Love Never Dies - all views allowed

operafantomet wrote:So another production of "Love Never Dies" is announced. At Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen.

They've been interested in the show since it premiered in London, but they went to see the London production and said there needed to be big changes before they would touch it. So I'm guessing they've gotten free hands, or they've seen the Aussie version and thought the changes were substancial enough.

A couple of Phantom people are announced in the creative team so far - most noticeable Per Engström as conductor, and Karen Hoffman as translator. And somehow I would not be surprised if we see Tomas Kofod (Raoul/Phantom u/s) as Mr. Y.

Most of all I'm surprised they have announced a long season for the show, almost a year playing from September 2012 to May 2013. This is a theatre in desperate need for money, and they announce LND as their grand production? Oi... I have no doubt it'll be a grand production, but one attracting the audience? Not convinced.

Well, at least they'll get Andrew Lloyd Webber's attention.

Great I must come to Denmark!!!!!

operafantomet wrote:So another production of "Love Never Dies" is announced. At Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen.

They've been interested in the show since it premiered in London, but they went to see the London production and said there needed to be big changes before they would touch it. So I'm guessing they've gotten free hands, or they've seen the Aussie version and thought the changes were substancial enough.

A couple of Phantom people are announced in the creative team so far - most noticeable Per Engström as conductor, and Karen Hoffman as translator. And somehow I would not be surprised if we see Tomas Kofod (Raoul/Phantom u/s) as Mr. Y.

Most of all I'm surprised they have announced a long season for the show, almost a year playing from September 2012 to May 2013. This is a theatre in desperate need for money, and they announce LND as their grand production? Oi... I have no doubt it'll be a grand production, but one attracting the audience? Not convinced.

Well, at least they'll get Andrew Lloyd Webber's attention.

Just when we thought the world was safe from this garbage for quite some time...

This really saddens me, especially given how perfect the Copenhagen production of Phantom was. I know actors have to eat, but in light of how perfect Tomas Kofod was as Raoul, it would be very sad to see him join a production that completely destroys that character.

I hope you and Josefine aren't planning to go.

I'm surprised this didn't open in Germany first. Germany seems to have a penchant for crap musicals.

I understand that LND isn´t everyones taste. But not only in Germany will be bad shows. That´s not fair.

SweetChristine wrote:I understand that LND isn´t everyones taste. But not only in Germany will be bad shows. That´s not fair.

No, of course bad musicals exist everywhere, including London. But IMHO Germany does have a taste for poor ones. It's just a personal impression that I won't state as fact. *cough*Kunze/Levay*cough*StarlightExpress*cough*copycatPhantomshowswithDeborahSasson*cough*.

Dear God, it's like a zombie--lurching from place to place in search of a brain.

Cue Andrew Lloyd Webber saying the Denmark production is perfection (unlike the Australian one which he was never fully satisfied with) in three, two...

~LCD

LadyCDaae wrote:
Cue Andrew Lloyd Webber saying the Denmark production is perfection (unlike the Australian one which he was never fully satisfied with) in three, two...

~LCD

Quoted for truth! Let the under-bus throwing countdown commence!

Maybe he'll make a DVD of the Danish production, too.

~Madame~

o.O


Zombie is right. I really thought the show was dead (Perfectly content with the DVD and Ben-Crazy-Eye-Lewis) But somehow it's been resurrected.


Why, and how?

Scorp wrote:

SweetChristine wrote:I understand that LND isn´t everyones taste. But not only in Germany will be bad shows. That´s not fair.

No, of course bad musicals exist everywhere, including London. But IMHO Germany does have a taste for poor ones. It's just a personal impression that I won't state as fact. *cough*Kunze/Levay*cough*StarlightExpress*cough*copycatPhantomshowswithDeborahSasson*cough*.

Oh I understand, I don´t know why we have this special tours of Phantom. I don´t know.
There are so many fakes. I don´t know why.

