the scene was as usual.


CONCLUTION:
Enevold was actually less "crazy" in this performance than I've seen him before. But he is still one of the most special actors/singers I've seen in the role. I wish more people got to see him, and I hope Scorp will add some comments of what HE thought, how HE experienced the performance.

Teresia Bokor didn't do all the wierd faces from last time I saw her, but I still think her acting could be stronger. It's not BAD, it's just a bit bland. But with such a voice I'm ready to forgive her a lot... And she has some shining moments, especially TOM, WYWSHA and PONR.

The energy and chemistry of the cast was just as dazzling in the evening performance as in the matinée, that made me very happy. It was a super strong performance.

33 and counting....

Thank you for posting! Brings back memories...

Yeah my review got lost with POL. I do remember thinking Det Ny Teater was the perfect theatre for Phantom though; its layout is modelled on the Palais Garnier, it's got a beautiful exterior and the restaurant is in the cellars...

I don't even remember the Angel's eyes lighting up. I wish I'd observed that because I'm intrigued as to how that looks -- I don't think they do it in London or on Broadway. They do it on the US tour though, right? (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I was probably too enthralled with the fact that Flemming's awesome laugh went on and on and on, long after the chandelier had fallen. Wish they did that in all productions.