I understand you don´t like Levay/Kunze, A.L. Webbers Starlight Express and so on...

Everyone has his own taste...I am not from Germany, I am not a fan the Sasson Phantom tour, I´ve never seen Starlight Express and I like very much Elisabeth from Levay/Kunze.

LadyCDaae wrote:Dear God, it's like a zombie--lurching from place to place in search of a brain.

Cue Andrew Lloyd Webber saying the Denmark production is perfection (unlike the Australian one which he was never fully satisfied with) in three, two...

~LCD

That´s crazy...! He´s out of his mind! Where does he say it?

Nowhere, yet. But that's how the ALW publicity cycle goes: the latest work/production is always the best ever, and all previous works/productions are belittled in comparison to it (regardless of how much they were praised to the skies before). The actual quality (or lack thereof) is irrelevant; it's just how the man works.

~LCD

LadyCDaae wrote:Dear God, it's like a zombie--lurching from place to place in search of a brain.

Cue Andrew Lloyd Webber saying the Denmark production is perfection (unlike the Australian one which he was never fully satisfied with) in three, two...

~LCD

LadyCDaae wrote:Nowhere, yet. But that's how the ALW publicity cycle goes: the latest work/production is always the best ever, and all previous works/productions are belittled in comparison to it (regardless of how much they were praised to the skies before). The actual quality (or lack thereof) is irrelevant; it's just how the man works.

~LCD

Yes, you are sadly right. He do it again. It´s sad for all who had been involved and must hear that.
I don´t know why he does these things.

I beg to differ, Kunze/Levay are certainly more original than Andrew Lloyd Webber is, just saying. As a German I would like to point out that every time I saw a show on Broadway, The cast for the most part couldn't sing. IE: vibratto happy tenors, screechy sopranos.

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Back to the point, I am saddened to know that LND will come to Copenhagen but who knows? I am not a fan of it but maybe they could salvage the show.

I am not a HUGE fan of Wicked, but the Danish production of that highly impressed me. so we shall see.

TheMaskedLion wrote:I beg to differ, Kunze/Levay are certainly more original than Andrew Lloyd Webber is, just saying. As a German I would like to point out that every time I saw a show on Broadway, The cast for the most part couldn't sing. IE: vibratto happy tenors, screechy sopranos.

_________________

Back to the point, I am saddened to know that LND will come to Copenhagen but who knows? I am not a fan of it but maybe they could salvage the show.

I am not a HUGE fan of Wicked, but the Danish production of that highly impressed me. so we shall see.

I learned to love the show and I am happy with that fact. It´s a reason, one reason to come to Copenhagen.

LadyCDaae wrote:Dear God, it's like a zombie--lurching from place to place in search of a brain.

Cue Andrew Lloyd Webber saying the Denmark production is perfection (unlike the Australian one which he was never fully satisfied with) in three, two...

~LCD

https://2img.net/h/i68.photobucket.com/albums/i26/Bric123/LND-I-BelieveZombies.jpg

I would have posted the picture, but I can't figure out how to get it done.

TheMaskedLion wrote:I beg to differ, Kunze/Levay are certainly more original than Andrew Lloyd Webber is, just saying. As a German I would like to point out that every time I saw a show on Broadway, The cast for the most part couldn't sing. IE: vibratto happy tenors, screechy sopranos.

I disagree on that. I know Kunze/Levay's offerings have many fans on this board, but I find them all particularly second-rate (disclaimer: this is only my opinion, and nothing more than that). What Kunze calls the so-called "Dramamusical" and says is his invention is simply a rip-off of what Lloyd Webber and Rice came up with years earlier. Virtually every show that team has come up with is based on Evita as a model, i.e. "let's take a historical figure and tell their life story in a musical". Thus we have Elisabeth, Marie Antoinette, Mozart...ad absurdum. So much of Elisabeth seems ripped off from it (for example, 'Wenn ich tanzen will' is merely a new incarnation of 'Waltz for Eva and Che'). I think Kunze's lyrics are pretty dire all round, on par with those of Glenn Slater ("Ich kann Cookies backen und gewinn beim Bridge"? Please... ), and the music, while sometimes nice, tends towards Europop.

As for the singers, I do agree that Broadway is particularly vibrato-happy. But I'm more interested in the material than the singing.

Back to the point, I am saddened to know that LND will come to Copenhagen but who knows? I am not a fan of it but maybe they could salvage the show.

As long as the plot remains the plot and the lyrics remain the lyrics, and even some of the music remains as it is, salvage is impossible. Although we can't take his word as sacrosanct given his love of self-contradiction, ALW said he has no intention of changing anything now and that he's done with revising the show, not that the show was really revised that much anyway. In which case, this show is doomed regardless of what the production values are. You can hire the best chef in Paris, but if you give him only s*** to work with, the dish he will serve can only ever be s***. Same principle applies here.

I just remembered that one of LND's worst reviews at the time of its doomed London opening came from a Swedish newspaper, Aftonbladet, which (rightly) said the whole sequel was pointless. I wonder what they'll make of Det Ny Teater's version, if they bother to review it.

@Scorp: I know what you mean especially with Kunze/Levay. I thought the same as Elisabeth opened. He named his shows Dramamusical, I know. It´s no new, I know. But I like Elisabeth.

Nobody must go in LND if they don´t want it. But there are people which like the show. That´s life.

Some of the cast for the Copenhagen production was announced today:

MR. Y: Tomas Ambt Kofod (I told you so!!!) + Bo Kristian Jensen
CHRISTINE: Louise Fribo (she's absolutely spectacular!)
MADAME GIRY: Marianne Mortensen
MEG: Camille-Cathrine Rommedahl
SQUELCH: Steen Springborg
GANGLE: Morten Staugaard

http://www.detnyteater.dk/love-never-dies/medvirkende/

Paul Farnsworth is also listed on scenography, which tells me they're not doing the Aussie version in terms of design. Which is a pity, but also intriguing. I liked their own design on "Wicked" a lot better than the original. On the other hand, their "Mary Poppins" left something to be designed in the design. So it can go both ways, I assume.

They're holding open auditions on May 13th, for those interested. They're looking for both alternates and understudies for the leads, and their Raoul, Gustave and Fleck is not yet cast. Also, they're looking for ensemble. Here's the audition bill, with my rough translation underneath:

PHANTOM:
Mand, 35-45. Så mystisk som nogensinde, men takket være hans nye omgivelser og hans private assistance af gamle støtter udnytter han nu sin tilsyneladende frihed til at bevæge sig omkring blandt ”de normale” som arrangør i forlystelsesparken Coney Island. Igennem de seneste 10 år har han faktisk skabt sig et sted med både magt og succes. Men han hjemsøges af den kreative lidenskab, der engang fyldte hans hjerte.
Må have ubesværet værdighed og tilstedeværelse samt seksualitet. Stærk rock tenorstemme. Må kunne synge op til højt Bb.

(Man, 35-45. More mysterious than ever, but due to his new environments and the private assistance of old supporters he can now move apparently freely amongst the "normal people", as a major force behind Coney Island. In the last 10 years he's actually created a place with power and success. But he's haunted by the creative passion which once filled his heart.
Must have an effortless dignity and presence as well as sexuality (sic!). Strong rockish tenor voice, must sing up to a B sharp.


CHRISTINE:
Kvinde, midt-20/30erne. Christine, der nu delvist har trukket sig tilbage fra karrieren som opera superstar, er moder, men stadig pragtfuld, elegant, et ikon, stjerne til fingerspidserne. Selv om hun har et mærkeligt ekko af vemod og afstand over sig, må hun være i besiddelse af teknisk overlegenhed og en hudløs følsomhed. En prægtig sopran sangstemme. Må kunne synge op til højt Bb.

(Woman, mid 20's to 30(s). Christine, which by now has partly retired as her career as opera superstar (sic!), is a mother, but still splendid, elegant, an icon, a star in every inch. Though she has a strange echo of sadness and distance around her, she must be technically superior and major sensitivity. A gorgeous soprano voice, must sing up to a high B sharp.


RAOUL:
Mand, 35-40. Christines ægtemand. Er nu fungerende, stoisk alkoholiker med mere end et glimt af hans fortidige jeg som velstående og smuk aristokrat. En skønhed på vej mod deroute. Må have dominerende værdighed og seksualitet. Stærk tenor sangstemme, med sans for lyrisk stil. Må ubesværet kunne synge op til højt Ab.

Man 35-40. Christine's husband. By now a functioning but stoic alcoholic with merely a glimpse of his former self as wealthy and handsome aristocrat. A fading beauty (?). Must have a dominant dignity and sexuality (sic!). Strong tenor voice, with a sense of a lyrical style. Must easily sing up to a high A sharp.


MEG:
Kvinde, midt-20/30erne. Madame Girys datter og stjerne i Coney Islands forlystelsespark. Gotisk, mystisk, usædvanlig, sød, charmerende, morsom; har en knækket baby-doll sårbarhed, kant, sexethed og et hjerte af stål. En stærk mezzo sopran sangstemme. En gæv stemme, gerne med en ru kvalitet, op til højt F#. Må kunne både ”belte” og synge lyrisk i ballader.

Woman, mid 20's to 30(s). Madame Giry's daughter and the star of Coney Island amusementpark. Gothic, mysterious, curious, cute, charming, funny: has a kind of baby-doll vulnerability, edgy, sexy, and with a heart of steel (eh?). A strong mezzo soprano voice. A stalwart voice, preferably with a raspy quality, sings up to a F#. Must be able to belt and sing lyric ballads.


MADAME GIRY:
Kvinde, 40 – først i 50. Opsat på at få ting til at ske for sig selv og datteren Meg, samtidig med at hun har opnået stillingen som forretningsfører for Fantomet. Som sådan føler hun sig berettiget til anerkendelse og forgrundsplacering. Hun vil sikre sig, at intet eller ingen kommer i vejen for hende. Har stor indestængt aggressivitet, i retning af en komprimeret Piaf. Solid kontralto sangstemme. En karakter-stemme op til højt D.

Woman, 40s-50s. Determined to make things happen for herself and her daughter Meg, while being the Phantom's accountant. As such she feels some acknowledgement and range is in order. She wants to make sure nothing or no-one gets in her way. Has much blocked anger, something of a compressed Piaf (if you say so...). Solid contralto singing voice. A character voice, up to a high D.


GUSTAVE:
Dreng, 9-12. Der søges en barnesanger/-skuespiller til at spille Christines søn. Må have et æterisk, fantasiverden-agtigt væsen (Tim Burton-agtig); en uskyldig skønhed; en skæv tiltrækningskraft og karakter. Helst lille af statur og helst blond. En stærk drengestemme op til højt F#. Må have gode musikalske instinkter og kunne synge helt rent.

Boy, 9-12. We're seeking a child singer/actor to play Christine's son. Must have an etheric, fantasy like quality (Tim Burton like); an innocent beauty (ooooh no....), a skewed allure and character. Preferably small-bodied and blonde. A strong boy's voice, up to a high F#. Must have good musical instincts and on pitch.

http://www.detnyteater.dk/auditionsjob/

I've posted this video before, elsewhere. Not it's probably proper to post it here....

Louise Fribo singing Olympia's Aria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSLPqAEJ6ZM

If nothing else, she will totally outshine Sierra Boggess and Anna O' Byrne in the singing department.

I just can't resist going, now that I know the casting. I feel guilty already.

@operafantomet:

MR. Y: Tomas Ambt Kofod (I told you so!!!) + Bo Kristian Jensen
CHRISTINE: Louise Fribo (she's absolutely spectacular!)
MADAME GIRY: Marianne Mortensen
MEG: Camille-Cathrine Rommedahl
SQUELCH: Steen Springborg
GANGLE: Morten Staugaard

Where have you seen Louise Fribo?
Yes you us so about Tomas.

Thank you for the cast! I must book my tickets!

Here's an ad I found for the new version from Denmark's Berlingske Tidende, Ran April 30th:



Similar ads ran in Denmark's BT, Borsen Dagblad and Sweden's Sydsvenskan all on Monday, April 30th

Sorry to crash the Copenhagen LND convo, but I was perusing my DeviantArt watch list and stumbled across this Rant in defense of LND.

http://ejiputotsuki.deviantart.com/art/Phantom-Love-Never-Dies-A-defense-299759384

I haven't read it all in detail, but bits that jumped out at me make me want to choke bunnies. In short, they take each of the most commonly put forth arguments against LND and tries to explain why each argument is wrong/flawed.

I'm not going to go in depth here about why I think most of her arguments are invalid/just plain wrong, but I just thought it might be interesting for those of us who aren't very fond of LND to see how fans (or at least one fan) of it explain away all the inconsistencies/character assassination/etc.

That is all.

~Madame~

Madame Giry wrote:Sorry to crash the Copenhagen LND convo, but I was perusing my DeviantArt watch list and stumbled across this Rant in defense of LND.

http://ejiputotsuki.deviantart.com/art/Phantom-Love-Never-Dies-A-defense-299759384

I haven't read it all in detail, but bits that jumped out at me make me want to choke bunnies. In short, they take each of the most commonly put forth arguments against LND and tries to explain why each argument is wrong/flawed.

I'm not going to go in depth here about why I think most of her arguments are invalid/just plain wrong, but I just thought it might be interesting for those of us who aren't very fond of LND to see how fans (or at least one fan) of it explain away all the inconsistencies/character assassination/etc.

That is all.

~Madame~

I think the important thing is: Some like LND and some not and we should accept that. Not everyone is a fan of the sequel. I know that.

Love Never Dies will have a UK tour, launching in early 2013

http://westend.broadwayworld.com/article/Lloyd-Webbers-LOVE-NEVER-DIES-to-Tour-UK-in-Early-2013-Bill-Kenwright-Production-Plan-Rumors-20120502

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:Love Never Dies will have a UK tour, launching in early 2013

http://westend.broadwayworld.com/article/Lloyd-Webbers-LOVE-NEVER-DIES-to-Tour-UK-in-Early-2013-Bill-Kenwright-Production-Plan-Rumors-20120502

I hope it will be come with some actors/actress from the original.

Yeah, thatd be nice...I wonder if this means a US tour may happen; with Phantom no longer touring the US I wonder if RUG would want to fill the vacancy with LND as it is "Phantom" related, but different enough to draw in new audiences

operafantomet wrote:Some of the cast for the Copenhagen production was announced today:

MR. Y: Tomas Ambt Kofod (I told you so!!!)

Tomas... I wonder what he really thinks about what's happened to Raoul.

As for the UK tour, LND and Kenwright deserve each other.

Scorp wrote:

operafantomet wrote:Some of the cast for the Copenhagen production was announced today:

MR. Y: Tomas Ambt Kofod (I told you so!!!)

Tomas... I wonder what he really thinks about what's happened to Raoul.

As for the UK tour, LND and Kenwright deserve each other.

I think Raoul´s class is not so bad. It´s not impossible that people can change, some marriage can change.

Thanks to angel_of_music26 from phantomoftheopera.com, he found this little gem. LND will be played on PBS June 2nd:

http://broadwayworld.com/article/LOVE-NEVER-DIES-to-Air-on-PBS-Stations-Beginning-June-2-20120510


I will be enjoying the US Tour of Les Miserables on June 2nd instead.